IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


1.0 


I.I 


11.25 


L£  12.8 

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25 

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2.2 


Lo    12.0 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  &TREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)872-4503 


1' 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notat/Notas  tachniquaa  at  bibiiographiquas 


Tha  Inatituta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographicaily  uniqua. 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
raproduction,  or  which  may  aignificantly  changa 
tha  uaual  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chaclcad  balow. 


D 


D 

D 


n 


Colourad  covara/ 
Couvartura  da  coulaur 


I     I   Covars  damagad/ 


Couvartura  andommag4a 

Covars  rastorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Couvartura  rastaurAa  at/ou  pallicuMa 

Covar  titia  misting/ 

La  titra  da  couvartura  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartas  gAographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  init  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (I.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I   Coloured  plates  and/or  Illustrations/ 


D 


Plarches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Rail*  avac  d'autres  documents 


Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  rombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  la  long  de  la  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparalssent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  At6  filmies. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplAmentaires; 


L'Instltut  a  mIcrofilmA  le  meilleur  exemplaira 
qu'll  lu.  a  At6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
da  cat  exemplaira  qui  sont  paut-Atre  uniquaa  du 
point  da  vua  bibliographlque,  qui  pauvent  modifier 
une  image  reprodulte,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithoda  normale  de  fllmage 
sont  indlqute  ci-dessous. 


r~l   Coloured  pages/ 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^as 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restauries  et/ou  pelllcul6es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxet 
Pages  d6color6es,  tacheties  ou  piqu^es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualit^  inigaie  de  I'impresslon 

Includes  supplementary  materif 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppl^mentaira 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  MItion  disponlble 


I  I  Pages  damaged/ 

I  I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

I  I  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I  I  Pages  detached/ 

[~~|  Showthrough/ 

I  I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I  I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I  I  Only  edition  available/ 


D 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partleilement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc..  ont  6tA  filmies  A  nouveau  de  fa^on  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmA  au  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


y 


12X 


18X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Th«  copy  filmad  h«r«  has  b««n  r«produc«d  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacifications. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covars  are  filmad 
beginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  ending  on 
tha  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printad  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  witn  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  ara  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaira  film*  fut  reproduit  grice  A  la 
ginArosit*  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Les  images  sulvantas  ont  At*  reproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin.  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nattet*  de  rexemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couvarture  en 
papier  est  imprimAe  sont  film*s  en  commen^ant 
par  la  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmAs  en  commen^ant  par  la 
premtAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
derniAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN  ". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diff Arents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  il  est  film*  6  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droita, 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammas  suivants 
illustrant  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

«'\«ip' 


6y  %bert  f^ovoe  Oancroft 


NATIVE  RACES  OP  THE  PACIFIC  STATES ;    five  volumes. 
HISTORY  OP  CENTRAL  AMERICA ;   three  volumes. 
HISTORY  OP  MEXICO ;   six  volumes. 
HISTORY  OP  TEXAS  and  ths  NORTH  MEXICAN  STATES ; 

two  volumes. 
HISTORY  OP  ARIZONA  AND  NEW  MEXICO ;    one  volume. 
HISTORY  OP  CALIFORNIA;  seven  volumes. 
HISTORY  OP  NEVADA,  COLORADO  AND  WYOMING;  one 

volume. 
HISTORY  OP  UTAH ;  one  volume. 

HISTORY  OP  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST;   two  volumes. 
HISTORY  OP  OREGON ;  two  volumes. 
HISTORY  OP  WASHINGTON,  IDAHO  and  MONTANA ;  one 

volume. 
HISTORY  OP  BRITISH  COLUMBIA;  one  volume. 
HISTORY  OF  ALASKA ;  one  volume. 
CALIFORNIA  PASTORAL;  one  volume. 
CALIFORNIA  INTER-POCULA ;  one  volume. 
POPULAR  TRIBUNALS ;  two  volumes. 
ESSAYS  AND  MISCELLANY  ;  one  volume. 
LITERARY  INDUSTRIES  ;  one  volume. 
CHRONICLES  OP  THE  KINGS ;  several  volumes. 


^OVmciAL  LIBRARY, 
VfCTORlA.  B.  a 


HISTORY 


OF  THI 


NORTHWEST  COAST 


BT 


HUBERT    HOWE    BANCROFT 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 


VOL.  1—1543-1800 


* 


SAN  FRANCISCO 
THE  HISTORY  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS 

1890 


'^^^^^^mmmm 


mmmm 


V-  I 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  In  the  year  1889,  by 

HUBERT  H.  BANCROFT, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Ubrarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


AU  Rights  Reserved. 


PREFACE. 


Proceedino  northward  from  the  more  defined  re- 
gions of  Spanish  domination  in  America,  on  reaching 
the  forty-second  parallel  the  liitherto  steady  course 
of  our  Pacific  States  History  is  interrupted,  and 
after  the  earliest  voyages  of  discovery  we  are  referred 
to  Canada  and  France,  and  later  to  Anglo -America 
and  England,  for  the  origin  of  affairs,  and  for  the 
extreme  north  to  Russia.  The  ownership  of  this 
region,  always  ignoring  the  rights  of  the  natives,  was 
at  first  somewhat  vague;  it  was  disputed  by  the  sev- 
eral European  powers,  France,  Spain,  and  England, 
and  after  the  first  two  had  retired  from  the  field 
England  and  the  United  States  held  a  bloodless 
quarrel  over  it.  The  original  doctrine  in  seizing  un- 
known lands  was  to  claim  in  every  direction  as  far  as 
those  lands  extended,  even  if  it  was  quite  round  the 
world.  Thus  Columbus  would  have  it,  and  Vasco 
Nunez  de  Balboa  thought  that  all  the  shores  washed 
by  the  Pacific  Ocean  were  not  too  great  recompense 
to  his  king  for  having  so  valiant  a  subject  as  himself 
France  was  disposed  to  claim  from  Canada  west  to 
the  Pacific,  and  back  of  the  English  plantations  down 
the  valley  of  the  Great  River  to  the  Mexican  Gulf 


27;  J  G 


y^  PREFACE. 

while  the  English  colonies  on  the  Atlantic  measured 
their  lands  by  the  frontage,  their  depth  being  the 
width  of  the  continent.  But  Spain,  sending  her  navi- 
gators up  the  western  coast,  was  enabled  by  discovery 
to  secure  a  better  title  than  could  be  made  to  rest  on 
the  enthusiasm  of  a  Columbus  or  a  Balboa,  or  even 
on  the  pope's  generosity.  While  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States  relied  on  explorations  and  occupa- 
tion, sometimes  calling  the  former  discoveries,  and 
also  on  enforced  or  voluntary  concessions  from  Spain, 
France  also  sent  an  exploring  expedition,  followed 
now  and  then  by  a  trader;  but  she  advanced  no  claims 
after  parting  with  her  broad  Canadian  and  Mississippi 
possessions. 

Obviously  events  aflfccting  this  area  as  a  whole, 
before  its  division  into  separate  domains,  belong  to 
each  of  the  succeeding  states;  so  that  the  History 
of  the  Northwest  Coast  may  properly  be  regarded  as 
preliminary  to  and  part  of  the  History  of  Oregon, 
the  History  of  Washington,  Idaho,  and  Montana,  and 
the  History  of  British  Columbia. 

On  the  earliest  maritime  explorations,  the  voyages 
of  the  fur-traders,  and  the  famous  Nootka  contro- 
versy, I  have  been  able  to  consult  many  important 
documents  not  known  to  Greenhow,  Twiss,  and  the 
other  writers  of  1846  and  earlier  years.  Notable 
among  these  new  authorities  are  the  journals  of  Gray, 
Haswell,  Winship,  Sturgis,  and  other  American  voy- 
agers; also  the  interesting  items  on  northern  trips 
gleaned  from  the  Spanish  archives  of  California.  The 
famous  Oregon  Question,  growing  out  of  these  earliest 
expeditions  and  controversies,  is  here  for  the  first  time 
treated  from  an  historical  rather  than  a  partisan  stand- 
point. 


PREFACE. 


Ttt 


During  the  summer  of  1878  I  made  an  extended 
tour  in  this  territory  for  the  purpose  of  adding  to 
my  material  for  its  history.     Some  printed  matter  I 
found  not  before  in  my  possession.     I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  secure  copies  of  the  letters  of  Simon  Fraser, 
and  the  original  journals  of  Fraser  and  John  Stuart; 
also  copies  from  the  originals  of  the  journals  of  John 
Work  and  W.  F.  Tolmie,  the  private  papers  of  John 
McLoughlin,  and  a  manuscript  History  of  the  North- 
west Coast  by  A.  C.  Anderson.     Through  the  kind- 
ness of  Mr  John  Charles,  at  the  time  chief  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  the  Pacific  coast,  I  was 
given    access   to   the  archives  of  the   fur   company 
gathered  at  Victoria,  and  was  permitted   to  make 
copies  of  important  fort  journals,  notably  those  of 
Fort  Langley  and   Fort   Simpson.     But  most   im- 
portant of  all  were  the  historical  and  biographical 
dictations  taken  from  the  lips  of  several  hundred  of 
the  pioneers  and  earliest  fur-hunters  and  settlers  then 
living,  by  a  short-hand  reporter  who  accompanied  me 
in  my  travels,  and  which  were  afterward  written  out, 
severally   bound,   and    used    in    the    usual    way   as 
material  for  history.     It  is  scarcely  possible  to  ex- 
aggerate the  importance  of  this  information,  given  as 
it  was  by  actors  in  the  scenes  represented,  many  of 
whom  have  since  departed  this  life,  and  all  of  whom 
will  soon  be  gone.     To  no  small  extent  it  is  early  his- 
torical knowledge  absolutely  rescued  from  oblivion, 
and  which  if  lost  no  power  on  earth  could  reproduce. 
Conspicuous  among  those  who  thus  bear  testimony 
are  Mrs  Harvey,  who  gave  me  a  biographical  sketch 
of  her  father,  Chief  Factor  McLoughlin;  John  Tod, 
chief  for  a  time  of  New  Caledonia;  Archibald  Mc- 
Kinlay,  in  charge  of  Fort  Walla  Walla  at  the  time  of 


riii 


PREFACE. 


tlie  Whitman  massacre;  Roderick  Finlayson,  once  in 
charge  of  Fort  Victoria ;  A.  C.  Anderson,  road-maker, 
explorer,  and  historian. 

The  journals  of  explorers  and  the  narratives  of 
travellers  embody  in  a  wilderness  of  useless  matter 
much  valuable  information.  These  works  are  quite 
rare;  but  even  if  they  were  at  hand,  one  could  wade 
through  them  only  at  great  loss  of  time.  Of  these, 
in  this  part  of  my  History,  I  have  summarized  several 
score.  British  and  American  government  documents 
are  quite  full  at  a  later  period,  when  England  and  the 
United  States  carried  on  their  hot  disputations  on  the 
subject  of  occupancy. 

The  freshness  of  the  field  has  rendered  it  to  me 
exceedingly  fascinating;  of  the  manner  in  which  my 
enthusiasm  has  taken  form,  and  of  the  use  I  have 
made  of  my  opportunities,  the  public  must  judge. 


CONTENTS  OF  THIS  YOLUME. 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTORY  TO    NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION. 


TAOW, 


rrimary  Significance — The  Subject  in  its  Widest  Scopo — The  Home  of 
Mystery — Historic  and  Mythic  Interest — The  Conjectural  and  the 
Real — Origin  of  the  Strait  Myth  and  of  the  Northern  Mystery — West 
Ckjost  Theories — State  of  Geographical  Knowledge  in  1550 — In  the 
South-east — North-east,  Explorations  by  the  Cabots  and  Cortoreals, 
by  Aillon,  Verrazano,  Gomez,  Cartier — In  the  South-west,  by  Balboa, 
Espinosa,  Ddvila,  Cort<!8,  Alarcon,  Ulloa,  Cabrillo — Inland  Wander- 
ings by  Cartior,  Soto,  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  G  uznian,  Niza,  and  Corouado — 
1650  to  IGOO,  Frobiaher,  Ribault,  Menendez,  Raleigh — New  Mexican 
Entradas — Urdaneta,  Drake,  Gali,  Cermenon— 1000  to  1G50,  Vizcaino, 
Oiiate — Canadian  Fur-hunters  and  Jesuits — Hudson  and  Baffin — 1050 
to  1700,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Marquette,  La  Salle,  and  I'adre 
Kino — 1700  to  1760,  Philippine  Galleons— English  Freebooters— 
Vdrendrye  to  the  Rocky  Mountains — Arctic  Discoveries — 1750  to 
1800,  Heame  and  Mackenzie — Escalante  in  Utah — Occupation  of 
California — Russian  Discoveries 1 

CHAPTER  n. 


THB  NORTHERN  MYSTERY  AND   IHAOINARY  OSOORAFBY. 
1500-1595. 

Field  of  Conjecture — Mythic  Geography — Strait  or  no  Strait — Passage  to 
India — Cabots  and  Cortercals — Ruysch  and  Schiiner — Amazon  Isles— 
Clavos  and  Esclavos — Maps  of  1530-1 — Queen  of  California — Cana- 
dian Rumors — Niza's  Fictions — Real  Explorations  of  1640-3— Cibola, 
Tiguex,  and  Quivira — Gomara's  Blunder — Ruscelli  and  Munster — 
Ramusio  and  Homem — A  Choice  of  Straits — Theories  of  Menendez — 
First  Trip  through  the  Strait — Urdaneta — Salvatierra's  Tale — 
Ribault — Tdpia — Ortelius'  Theatrum — Tolm — Anian — Origin  of  the 
Name — Ladrillero  at  the  Strait — Meta  Incognita — Martin  Chacke — 
Drake's  Pilot — Espejo's  Lake  and  River — Hakluyt — Lok's  Map — By 
the  Roanoke  to  the  Pacific — La  Gran  Copal — Peter  Martyr — Acosta 
on  the  Mystery 33 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  m. 

ArOORTPHAI.  VdVAOEl  TO  THM  NORTHWEST. 

li506-16O9. 

Juftn  de  Fuca's  Pretended  Discovories— The  Story  to  Lok—Presiimp- 
tionsagainat  it*  Tnitli- Writers  on  the  Subject— Kxainination  of 
Evidence,  Historical  and  Oeographical- iJoubtless  a  Pure  Fiction — 
Mercator—Wytfliet—Tlie Great  Northwegt— Imaginary  Coasts,  Riv- 
ers, and  Towns— Conrad  Low's  Remarkuble  Map— Close  of  the  Cen- 
tury— Captain  Lancaster— Herrera — Vizcaino — Aguilar's  River— As- 
cension—Torquemada— Ofiato— Lake  Copalla— Ziflogaba  and  Queen 
Ci&aoacohola— Tidan — Jolm  Smith — Maldonado's  Pretended "  ago 
through  the  Strait  of  Anian— A  Famous  Lie 70 

CHAPTER  rV. 

THE  NORTHKBN   MYSTERY — OONOLUaiOW. 
1010-1800. 

Spanish  Junta — Garcia  de  Silva — A  Now  Phase — California  once  more  an 
Island — Cardona— Dutch  Map — Briggs'  Treatise — Salmeron — Del- 
gado's  Voyage — De  Laet — Winnepegs,  or  Men  of  the  Sea — Nicolet — 
Botello  and  Casanate  on  Northern  Geography — D'Avity — Acle — Mel- 
giior — AnExactDescription—Ogilby— Marquette,  Hennepin,  and  La 
Ball''  —  Peche — Teguayo — Paredus — Dampier — Luyt — La  Hontan — 
E'  ^and  Mange — Island  or  Peninsula? — Maps  of  Hacke,  Heylyii,  and 
Harris — Bartholomew  de  Fonte's  Fictitious  Letter — De  L'Iste  and 
Buache — Bibliography  of  a  Hoax — Rogers— Velarde — Niel — Ugarte's 
Voyage — California  a  Peninsula  Again —Shclvocke — Coxe — Dobbs — 
Sodelmair — Vetancurt— Ellis— New  Mouth  for  the  Colorado— Vene- 
gaa — Jefferys — Engel — Carver— End  of  the  Mystery 100 

CHAPTER  V. 

DISCOVERT  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 

1543-1775. 
Bartolom^  Perrelo — Did  not  Pass  the  Forty-second  Parallel— Francis 
Drake — His  Voyage — Different  Versions — The  Famous  Voyage — The 
World  EIncompassed — Fletcher's  Falsehoods — The  Limit  cannot  be 
Fixed — Drake  Possibly  Reached  Latitude  Forty-three — And  was  tho 
Discoverer  of  Oregon — Gali's  Voyage  not  Extending  to  Northern 
Waters-^Sebastian  Vizcaino  and  Martin  Aguilar — Point  St  Greorgo  in 
41°  45',  the  Northern  Limit — Revival  of  Exploration  under  Carlos 
III. — Expedition  of  Juan  Perez  to  Latitude  Fifty -five — Instructions 
Mid  Results — Names  Applied — Intercourse  with  Indians — Discovery 
of  Nootka — The  Whole  Coast  Discovered — Second  Exploration  under 
Bruno  Heceta  to  tho  Forty-ninth  Parallel — First  Landing  in  Oregon — 
Seven  Spaniards  Killed  by  Indians — Discovery  of  the  Columbia — 
Voyage  of  Bodega  y  Cuadra,  after  parting  from  Heceta,  to  the  Fifty- 
eighth  Parallel 137 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

BXFLOKATIUM   Or  THE  NORTUWKST  COAST. 

1778-1788.  »*•■. 

Captain  Cook's  Expe<^itim'  -  \  ustructions — Discoveries  and  Names — Map — 
At  San  Lorenzo,  Kio^  Uoorgo  Sound,  or  Nootka — Origin  of  t!ir  Fur- 
trade — Voyage  of  Arteaga  and  Cuadra  to  Alaska— English  Fur- 
traders  from  '  ■5 — Ktoija's  Vo-'njes — Lu  Ptirouse — 4rjhipolago  or 
Mainland? — Map — Ex^udit!  . ot Strange, Lowrie,andOui8e—McKoy 
at  Noofka — Portlofk  .id  Dixon — Queen  Charlotte  Isles — Barclay 
Discovers  the  St-  .t-  Duncan  and  Colnctt— Martinez  and  Ilaro  in 
A'tska — Spjuudh  Policy  Foreshadowed — The  Stars  and  Stripes  in  the 
North  Pacific — Voyage*  f^f  K«indrick  and  Gra>  on  tiio  *  Columbia'  and 
'Washington'— An  Otiginal  Diary — Murderots'  llarlxir — Wiuteiiug 
at  Nootka — Voyage  of  Meares  anu  Doffl-s — Under  Portuguese 
Colors — Launch  of  the  '  North  West  America' — The  House  tliat  Jock 
BuUt 167 


1 


J 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

THE    NOOTKA   00NTB0VER8T. 

1789-1700. 
Voyages  of  1789 — Movemanta  of  Kendrick  and  Gray — Cruise  of  the 
'Lady  Washington' — End  of  Haswell's  Diary — The  Columbia  Ooes 
to  China  and  Boston — Kendrick  in  the  Strait — Trading  Trip  of  Doug- 
las and  Fnnter — Meares  in  China — A  New  Partnership — Voyage  of 
Colnett  and  Hudson— Plans  for  a  Permanent  Establishment- Met- 
calf 's  Voyage — Spanish  Expedition  under  Martinet  and  Haro — Seiz- 
nre  of  the  'Iphigenia' — Motives  of  Capture  and  Release — A  Spanish 
Fort  at  Santa  Cruz  de  Nutka — Seizure  of  the  'North  West  America' 
— Taking  of  the  'Argonaut  and  'Princess  Royal' — Colnett  versus 
Martinez — Prizes  Sent  to  San  Bios — Restoration  by  the  Viceroy — 
The  Spaniards  Quit  Nootka — American  Policy — Merits  oi  the  Con- 
troversy— The  News  in  Europe — Spain  and  England — Diplomacy  and 
Impending  War— Spain  Yields— The  Nootka  Treaty 204 

CHAPTER  Vm. 


XXPLOBINO   AND  COMMERCIAI.   EXPEDITIONS. 

1790-1792. 

Spanish  Beoccupation  of  Nootka  by  Elisa — Fidiilgo's  Exploration  in  the 
North — Quimper  in  the  Strait  of  Fuca — His  Chart — Colnett  and  the 
•Argonaut' — No  Fur-trade — Kendrick 's  Schemes— Explorations  of 
1791— The  'SanCArloB'— Elisa's  Survey  of  the  Strait— His  Map— The 
Nootka  Coast — The  Transport  'Aranzazn' — Malaspina's  Expedition 
ii  the  'Descubierta'  and  'Atrevida* — The  Garrison — The  Boston 
Traders — Gray  and  Haswell — Kendrick — Ingraham — Maroliand'a 


y\ 


•xU 


CONTENTS. 


PAOI. 


Visik  and  Map— Fleurieu's  Essay— Voyages  of  1792— Tlie  Traders— 
The  'Columbia  Eediviva'— Building  of  the  'Adventure'— Haswell'a 
Log — Magee,  Coolidge,  Brown,  Stewart,  Baker,  Shepherd,  Cole — 
Portuguese  Vessels— A  French  Trader— Spanish  Explorations — Caa- 
mafio  in  the  North — Galiano  and  Vald^s  on  the  'Sutil'  and  'Mexi- 
cana' — Through  the  Strait  of  Fuoa — Navarrete's  Summary — Van- 
Qouver's  Exploring  Expedition 239 


li 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ain>  Of  OONTBOVEBSY  AND  EXPLOBATIOir. 

1792-1800. 

The  Policy  of  Spain — Delay  for  Exploration — The  Viceroy's  Ideas — In- 
structions to  the  Commissioner — Cuadra's  Investigations — Vancou- 
ver's Mission — The  Commissioners  at  Nootka — English  Claims — 
Spanish  Ofifers — Agreement  to  Disagree — Convention  of  1793 — Dam- 
ages paid — Revilla  Gigedo's  Report — Vancouver's  Second  Voyage — 
The  Garrison — Saavedra  Succeeds  Fiilalgo — The  Trading  Fleet  of 
1793 — Cuadra  Succeeded  by  Alava — Trip  of  the  'Aranzazu'  to  Cali- 
fornia—  Captain  John  Kendrick  —  Vancouver's  Third  Voyage  — 
Traders  of  1794 — Trcttty  of  1704— The  Controversy  Ended — Alava 
and  Pierce — Final  Abandonment  of  Nootka  in  March  1795 — The 
Title— The  'Phoenix'  of  1795— Broughton's  Visit— Dorr,  the  Yankee 
Trader  of  1796— Rowan  and  the  'Elisa'  of  179S— Cleveland's  Cruise— 
The  'Betsy'  of  1800 284 


CHAPTER  X. 


LAST  or  THE  EXFLOBKBS. 


'      i 


1801-1818. 
Boston  Ships  of  1801— Record  of  1802— Mishap  of  the  'Manchester'— 
Sturgis  on  tlie  Coast— Loss  of  the  'Boston,'  1803 — Massacre  of  the 
Crew — Jowett's  Captivity — Rowan  and  Brown  at  San  Francisco  from 
the  North — List  of  1804 — Smugglers — O'Cain  and  his  New  Idea — 
Russian  Contracts — Indiaas  Attack  the  'Atahualpa,'  1805 — Lewis 
and  Claike's  List — Rezdnof  and  his  Plans,  1806 — Coming  of  tlie 
Winships— 'O'Cain,'  'Derby,'  and  'Guatimozin'  of  1807— 'Pearl,' 
•  Vancouver, '  and  '  Mercury '  of  1808-9— The  Fur-hunters  of  1810-1 1— 
Winship's  Columbia  Settlement — The  'Albatross' — Voyage  of  the 
•Tonquin'— The  'Beaver' of  1812— Effects  of  the  War— The  Traders 
Blockaded — Seizure  of  the  'Mercury' and  'Charon,' 1813 — Capt  '"n  • 
Sniitu— H.  B.  M.  Sloop  'Raccoon'  Takes  Astoria— The  'Pedler'  of 
1614— The  'Isaac  Todd'— The  Northwest  Company's  'Columbia' of 
1815— The  'Colonel'  in  California,  1816— Last  of  the  'Albatrops'- 
Roqucfeuil's  Voyage  in  the  'Bordclais,'  1817-18 — Last  of  Maquinna 
and  Nootka — The  Men-of-war  'Ontario' and  'Blossom' — Vessels  of 
1819-40. 310 


r 


CONTENTS. 


XUJ 


CHAPTER  XI. 


THB  MARITIME   FOB-TRADB. 

1778-1846.  « 

The  Sea-otter — Commentaries  upon  It— The  Russian  Beginnings — The 
Chinese  Market — Captain  Cook's  Discoveries — Bolts'  Enterprise — 
John  Ledyard  and  his  Plans — An  Eccentric  Yankee — Disheartening 
Faihires — J<]nglish  Efiforts  from  India — Kanaa  and  his  Followers — 
In  London — Portlock  and  Dixon — French  Investigation — La  P6- 
rouse — Marchand's  Exi)erience — Beginnings  at  Boston — Kendrick 
and  Gray — Routine  of  the  Trade — Englishmen  versus  Americans — 
Perils  of  the  Business  —  Character  of  the  Natives  —  Methods  of 
Barter — Articles  Desired — Statistics — The  Trade  in  California — 
The  English  Companies— American  Devices — Decline  of  the  Fur- 
trade 


343 


CHAPTER  Xn. 


KEW  FRANCE  AND  TIU  FITR-TUADB. 


1524-1703. 

Change  of  Ownership,  in  1759-C3,  of  North  America — Discovery — France 
in  South  America  and  Florida — The  Fishermen  and  Fur-traders  of 
Newfoundland  and  the  St  Lawrence — History  of  the  Fur-trade — 
Peltries  a  Vital  Element  in  Colonization — The  Cartier  Nephews  and 
the  St  Malo  Merchants — La  Roche — ^The  Forty  Thieves — Pont- 
gravd — Chauvin — De  Chastes— Champlain — De  Monts — The  Port 
Royal  Company— The  Jesuits  in  New  France — Tadousac  Becomes 
the  Centre  of  the  Fur-trade — New  England  and  New  York  Fur- 
trade — Comte  de  Soissons — The  Company  of  St  Malo  and  Rouen — 
Champlaiu's  Misrule— The;  Franciscans  Celebrate  Mass  in  New 
France — The  Caens — New  France  under  Richelieu — The  Hundred 
Associates — Sir  William  Alexander  and  the  Brothers  Kirk — The 
Hurons  and  the  Iroquois — Troubles  in  Arcadia — Discovery  and  Oc- 
cupation of  the  Mississippi  Valley  by  De  Soto,  Marquette,  Joliet, 
La  Salle,  Hennepin,  and  Iberville — Tlie  Great  Fur  Monopolies  of 
New  France — French  and  Indian  War — Final  Conflict — Treaties — 
Boundaries 378 


CHAPTER  Xin. 

FOREST  LIFE  AND    FUR-HUNTINa, 

Northern  and  Western  Fur  Territory — Physical  Features — Habitats  of 
Fur-bearing  Animals — Voyiigeurs — Coureurs  des  Bois — Anglo-Amer- 
ican Trapper- -His  Characteristics  Compared  with  Those  of  the 
French  Canadian — Boating — Brigades — Running  Rapids — Travel — 
Dress— Food— Caching 404 


T^  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  FUB-TEADK  UNDER  BlUTISH  A08FIOXS. 

1607-1843.  ""• 

Early  English  Discovery— Henry  Hudson— Groaaeliea  and  Rabisson, 
Assisted  by  Prince  Rupert,  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company— The 
Charter— Territorial  Limits  of  the  Company— The  French  Invade 
Rupert  Land — The  Planting  of  Forts  round  Hudson  Bay— Bounda- 
ries—The  Treaty  of  Utrecht — Character  and  Policy  of  the  Corpora- 
tion—Territorial Divisions- Material  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany—Inner Workings  of  the  System— Stock— Furs— Currency — 
Trade — Intercourse  between  Posts — Profits — Parliamentary  Sanction 
of  the  Crown  Grant 437 

CHAPTER  XV. 

FORTS  AND   FORT  LIFE. 

Application  of  the  Term — The  Erection  of  a  Fort  a  Special  Favor,  and 
Occasion  of  Rejoicing — A  Depot  or  Factory — Architecture  and  Con- 
struction— Examples  of  Several  Forts — York  Factory — Fort  Garry — 
Fort  William— Fort  Edmonton — Fort  Franklin— Fort  Vancouver — 
Fort  Walla  Walla— Fort  Rupert — Wyeth's  Establishment  on  Wapato 
Island — Fort  Hall— Fort  Yukon — Fort  Victoria — Ground  Plan  of 
Fort  Simpson — Rendezvous — Life  at  the  Forts 482 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  UNITED  STATES  FUB-TBADE. 

1605-1855. 

Shore  of  New  England — ^Hollanders  on  the  Hudson — The  New  Nether- 
lands Company— The  Swedish  West  India  Company  on  the  Dela- 
ware— Henry  Fleet  on  the  Potomac — Comparisons  between  the  Fur 
Business  of  Canada  and  the  United  States — Percolations  through  the 
Alleghanies — The  Fur-trade  of  Natchez — The  Ohio  Company — La- 
clede, Maxan,  and  Company — Auguste  and  Pierre  Chouteau — In- 
roads from  Michilimackinac — St  Louis  in  1803 — Trapperp  on  the 
Missouri — The  Missouri  Fur  Company — Astor's  Projects — The  Amer- 
ican Fur  Company — The  Pacific  Fur  Company — The  South-west 
Company — The  Colunibia  Fur  Company — The  North  American  Fur 
Company — The  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company — Sublette,  Bridger, 
Fitzpatrick,  and  Pierre  Chouteau  the  Younger — James  Pursley  and 
the  Opening  of  the  Santa  ¥6  Trade — B.  Pratte  and  Company — 
Bent  and  St  Vrain — Gaunt,  Dripps,  Blackwell,  and  Fontcnelle — Kit 
Carson,  Pilcher,  Bonneville,  \v  alker,  and  Wyeth — The  Rendezvous — 
The  Colorado  Basm  and  Californiar-The  China  Trade— The  Califor- 
nia Fur-trade— Jedediah  Smith— Pattie. 499 


CONTENTS,  »jt 

CHAPTER  XVn. 

HELATIVB  ATTITUDES  OF  FUR-TBADEHS  AND  NATIVES.  PAOB. 

Different  Views  of  Savagism  by  Different  Europeans,  according  to  their 
Several  Interests — United  States  Policy — Humane  Intentioba — Vil- 
lainy of  Agents — Border  Atrocities — Policy  of  the  Northwest  and 
Hudson's  Bay  Companies — The  Interesta  of  Gold-seekers,  Fur  Com- 
panies, and  Settlers  Contrasted — System  of  Wife-taking — Half- 
breeds — Intoxicating  Drink — Missionaries. 629 

CHAPTER  XVin. 

THX     NOSTH-WEST     OOHFANT. 

1783-1821.  ■ 

Character  of  the  Montreal  Associates — The  French  Riigime  Beviewed — 
Trade  at  Michilimackina« — The  Montreal  Merchants  Penetrate 
North-westward  and  Form  a  Commercial  Copartnership — Disaffeo- 
tionists  form  the  X.  Y.  Company — Union  of  the  Two  Factions — 
Internal  Regulations  of  the  Northwest  Company — The  Grand  Port- 
age— Early  Voyages  from  Montreal  to  Lake  Superior — Feudal  Glo- 
ries of  Fort  William — Wars  between  the  Northwest  Company  and 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company — The  Red  River  Affair — Fusion  of  the 
Two  Companies. 651 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

XABLIEST  OVBBLAND  EXFLOBATIONS  NOBTH-WESTWABD. 

1640-1786. 
Unknown  North-wests — The  North-west  of  New  France — Champlain — 
BrelxEuf — Mesnard — Allouez — Marquette  and  Joliet — La  Salle  and 
Hennepin — Grosseliez  and  Radisson — La  Hontan — The  Story  of 
Joseph  La  Franco — V^rendrye,  the  Fur-hunter,  Proposes  to  Fit  Out 
an  Expedition — Character  of  V^rendrye — Governor-general  Beauhar- 
nais  Regards  the  Plan  Favorably — V^rendrye's  Copartnery  and 
Route — Embarkation — Erection  of  Forts — Massacre  at  Lac  des  Bois 
of  Young  V^rendrye,  P6re  Anneau,  and  Twenty  Men — Discovery  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains — Vdrendrye's  Return  and  Death — Infamous 
Conduct  of  Canadian  Officials — Adventures  of  Moncacht  Ap6 — 
Carver's  Speculations — Heame's  Journey — Pike's  Expeditions — 
Long's  E.:plorations 685 


CHAPTER  XX. 

PASSES  AND  BOOTES. 

Historical  Consequences  of  the  Position  of  the  Corclilleras — Physical 
Geography  of  the  Mountain  Region  of  the  West — The  Rocky  Moun- 
tain Passes  between  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  the  Forty-ninth  Parallel — 
Passes  through  the  Coast  Range — Through  the  Rocky  Mountaiiu 


xv{ 


COOTENTS. 


VJlS*. 


«.o  the  Plateau— Tbo 
T^titudes  49-  and  32°-Patb8  f^^^  Colorado  E«gion- 

Sierra  Ne">^*rX  .^j^Tho  Sierra  Madre    ^^          ,      ^  Etbno- 
Routefl  through  Mexic^  ^ericafl  P««^?'f^  ,rthe  Pacifio- 
The  IsthmuB  and  Central  Am               ^^^          ^ic  to  the  Pac 
iaphic  Significano'^  of  the  ^"'^       ^^erican  Situation-Brutes 
Se  Northwest  P^e-Tbe^^^__^toricalConcluB.onB 

AaiaEthnogravlucaliyv^o 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

MAOKBNZIE'8  VOYAQ*. 

1789-1793. 

•Natives- Narrow  liscapeo  

?:S.-The  Journey  Completed 


666 


AUTHOEITIES  QUOTED 


IN  THB 


HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


A&  (Pieter  vander),  Naaukeorige  Versameling.    Leyden,  1707.  30  Tola. 

Abbott  (John  S.  C),  Christopher  Caraon.     New  York,  1876. 

Ab-sa-ra-ka.     Home  of  the  Crows.     Philadelphia,  1868. 

Acosta  (Josef  de),  Historia  Natural  y  Moral  de  hia  Indias.     Sevilla,  1590. 

Albatross  (The  Ship),  Log  of  a  Voyage  to  the  N.  W.  Coast,  1809-12.  MS. 

Albatrosi  and  Lydia,  Comunicaciones  relativas.     1816.  MS. 

Alegre  (Francisco  Javier),  Historia  de  la  Compa&ia  de  Jesus  en  Nueva  Espafiia. 
Mexico,  1841.  3  vols. 

Allan  (Alexander),  Caribo)  and  the  Mines  of  British  Columbia.     MS. 

Allen  (Willliam),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Sen.,  Feb.  10  and  11,  1846,  on  our  rela- 
tions with  England,    n.pl.,  n.d. 

Almanac,  Tribune.    New  York,  1838  et  seq. 

Alvarado  (Juan  Bautista),  Historia  de  California.     MS.  6  vols. 

America,  Descripcion,  1710.    MS. 

American  Antiquarian  Society,  Proceeding.    Worcester,  1820  et  seq. 

American  Quarterly  Review.     Philadelphia,  1827  et  seq. 

American  State  Papers.  Boston,  1817-19.  12  vols;  Washington,  1832-4; 
1858-61.  folio.  3!.»vols. 

Amoretti  (Charles),  Voyage  de  la  Mer  Atlantique  a  L'0c6an  Pacifique.  Plais- 
ance,  1812.  4to. 

Anderson  (Adar.i),  Historical  and  Chronological  Deduction  of  the  Origin  of 
Gonmierrj.     London,  1801.  folio.  4  vols. 

Anderson  (xilexander  Caulfield),  North-West  Coast  History.     MS. 

Andfews  (C.  C),  Minnesota  and  Dacotah.     Washington,  1857. 

Annals  of  Congress.     [Ist  to  18th  Congress.]    Washington,  1834-56.  42  vols. 

Annual  Register.    London,  1758-1807.  47  vols. 

Apiano  (Pedro),  Cosmographia  corregida  y  afladida  por  Gemma  Frisio.  An- 
wn,  1575. 

Apoot61ioo8  Afanes  de  la  Compaiiia  de  Jesus.    Barcelona,  1754. 

Applegate  (Jesse),  Marginal  Notes  in  Gray's  History  of  Oregon.    MS. 

Applerate  (Jesse),  Views  of  Oregon  History.     MS. 

.4ra6,  Logbook,  1821-5.     MS. 

Archivo  del  Arzobispado  do  San  Francisco.     MS.  5  vols. 

Archivo  de  Califorma.  MS.  273  vols,  and  a  great  mass  of  loose  papers.  Doc- 
uments jpreserved  in  the  U.  S.  Surveyor-general's  oflSce  at  San  Francisco. 
Copies  m  my  Collection.  Dept.  St.  Pap.;  Dept.  Rec;  Prov.  St.  Pap.; 
Prov.  R«o. 

Archivo  de  Santa  Bdrbara.     MS.  11  vols. 

Armstrong  (Alex.),  Personal  Narrative  of  iihe  Discovery  of  the  North-West 
Passage.     London,  1857. 


sm 


xviii 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 


:i 


Arrowamith  (John),  Map  of  the  Provinces  of  British  Columbia  and  Vanoonvor 

Island.     London,  1859. 
Arteags  (Ignacio),  Tercera  Exploracion,  1779.     MS. 
Ascension  (Antonio  de  la),  Descubrimiento  de  California,  12  Oct.  1620.     In 

Pacheco  and  Cdrdenas,  Col.  Doc. ,  torn.  viii. 
Ashley  (C),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Sen.,  April  3, 1846,  on  Oregon  Question.    Waah* 

ington,  1846. 
Astor  (John  Jacob),  Mercantile  Biography.    In  Hunt's  Mer.  Mag.  xL  153. 
Atlantic  Monthly.     Boston,  1858  et  seq. 

Ballantyne  (Robert  M.),  Hudson's  Bay,     Edinburgh,  1848. 

liancroft  (George),  History  of  the  United  States.     Boston,  1870  et  seq. 

Bancroft  (Hubert  Howe),  History  of  Alaska. 

Bancroft  (Hubert  Howe),  History  of  British  Columbia. 

Bancroft  (Hubert  Howe),  History  of  California. 

Bancroft  (Hubert  Howe),  History  of  Central  America.    San  Franciaoo>  1882. 

Bancroft  (Hubert  Howe),  History  of  North  Mexican  States. 

Bancroft  (Hubert  Howe),  History  of  Oregon. 

Bancroft  (Hubert  Howe),  History  of  Utah. 

Bancroft,  (Hubert  Howe),  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States.  New  York, 
1875.  5  vols. 

Bancroft  Library  MS.  Scrap-books  containing  classified  notes  used  in  writ- 
ing Bancroft's  works. 

Bardnof  (Alexander),  Shizneopissanie.    St  Petersburg,  1835. 

Barreiro  (Antonio),  Ojeada  sobre  Nuevo-Mexico.     Puebla,  1832. 

Barrett-Lennard  (C.  E.),  Travels  in  British  Columbia.     London,  1862. 

Barrow,  Speech  in  U.  S.  Sen.  March  30,  1846,  on  the  Oregon  Question. 
Washington,  1846. 

Baylies,  Northwest  Coast  of  America  [19th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  H.  Rept.  213]. 
Washington,  1826. 

Bayly,  Speech  in  U.  S.  H.  of  Rep.,  Jan.  27, 1846,  on  Oregon  Question.  Wash- 
ington, 1846. 

Beaumont  (Pablo  de  la  Purlpima  Concepcion),  Cr6nica  de  la  Provincia  de  S. 
Pedro  y  S.  Pablo  de  Mechoacan.     Alexico,  1873-4.  5  vols.;  also  MS. 

Bedinger,  Speech  in  U.  S;  H.  of  Rep.  Jan.  15,  184is,  on  the  Oregon  Question. 
Washington,  1846. 

Beechey  (F.  W.),  Anniversary  Address.  In  Lond.  €reog.  Soc.,  Jour.  xxvL 
clxxi. 

Begert  (Jakob),  Nachrichten  von  der  amerikauisclien  Halbinsel  Califomien. 
Mannheim,  1772. 

Belcher  (Edward),  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  roimd  the  World  in  1836-42. 
London,  1843.  2  vols. 

Bell  (J.  F.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  H.  of  Rep.,  Feb.  4,  1846,  on  the  Oregon 
Question.     Waahington,  1846. 

Belsham  (Thomas),  History  of  Great  Britain  1688-1802.  London,  1805. 
12  vols. 

Beltrami  (J.  C),  Pilgrimage  in  Europe  and  America.     London,  1828.  2  vols. 

Benton  (Thomas  H.),  Abridgment  of  Debates  in  Congress,  1759-1856.  New 
York,  1857-63.  16  vols.;  Speech  in  U.  S.  Sen.,  May  22,  25,  28,  1846,  on 
the  Oregon  Question.  Washington,  1846;  Thirty  Years  View.  New 
York,  1854.  2  vols. 

Berrian  (Hobart),  A  Plain  View  of  the  Oregon  Title.     Washington,  1848. 

Berrien,  Speech  in  U.  S.  Sen.  June  28,  1848,  on  the  Oregon  Question.  Wash- 
ington, 1848. 

Blaeu  (or  Jansz),  America.     (Atlas  Maior. )    Amstelaedami,  1662. 

Blanchet  (F.  N.),  Historical  Sketches  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Oregon. 
Portland,  1878. 

Bodega  y  Cuadra  (Juan  Francisco),  Comento  de  la  Navigacion  1775.    MS. 

Bodega  y  Cuadra  (Juan  Francisco),  Navegacion  y  Descubrimiento,  1779.    MS. 

Bodega  y  Cuadra  (Juan  Francisco),  Segunda  Salida,  1779.     MS. 


AUTHORITIES  QUOTED. 


sMi 


Boiler  (Henry  A.).  Among  the  Indians.     Philadelphia,  1868. 

Bonner  (T.  D.),  Life  and  Adventures  of  James  P.  Beckwourth.     N.  Y.,  1858. 

Boston  (Mass.),  Advertiser,  Courier,  Transcript,  Zion's  Herald. 

Boston  in  the  North  West,  Solid  Men  of.     MS. 

Botello  y  Serrano  (Alonso),  and  Pedro  Porter  y  Casanate.  Declaracion  que 
bicieron  en  17  de  Set.  1636.     In  Col.  Doc.  Incd.,  tom.  xv.  215. 

BoDchette  (Joseph),  The  British  Dominions  in  North  America.  London, 
1832.  4to.  3  vols. 

Bowlin  (James  B.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  H.  of  Rep.  Jan.  20,  1845,  on  the  Occu- 
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Harvey  (Mrs.  Daniel),  Life  of  John  McLoughlin.     MS. 

Haswell  (Robert),  Voyage  of  the  Columbia  Bedivtva,  1787,  1791-2.  MS. 

Hayes  (Benjamin),  Scrap  Books,  1850-74.  129  vols.;  under  the  following  sub- 
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Haywood  (William  H.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Sen.  Marci  4,  5,  1846,  on  Oregon 
Question.     Washington,  1846. 

Heame  (Samuel),  Journey  from  Prince  of  Wales  j.-t  to  Northern  Ocean, 
1769-72.     London,  '795;  Dublin,  1790. 


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I   [ 


H«oetft  (Bruno),  Diario  del  Viage  de  1775.     MS. 

Heceta  (Bruno),  Eapedicion  Maritima.    In  Palon,  Not.  ii.  229. 

Heceta  (Bruno),  Scgunda  Exnloracion,  1775.  MS. 

Heceta  (Bruno),  Viage  de  1775.     MS. 

Hennepin  (Louis),  Account  of  the  Diacovery  of  the  River  Misaimippi,  etc.    In 

American  Antiq.  Soc.,  Trans.,  i.  01;  Description  de  la  Lousiane.     Paris, 

1088;  Nouvello  ddcotiverte  d'un  tr6s  grand  pays  situd  dans  I'Am^rique, 

etc.     Utrecht,  1007.     Numerous  other  editions. 
Herrcra  (Antonio  dc),  Dcscripcion  de  las  Indias  Occidentales.     Madrid,  1730. 
Hesperian  (The).     San  Francisco,  185S-04.   11  vob. 
Heylyn  (Peter),  Comiiography.     London,  1701.  folio. 
Hincs  (Gustavus),  Historical  Correspondence.     MS. 
Hines  (Gustavus),  Oregon  and  Its  Institutions.     New  York,  n.d.;  Oragon: 

Its  History,  Condition,  etc.     Bufialo,  1851;  Voyage  round  the  World. 

Buffalo.  1850. 
Historical  Magazine  and  Notes  and  Queries.     Boston,  etc.,  1857-00.  15  volfl. 
HittoU  (John  S. ),  The  Commerce  and  Industries  of  the  Pacific  Coast.     Ban 

Francisco,  1882.  4to. 
Hobbs  (James),  Wild  Life  in  the  Far  West.     Hartford,  1875. 
Holman  (James),  The  Peoria  Party.    MS. 

Homes  (Henry  A),  Our  Knowledge  of  California  and  the  N.  W.  Coast.    Al- 
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Honolulu,  Friend,  1843  et  seq. ;  Sandwich  Island  Gazette,  1837  at  seq.;  Sand- 

wich  Island  News,  1840  et  seq. 
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Horetjky  (Charles),  Canada  on  the  Pacific.     Montreal,  1874. 
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1840];  A  Few  Words  on  the.    London,  n.d.;  Plans  referred  to  in  the 

Report  from  the  Select  Committee.     London,  1857;  Report  from  Speoial 

Committee.    London,  1857;   Return  to  an  Address,  16  March,  1857. 

n.pl.  n.d. 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Journal  at  Fort  Langley.     1828-0.  MS. 
Hudson's  Bay  Ct.  ipany.  Journal  at  Fort  Simpson.    1834-7.  MS. 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  Charter  and  License  to  Trade.    Papers  relative  to. 

London,  1859. 
Hudsou's  Bay  and  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Companies,  British  and  Amori- 

can  Joint  Commission.     Montreal,  etc.,  1808.  4  vols. 
Humboldt  (Alex,  dc),  Essai  Politique  sur  le  Royauine  de  la  Nouvelle  Espagne. 

Paris,  1811.  folio.  2  vols  and  atliia. 
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Question.     Waahington,  1846. 
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Papers,  Foreign  Relations,  V.  665. 
Hatchings'  Illustrated  California  Magazine.    San  Francisco,  1857-61.  6  vols. 

Ibarra  (Diego  de),  Relacion  de  lo  que  descubri6  en  la  provincia  de  Copala  aSo 
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In-ing  (Washington),  Astoria.  New  York,  1860 ;  Bonneville,  Adventures  of. 
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James  (Edwin),  Expedition  from  Pittsburg  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  1810-20. 
London,  1823.  3  vols. 

James  (Thomas),  The  Dangerous  Voyage  of.     London,  1740. 

Jansson  (Juan),  Nouas  Atlas  aive  Theatrum  Orbis  Terrarum.  AmstelodamL 
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Jefferson  (Th.),  Life  of  Captain  Lewis.  In  Levis  and  Clarke's  Ex.  Phila- 
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m 


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Jewitt(.  ohn  R.),  A  Narrative  of  tho  Adventures  and  SuiTorings  of.  New 
York,  1810;  Ithaca,  1849,  numerous  other  editions. 

Johnson  (Edwin  F.),  KaiIroa<l  Route  to  tho  Pacific.     Now  York,  1854. 

Johnson  (Revcrdy),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Son.  March  11,  1840,  on  Oregon  Quefl< 
tion.     Washington,  1840. 

Jones  (William  A.),  Report  upon  tho  Rcconnainsonce  of  Northwestern  Wyom- 
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Kane  (Paul),  Wanderings  of  an    irtist  among  tho  Indians  uf  N.  America. 

Louduu,  1850. 
Kellcy  (Hall  J.),  Pice^veries,  Purchases  of  Lands,  etc.,  on  tho  Northwest 

Coast,  n.pl.,  n.d. ;  Geographical  Sketch  of  th^t  Part  of  North  America 

called  Oregon.     Boston,  1830;  History  of  the  Colonization  of  tho  Oregon 

Territory.     Worcester,    1850;    History  of    tho    Sottlcmcnt  of   Oregon. 

Uprinsfield,  1808;  Memorial  praying  for  a  Donation  of  Land,  etc.  n.pl., 

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Kendrick  (John),  ( 'orrespondencia  sobre  Cosas  do  Nootkiv,  1704.     MS. 
Kennedy  (John  P.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  H.  of  Rep.  Jan.  10,   1840,  on  Oregon 

Question.     Washington,  1840. 
Khkbnikof  (K.),  Zapiski  o  America.     St  Petersburg,  1801. 
Kingston  (W.  H.  Q.),  Snow-shoes  and  Canoes.     London,  etc.,  1877. 
KloflS  (J.  U.),  Report  relative  to  Country  on  St  Paul  and  Pacific  Railroad. 

St  Paul,  1871. 
Koch  (Christophe  Guillaume),  Abrtjgd  do  I'Histoire  des  Traitds  de  Paix  entre 

les  Puissances  do  I'Europe,  etc.     Paris,  1817-18.  15  vols. 
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Portland,  1860. 

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Laet  (Joanne  de),  Nows  Orbis.     Batav.,  1033.  folio. 

La  Harpe  (Jean  Francois),  Abr^gd  de  I'Histoire  G^n^role  des  Voyages.  Paris, 
1816.  24  voU.  and  atlas. 

La  Hontan  (Le  Baron  de),  Nouvcaux  Voyages  dans  I'Amerique  Septentrionale. 
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3  vols.;  Boston,  1801. 

Laplace  (Cyrille  P.  T.),CampagnedeCi^c^mna^'igation.  Paris,  1841-54.  6  vols. 

Lardner  (Dionysius),  Histo^  of  Maritime  and  Inland  Discovery.  London, 
1830.  3  vols. 

Ledyard  (John),  A  Journal  of  Gapt.  Cook's  Last  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Hartford,  1783. 

Lee  (Daniel),  and  J.  H.  FroKt.     Ten  Years  in  Oregon.     New  York,  1844. 

Lettres  ^difiantes  et  curieuses.    Lyon,  1819.  14  vols. 

Levin  (L.  C),  Speech  in  U.  S.  H.  of  Rep.  Jan.  0,  1846,  on  the  Oregon  Ques- 
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Lewis  (Meriwether),  Observation  and  reflections  on  the  present  and  future 
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LeMds  (Meriwether),  and  William  Clarke,  Expedition  to  the  Sources  of  the 
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across  the  American  Continent.  London,  1814.  4to;  London,  1815; 
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Lindean,  Die  Glaubwurdigkeit,  etc.     Gotha,  1812. 

Linn  (E.  A.),  Speech  in  U.  8.  Sen.  Jan.  26, 1843,  on  the  Oregon  Bill.  Wash- 
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/"' 


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1 


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Linschoten  (Jean  "Ryg^ee),  Histoire  de  la  Navigation,  etc.    Amsterdam,  1638. 
L'Isle  (J.  N.  de),  Explication  de  la  Carte  des  Nouvellea  Decouvortes  au 

Nord.    Paris,  1752.  4to;  Lettre  touchant  la  Califomie.    In  Voyages  au 

Nord,  Recueil.  iii.  268. 
Liverpool,  Mercurv. 

Lockman  (John),  Travels  of  the  Jesaits.     Lijadon,  1743.  2  vols. 
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Lomas  (Juan  B.),  Assiento  y  Capitulacion, 
London,  Chror.icle,  Morning  Post,  Spectator,  Times. 
Long  (Stt-i^hcn  H. ),  Account  of  Exploring  Expedition  from  Pittsburg  to  Rooky 

Mo'.ntains.     Philadelphia,  1823.  2  vols. 
Lord  (John  Keast),  The  Naturalist  in  Vancouver's  Island,  etc.    London,  1866. 

2  vols. 
Lovejoy  (A.  L.),  Founding  of  Portland.    MS. 
Low  (Conrad),  Meer  oder  Seehanen  Buch.    Colin,  1598. 
Ludlow  (William),  Report  of  a  Reconnaisaance  from  Carroll  Montana  to  the 

Yellowstone  Park,  1875.    Washington,  1876.  4to. 
Luyt  (Joannis),  Introductio  ad  Geographiam  Novam  et  Veterem.    Trajecti 

ad  Rhenum,  1692. 

McClemand  (J.  A.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  H.  of  Rep.  Jan.  30,  1845,  on  Oregon 
Question.    Washington,  1845. 

McClintock  (Cant.),  Narrative  of  the  Discovery  of  the  Fate  of  Sir  John 
Franklin.    Boston,  1860. 

McDonald  (Archibald),  Peace  River.  A  Canoe  Voyage  from  Hudson's  Bay  to 
Pacific.    Ottawa,  1872. 

McDonald  (D.  G.  Forbes),  British  Columbia.     London,  1863. 

McDowell  (J.  J.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  H.  of  Rep.  Jan.  5,  1846,  on  Oregon  Terri- 
tory.    Washington,  1846. 

Macfie  (Matthew),  Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia.     Loudon,  1885. 

Macgregor  (John),  Commercial  Statistics.  London,  1850.  5  vols;  The  Prog- 
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M(  Kay  (William),  The  Early  History  of  the  Dalles.  In  Dalles  Mouita  meer. 
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Mackenzie  (Alexander),  Voyage  from  Montreal  to  the  Frozen  and  Pacific 
Oceans,  1789-93.     London,  1801.  4to;  New  York,  1814. 

McKinlay  (Archibald),  Narrative  of  a  Chief  Factor  of  Hudson  Bay  Company. 
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Oregon  Title.     Washington,  1843. 

McVicar  (A.),  History  of  tho  Expedition  under  the  Command  of  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  1804-6.     New  York,  1861.  2  vols. 

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Morgan  (Lewis  H. ),  The  American  Beaver  and  his  Works.    Philadelphia,  1878. 

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Murdock  (D.  C),  Our  True  Title  to  Oregon.     Georgetown,  1845. 

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ti^^ 


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xxviii 


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.1 


h  i 


Newhouse  (S.),  The  Trapper's  Guide.  WaUingford,  1865;  Wallingford,  1867: 
New  York,  1869. 

New  York,  Tribune,  New  York  Historical  Magazine. 

Nicolay  (C.  G.),  The  Oregon  Territory.     London,  1846. 

Nidever  (George),  Life  and  Adventures  of  an  Old  Trapper.     MS. 

Niel  (Juan  Ainando),  Apuntaeiones  &  las  raemorias  de  Ger6nimo  de  Zdrate 
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Niles  (John  M.),  Speech  in  U.  S.  Sen.,  March  19,  1846,  on  Oi-«j{jop  ijuestion. 
Washington,  1846. 

Niles' Register.     Baltimore,  etc.,  1811-49.  76  vols. 

Niza,  Descubrimiento  de  laa  Siete  Ciudad.es. 

Nootka,  Acuerdo  6  convenio  entre  Espafia  e  Inglaterra  i/im  la  ejecucion  del 
articulo  1°  de  la  convencion  de  28  de  Oct.  de  1790.  In  Calvo,  Becueil,  iii 
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North  American  Review.    Boston,  1819  et  seq. 

Northern  Passage,  Summary,  Observations  and  Facts  to  Show  the  Practica- 
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Northwest  Coast  of  America,  Reports  of  Special  Committee  of  Congress,  1826. 
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Northwest  Company,  Narrative  of  Occurrences  in  the  North  West  Country. 
London,  1817. 

Northwest  Passage,  The  Impracticability  of  a.     London,  1824. 

Norton  (Harry  I.),  Wonder-land,  or  Horseback  Rides  through  the  Yellow- 
stone.   Virginia,  1873. 

Nouvellea  Annafes  des  Voyages.     Paris,  1819-60.  168  vols. 

Ogden  (Peter  Skeen),  and  James  Douglas,  Letter  respecting  Coal  in  Van- 
couver's Island.     In  Martins'  H.  B.,  37. 

Ogilby  (John),  America.     London,  1671. 

Ofynipia,  Commercial  Age,  Echo,  Pacific  Tribune,  Pioneer  and  Democrat, 
Transcript,  Washington  Standard. 

Oregon,  Mr  A.  V.  Brown's  report  from  the  Committee  of  Territories.  [28th 
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1817.     MS. 

Wilkes  (Charles),  Narrative  of  the  U.  S.  Exploring  Expedition.  Philadelphia, 
1844.  4to.  3  vols.;  Philadelphia,  1845.  5  vols.;  London,  1845. 

Wilkes  (George),  History  of  Oregon.     New  York,  1845. 

VVillson  (Marcius),  American  History.     Cincinnati,  1847. 

Winterbotham  (W.),  An  Historical,  Geographical,  Commercial,  and  Philo- 
sophical View  of  the  American  United  States.     London,  1795.  4  vols. 

Winthrop,  Speech  in  U.  S.  H.  of  Rep.,  Feb.  1,  1845,  and  Jan.  3,  1846,  on 
the  Oregon  Question.     Washington,  1845,  1846. 

Work  (John),  Journal  1824.     MS. 

Wyeth  (John  B.),  Oregon;  or  a  Short  History  of  a  Long  Journey  from  Atlan- 
tic to  Pacific.    Cambridge,  1833. 

Wytfliet  (Corn.).  Descriptionis  PtolemaicteAugmen turn.  Lovanii,  1597;  Hia- 
toire  universelle  des  Indes  Occidentales.     Douay,  1607. 


11       : 


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THE   NOETHWEST  COAST. 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTORY  TO  NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION. 

P&UfABT  SlONIFlCANCE — THB    SUBJECT    IN   ITS  WlDEST    ScOPE — ThE   HoMB 

OF  Mystery — Historic  and  Mythic  Interest — The  Conjectural  and 
THE  Real — Oriuin  of  the  Strait  Myth  and  of  the  Northkrk 
Mystery — West  Coast  Thfories— State  of  Geographical  Knowx- 
edge  in   1550 — In  the  South-east — North-east,  Explorations  iiy 

THE   CaBOTS   and    CoRTEREALS,    BY  AlLLON,  VerRAZANC,    GoMEZ,   CaR- 

tier — In  the  South-west,  by  Balboa,  Espinosa,  Davila,  Coutes, 
Alarcon,  Ulloa,  Cabrillo — Inland  Wanderinos  by  Cartier,  Soto, 
Cabeza  de  Vaca,  Guzman,  Niza,  and  Coronado — 1550  to  1000,  Fro- 

BISHEK,    RiBAULT,    MeNENDEZ,    RaL-SIGH  —  NeW    MEXICAN   EnTRADAS — 

Ubdaneta,  Drake,  Gau,  CebmeSon — 1600  to  1650,  Vizcaino,  OSate — 
Canadian  FuR-HrNTEBS  and  Jesuits — Hudson  and  Baffin— 1050  to 
1700,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Marquette,  La  Salle,  and  Tadri? 
Kino — 1700  to  1750,  Phiiippine  Galleons — English  Freebooters-, 
VArendbye  to  the  Rockv  Mountains— Arctic  Discoveries— 1750 
TO  1800,  Hearne  and  Mackenzie— Escalante  in  Utah— Occiipation 
OF  Caufobnia — Russian  Discoveries. 

"Every  age,  as  presented  to  us  by  history,  displays 
some  features  better  and  some  worse  than  the  cor- 
responding characteristics  of  our  own  age.  There  are 
so-called  golden  a,ges,  in  which  honor  is  besmeared  with 
vices  such  as  times  were  never  cursed  with  before; 
and  there  are  brass  ages  and  iron  ages,  in  which  there  is 
truth  and  heroism,  if  not  so  many  of  the  comely  and 
sweet  humanities  of  life.    Human  progress  is  like  the 

Voi.1.    X  f       p 


•a 


2  NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION. 

•waters  of  ocean,  ever  circulating  between  e  luator  and 
poles,  seeking  equilibrium  of  temperature  and  a  level, 
seeking  rest  and  finding  none. 

A  dominant  feature  in  Northwest  Coast  discovery 
and  exploration  is  royal  mendacity.  Maritime  lying 
reaches  the  cUmax,  and  borders  on  the  heroic.  Enough 
is  known  of  climates  and  configurations  to  form  bases 
for  endless  imaginings,  and  not  enough  in  certain 
quarters  to  render  detection  likely;  the  Ustener's 
mind  once  made  up  to  overlook  the  audacious  in- 
difference to  truth  on  the  part  of  navigators,  and  he 
will  find  their  tales  not  always  unpleasing. 

The  term  Northwest  Coast,  as  defined  for  the  pur- 
pose of  this  history,  includes  the  territory  known  in 
later  times  aa  Oregon,  Washington,  and  British  Co- 
lumbia. Exploration  naturally  occupies  the  first  place 
in  its  annals;  and  the  earliest  exploration  here,  as  in 
most  parts  of  the  New  World,  is  maritime.  The  his- 
torian s  first  task  is  to  present,  in  chronologic  order, 
the  successive  voyages  by  which  the  coast  of  the 
western  ocean  from  latitude  forty-two  to  fifty-four 
north  became  known  to  Europeans,  and  on  which 
were  founded  divers  claims,  more  or  less  conflicting, 
of  national  ownership.  Later  we  will  observe  inland 
travellers,  and  follow  them  amidst  their  wanderings 
over  the  mighty  western  slope,  and  as  far  north  as  the 
Frozen  Sea.  In  its  narrowest  limits  the  subject  first 
presents  itself  in  the  form  of  the  geogrj»-;^hical  ex- 
ploration of  an  unknown  seaboard  some  .^vren  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  in  extent. 

But  it  has  a  broader  scope.  Just  as  Prince  Henry's 
southward  gropings  along  the  African  coast  acquire 
their  chief  interest  and  importance  as  part  of  a  grand 
scheme  of  doubling  the  cape  and  opening  a  way  by 
sea  to  India;  as  the  first  discoveries  of  Columbus  in 
the  far  west  are  fascinating,  not  only  in  bringing  to 
light  the  position,  outline,  and  products  of  certain 
islands,  but  in  the  idea  of  the  great  explorer's  fancied 


MANIFOLD  WONDERS. 


r  and 
level, 

avery 

lying 

lOUgh 

bases 

ertain 

ener's 

us  in- 

nd  be 


le  pur- 
3wn  in 
sb  Co- 
,t  place 
3,  as  in 
be  bis- 
!  order, 
I  of  the 
'ty-four 
wbicb 
flicting, 
)  inland 
derings 
bastbe 
ect  first 
ical  ex- 
en  bun- 
Henry's 
acquire 
a  grand 
way  by 
mbus  in 
nging  to 
certain 
fancied 


approach  to  the  realms  of  the  Grand  Khan,  and  in  the 
real  but  unsuspected  nearness  of  a  new  continent ;  as 
the  Isthmian  coastings  and  plunderings,  a  long  chapter 
of  outrage  and  disaster,  are  linked  in  the  reader's  mind 
with  Balboa's  grand  discovery  of  a  new  ocean,  and 
with  the  rich  provinces  located  by  Spanish  imagina- 
tion on  its  shores;  as  Portuguese  progress,  step  by 
step  down  the  Brazilian  coast,  was  but  a  prelude  to 
Magellan's  voyages  into  the  Pacific  and  round  the 
world;  as  Ponce  de  Leon's  name  suggests  not  the 
marshes  of  Florida  so  much  as  the  fountain  of  youth; 
as  the  ploddings  of  Cortds  on  and  about  the  sterile 
Californian  Peninsula  were  but  commonplace  achieve- 
ments for  the  conqueror  of  Mexico  compared  with 
what  he  hoped  to  achieve  and  what  he  sought,  the 
isles  of  pearls  and  spices  and  Amazons,  the  estrecho, 
and  the  route  to  India;  and  as  New  Mexican  Pueblo 
town  realities,  wonderful  as  they  are,  pale  into  in- 
significance before  the  imaginary  splendors  of  the 
cities  that  Cabeza  de  Vaca  heard  of,  the  Cibola  that 
Mdrcos  de  Niza  visited,  and  the  Quivira  built  up  like 
.m  air  castle  on  Coronado's  modest  picture  of  a  wig- 
wam town  on  the  northern  plains — so  this  northern 
coast  of  the  Oregon  must  ever  be  less  famous  histori- 
cally for  what  was  found  tnere  and  for  the  adventures 
of  those  who  found  it,  than  for  what  was  sought  in 
vain,  and  what  ought  by  current  cosmography  to  have 
been  found.  Here  opened  into  the  broad  Pacific  the 
strait  of  Anian,  by  which  ships,  when  once  the  en- 
trance on  either  side  was  found,  might  sail  without 
hinderance  from  ocean  to  ocean.  Here,  on  either  side 
the  strait,  jnauifold  wonders  and  mysteries  had  their 
inaccesf^ible  seat  for  more  than  two  centuries. 

Here,  at  and  about  an  island  standing  opposite  the 
entrance  of  a  strait  that  lacked  only  lenfjth  to  afford 
the  desired  interoceanic  communication,  Russian  ex- 
plorers i.amc  down  from  the  farther  north  and  met 
bpanish  explorers  from  the  south,  while  others,  Enghsh 
and  American,  intruded  themselves  und  gained  for 


NORTHWEST  COAST   "XPLORATION. 


their  respective  nations  permanent  possessions  between 
those  of  Spain  and  Russia.  Much  historic  interest 
attaches  therefore  to  this  portion  of  the  western  sea- 
board in  comparison  with  other  parts,  independently 
of  the  mythic  elements  in  the  Northern  Mystery 
which  centres  here,  and  of  the  fa  icI  citions  naturally 
attaching  to  the  discovery  of  oew  "^ions.  I  have 
to  follow,  then,  the  navigators  cl'  icu.r  nations  whose 
vessels  entered  the  waters  of  the  northern  Pacific 
States;  and  besides  to  make  the  reader  familiar  with 
voyages  in  the  same  direction  preceding  and  leading 
to  actual  discovery.  Moreover,  since  conjecture  is  to 
be  recorded  no  less  than  the  known,  theory  preceding 
and  overshadowing  knowledge,  I  have  to  note  the 
rumors  on  which  theories  were  made  to  rest,  also  many 
voyages  which  were  never  made,  but  only  described 
by  imaginative  navigators.  And  finally,  the  mythical 
strait  had  an  opening  on  the  Atlantic  as  well  as  on 
the  Pacific,  else  it  were  not  worth  searchitifi  for  and 
theorizing  about;  and  the  eastern  no  les  tliin  the 
western  outlet  was  sought  for  diligently  u\  vyages 
which  therefore  become  part  of  the  mat  3i  lod  rr  con- 
sideration. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  topic  of  north-Wt*.i.  >:  li  ex- 
ploration in  its  broadest  scope,  and  with  all  its  prece- 
dent connections,  might  properly  enough  be  made  to 
fill  a  volume.  There  are  circumstances,  however, 
which  will  enable  me  to  restrict  an  exhaustive  pre- 
sentation of  the  subject  within  comparatively  narrow 
limits.  Chief  among  these  circumsta^  ses  is  the  fact 
that  the  exploration  of  regions  sou'  •  •?  the  forty- 
second  parallel,  both  by  sea  and  lana,  .  '  honn  fully 
recorded  in  every  desirable  detail  in  tun  preceding 
volumes  of  this  series;  while  like  particulars  of  explo- 
rations in  the  est  a  nie  noi  tb,  less  essential  to  the  pres- 
ent purpose,  wiii  be  giv.  >  'i  a  later  volume  on  Alaska. 
Theretbre  brie)  and  summary  allusion  to  matters 
with  which  the  reader  in  familiar  will  often  suffice, 
where  otherwise  more  minute  treatment  would  be  re- 


yi 
'3-- 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY. 


wsen 

ierest 

1  sea- 

[ently 

'■stery 

iirally 
have 

w^hose 

i*acific 

r  with 

jading 

e  is  to 

ceding 

be  the 

►  many 

scribed 

vthical 

I  as  on 

k^r  and 

•rJi  the 
yages 
T  con- 

ex- 
prece- 
lade  to 
)wever, 
ve  pre- 
narrow 
le  fact 
forty- 

fully 

ceding 
explo- 
le  pres- 
Maska. 
natters 
suffice, 
be  re- 


quired. Repetition  there  must  be  in  some  phases  of 
the  subject,  but  only  in  those  bearing  directly  on  the 
general  result.  Again,  I  believe  that  in  the  case  of 
fictitious  voyages  and  groundless  theories,  respect- 
ing: whose  character  modern  knowledge  leaves  no 
possible  doubt,  most  of  the  circumstantial  evidence 
which  fills  the  pages  of  earlier  writers  for  or  against 
their  authenticity  and  soundness  may  now  be  wisely 
omitted.  Detailed  description  may  also  profitably 
give  way  to  general  statement  in  presenting  expedi- 
tions to  the  northern  Atlantic  coasts  in  the  vain 
search  for  a  passage  leading  to  the  Pacific.  As  in 
other  parts  of  this  series,  detailed  information  con- 
cerning the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  regions 
explored  is  of  course  omitted  from  the  annals  of 
exploration,  for  that  has  been  presented  much  more 
completely  than  would  be  possible  here  in  the  NoXive 
Races  of  the  Pacific  States. 

It  is  well  at  the  outset  to  state  clearly,  even  though 
it  involves  repetition,  the  origin  of  the  cosmographic 
mysteries  in  which  the  northern  parts  of  America 
were  so  long  shrouded ;  for  they  dia  not  result  wholly 
from  the  fact  that  those  regions  were  the  last  to  be 
explored.  The  Northern  Mystery  was  a  western  mys- 
tery at  first,  if,  indeed,  a  mystery  at  all.  Columbus 
set  out  from  Spain  with  the  expectation  that  by  fol- 
lowing a  westerly  course  across  the  great  ocean  he 
would  reach  the  Aeiatic  coast  and  islands  described 
by  Polo  and  Mandeville.  By  a  fortunate  under- 
estimate of  the  distance  to  be  traversed,  the  islands 
and  coast  were  found  to  agree  substantially  in  posi- 
tion and  trend  with  the  current  charts  and  descrip- 
tions. The  navigator's  theories,  agreeing  in  the  main 
with  the  theories  of  his  contemporaries  and  prede- 
cessors, were  verified ;  the  enterprise  was  successful ; 
and  all  that  remained  to  be  done  was  to  follow  the 
Asiatic  coast  south-westward  to  the  rich  provinces 
of  India.     This  task  presented   no   difficulties;    but 


k 


k. 


6  NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION". 

before  circumstances  permitted  it  to  be  executed  a 
new  land  was  found  in  the  south,  not  laid  down  in  the 
old  charts,  and  too  far  east  to  be  part  of  the  Asiatic 
main.  The  conclusion  was  immediate  and  natural; 
the  new  land  was  simply  a  large  island,  separate  but 
not  very  far  distant  from  the  main,  and  not  known  to 
Marco  Polo  and  the  rest.  The  new  discovery,  how- 
ever, offered  no  obstacle  to  the  old  theories  or  to  the 
proposed  voyage  to  India;  yet  in  coasting  south- 
westward  the  Spaniards  would  have  to  pass  between 
the  continent  and  the  island.  This  passage  must  be 
a  strait;  and  this  was  indeed  'the  strait,' although 
in  its  earliest  stage  of  development  not  a  passage 
through  a  continent,  but  between  Asia  and  an  off- 
lying  island. 

But  as  time  passed  and  explorers  converged  from 
the  north  and  south  they  could  find  no  strait,  only 
land.  This  was  an  obstacle  indeed.  True,  the  passage 
being  narrow  might  yet  exist,  having  eluded  inade- 
quate search;  otherwise  geographical  theories  must 
be  somewhat  reconstructed,  the  old  charts  and  de- 
scriptions being  in  error.  The  correction,  though  in- 
terposing serious  difficulties  in  the  direct  navigation 
to  India,  was  one  that  readily  suggested  itself  The 
latitudes  of  the  old  writers  were  not  very  definite, 
and  their  knowledge  of  the  regions  farthest  north  was 
necessarily  vague ;  apparently,  then,  unless  the  strait 
could  yet  be  found,  the  new  land — really  South 
America — instead  of  being  a  detached  island  off  the 
coast  of  Asia,  must  be  a  south-western  projection  of 
that  coast  from  a  point  farther  north  than  any  known 
to  the  geographers.  As  the  years  passed  on  and  no 
strait  was  found ;  as  successive  voyages  developed  the 
great  extent  of  the  southern  projection;  as  the  Isth- 
mian explorers  brought  to  light  the  South  Sea  shores; 
as  the  great  Portuguese  navigator  crossed  the  Pacific 
and  made  known  the  immense  stretch  of  waters  sepa- 
rating the  new  lands  ^  Dm  India;  as  Cortds  and  his 
men  revealed  the  fact  that  Mexico  also  had  its  western 


DECLINE  OF  SPANISH  EFFORT.  7 

coast — the  last  conjecture  became  conviction  and 
reality.  More  than  this,  it  became  evident  that  not 
only  was  the  New  World  a  projection  of  the  Asiatic 
main,  but  that  all  the  new  discoveries  belonged  to  this 
New  World  projection,  and  that  all  the  islands  and 
main  land  of  Columbus  and  the  rest,  were  very  far 
from  the  India  which  had  been  imagined  so  near. 
Yet  there  remained  but  little  doubt  that  all  was  part 
of  Asia,  a  projection  still,  though  an  immense  one, 
from  a  region  farther  north.  And  the  idea  that  there 
ought  to  be  a  strait  somewhere  had  become  too 
firmly  rooted  to  be  abandoned.  There  were  those 
who  thought  the  strait  might  yet  with  closer  search 
be  found  in  southern  regions;  most  believed  it  would 
be  found  in  the  north  just  beyond  the  limit  of  explora- 
tion; while  others,  resolved  to  be  fully  abreast  of 
future  revelations,  placed  several  straits  at  convenient 
intervals  on  their  maps. 

Now  the  current  idea  among  the  most  competent 
men  of  the  time  was  for  the  most  part  accurate  and 
well  founded.  All  that  remained  to  be  done  was  to 
follow  the  western  coast,  at  first  north,  then  west, 
and  finally  south,  to  India,  finding  the  strait  on  the 
way  if  any  existed.  The  only  error  was  in  vastly 
underestimating  the  length  of  the  route.  It  was 
not  long,  however,  before  exploration  was  pushed 
beyond  the  fortieth  parallel.  Meanwhile  Spanish 
energy  in  exploration  and  conquest  had  greatly  de- 
clined, though  Spain's  commercial  interests  in  South 
Sea  waters,  over  which  she  claimed  to  exercise  ex- 
clusive dominion,  had  assumed  immense  importance. 
Spain  had  no  strong  desire  for  territorial  possessions 
in  the  far  north  after  the  geographical  relations  of 
that  region  to  India  had  become  better  known ;  and 
it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  discovery  of  the 
strait  would  be  no  benefit  but  a  positive  disadvantage 
and  menace  to  Spain.  Nevertheless  it  was  important, 
and  even  more  urgent  than  before,  to  find  the  strait — 
not  as  a  shorter  route  to  the  Spice  Islands,  but  that, 


w 


8  NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION. 

in  possession  of  Spain,  it  might  be  closed  to  the  navi- 
gators of  other  nations.  For  the  foreigners  were 
dihgently  seeking  it ;  there  were  even  current  reports 
that  they  had  found  it,  conceahng  the  fact;  and  the 
ravages  of  freebooters  in  South  Sea  waters  caused  no 
little  anxiety  on  the  b abject. 

Meanwhile  theorizing  went  on,  supplemented  by 
exaggeration  and  falsehood.  Each  navigator  to  the 
north,  on  either  ocean,  brought  back  information  true 
or  false  which  served  as  fuel  to  the  flame.  The  strait 
undoubtedly  existed;  each  indentation  on  either  shore 
must  be  regarded  as  its  entrance  till  the  contrary 
was  proved;  and  that  being  proved,  the  indentation 
next  north  must  be  the  right  one.  "  It  were  a  pity," 
thought  the  navigator  when  at  or  near  a  gulf,  bay, 
or  river  he  was  prevented  by  storms,  scurvy,  or  other 
untoward  circumstances  from  sailing  through  to  the 
Pacific  or  to  the  Atlantic,  "it  were  a  pity  that  another 
should  immortalize  himself  by  the  rediscovery  of  what 
I  have  found;"  and  forthwith  he  proceeded  to  protect 
his  glory  by  an  explicit  description  of  what  he  had 
been  on  the  point  of  seeing.  Others  required  no 
actual  voyage  as  a  foundation  for  their  falsehoods, 
but  boldly  claimed  to  have  navigated  the  strait  from 
ocean  to  ocean;  and  few  interested  in  the  subject  but 
could  find  a  sailor  who  had  accomplished  one  of  these 
interoceanic  expeditions,  or  at  least  knew  another  who 
had  done  so.  And  the  fables  current  did  not  relate 
wholly  to  the  mere  existence  of  the  strait,  but  ex- 
tended to  the  wonders  bordering  it  on  either  side. 
Travellers  by  sea  and  land  brought  back  tales  of  great 
cities  and  rich  provinces,  always  farther  north  than 
the  region  they  had  visited.  The  natives  caught  the 
spirit  of  the  times,  and  became  adroit  in  inventing 
northern  marvels  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
strangers.  There  is  much  reason  to  believe  that  the 
famous  and  fabulous  tradition  of  an  aboriginal  migra- 
tion of  Toltec  and  Aztec  tribes  from  a  northern  centre 
of  civilization  had  no  other  origin. 


THE  STRAIT  OF  ANIAN.  0 

Thoro  were  those  who  sought  to  utilize  the  Northern 
IMj'stery  for  the  advancement  of  their  own  interests 
and  schemes.  Conquistadores  were  not  wanting  who 
stood  prepared  to  duphcate  in  the  far  north  the 
achievements  of  Hernan  Cortds;  friars  doubted  not 
that  there  awaited  the  reaping  a  great  harvest  of 
northern  souls;  and  explorers  were  ready  to  make  new 
expeditions  at  the  royai  cost.  There  was  a  constant 
stream  of  memorials  oii  the  importance  of  northern 
occupation;  and  the  writers  never  failed  to  make  the 
most  of  current  rumors.  Yet  for  all  the  real  and  imagi- 
nary urgency  of  the  matter,  and  the  pressure  brought 
to  bear  on  the  throne,  so  occupied  were  the  Spanish 
rulers  with  other  alSfairs,  or  so  completely  had  died  out 
the  adventurous  spirit  of  old,  and  so  unproductive 
were  the  few  weak  efforts  made,  that  for  two  centu- 
ries little  or  nothing  was  accomplished.  Then,  late 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  in  the  time  of  Cdrlos  III., 
there  was  a  revival  of  exploring  energy.  All  the  old 
motives  were  yet  potent;  and  a  new  cause  of  alarm 
appeared,  the  fear  of  Russian  encroachment  from  the 
north-west.  A  series  of  voyages  was  undertaken  and 
carried  out  by  Spain;  English  and  American  explorers 
made  their  appearance  on  the  coast;  the  Russians 
were  there  already;  and  soon  but  little  of  mystery 
was  left.  No  strait  of  Anian  was  found.  There  were 
none  of  the  marvellous  things  that  had  been  so  freely 
attributed  to  the  latitudes  between  40°  and  60°;  but 
there  was  a  wealth  of  furs  for  those  inclined  to  ad- 
venturous commerce,  and  there  was  a  territory  of 
sufficient  value  to  inspire  some  petty  national  quar- 
rels. These  discoveries,  and  others  of  about  the  same 
date  in  the  northern  Atlantic,  practically  put  an  end 
to  the  Northern  Mystery  so  far  as  it  related  to  a  navi- 
gable channel  in  moderately  temperate  latitudes,  as 
located  by  the  navigators  who  had  sailed  through  the 
continent  from  ocean  to  ocean;  though  many  years 
had  yet  to  pass  before  belief  in  the  old  narratives  and 
theories  could  be  eradicated. 


10 


NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPIX)RATION. 


!  ill 


And  after  all,  the  Northern  Mystery  was  still  a 
potent  incentive  to  maritime  endeavor.  It  merely 
took  another  step  northward,  as  it  had  often  done 
before.  In  Arctic  regions  the  strait  separating  Asia 
from  America  was  stUl  sought  as  diligently  as  ever; 
and  after  many  years  it  was  found.  One  man  has 
sailed  through  it,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
after  the  loss  of  hundreds  of  lives  in  vain  efforts.  And 
yet  one  more  retreat  has  the  mystery — in  the  famous 
'open  sea'  at  the  north  pole,  where  it  even  yet  eludes 
the  pursuit  in  which  brave  men  are  still  losing  their 
lives.  Driven  from  the  north  pole,  whither  will  the 
phantom  betake  itself?  I  do  not  know.  Judging  from 
the  past,  this  is  the  only  mystery  about  the  matter 
not  likely  to  be  explained  in  the  near  future. 

After  this  preliminary  sketch  of  the  whole  subject, 
let  us  glance  at  the  exact  condition  of  North  Ameri- 
can exploration  in  1550.  All  the  material  needed 
for  the  purpose  is  contained  in  the  'Summary  of  geo- 
graphical knowledge  and  discovery  from  the  earliest 
records  to  the  year  1540,'  published  in  the  first  volume 
of  my  History  of  Central  America ,  supplemented  in 
later  volumes  of  this  series  by  more  detailed  accounts 
of  such  voyages  as  directly  concern  the  Pacific  States 
territory.  Between  1492  and  1550  European  navi- 
gators, with  those  of  Spain  far  in  the  lead,  had  dis- 
covered a  New  World,  and  had  explored  its  coast  line 
for  some  thirty  thousand  miles,  from  60°  on  the  At- 
lantic coast  of  Labrador  round  by  Magellan  Strait  to 
above  40°  on  the  Pacific.  It  was  a  grand  achievement, 
unparalleled  in  the  past  and  never  to  be  equalled  in 
the  future. 

On  the  Atlantic  side,  from  Darien  to  Florida,  the 
coast  and  islands  had  been  visited  by  Columbus  in 
his  voyages  of  1492,  1493-5,  and  1502;  by  Bastidas 
in  1501;  by  Cosa  and  Ojeda  in  1504-5;  by  Pinzon 
and  Diaz  in  150P:  by  Ojeda,  Nicuesa,  and  other 
would-be  rulers  c.  mainland  colonies  since  1509;  by 


EARLIEST  DISCOVERIES. 


11 


still  a 
merely 
n  done 
ig  Asia 
IS  ever; 
aan  has 
Pacific, 
s.    And 

famous 
t  eludes 
Qg  their 
will  the 
ing  from 
)  matter 


!  subject, 
1  Ameri- 
l  needed 
f  of  geo- 
3  earliest 
it  volume 
ented  in 
accounts 
ic  States 
an  navi- 
had  dis- 
coast  line 
the  At- 
Strait  to 
ievement, 
ualled  in 

orida,  the 
umbus  in 

Bastidas 
y  Pinzon 
nd   other 

1509;  by 


Ponce  de  Leon  in  1512  and  1521;  by  Valdivia  in 
1512;  by  Mirnelo  in  1516;  by  Cordoba  and  Grijalva 
in  1517-18;  by  Cortds,  Pineda,  Garay,  and  Alaminos 
in  1519;  by  Garay  in  1523;  by  Olid  in  1524;  by  Mon- 
tejo  in  1527;  by  Pdnfilo  de  Narvaez  in  1528-34;  by 
Soto  in  1538-43;  and  by  many  other  navigators  who 
surveyed  only  such  parts  of  the  coast  as  had  been 
already  discovered. 

Farther  north  on  the  Atlantic,  from  Florida  to 
Labrador,  the  exploration  was  less  thorough,  but  it 
covered  in  a  measure  the  whole  coast.  In  1497  John 
Cabot,  from  England,  probably  reached  Labrador 
between  56"  and  58°,  and  coasted  northward  some 
hundreds  of  leagues.  That  land  existed,  and  of  great 
extent,  in  that  direction  was  the  only  geographical 
fact  developed  by  the  voyage.  In  1498  Sebastian 
Cabot  made  a  similar  voyage,  in  which  he  coasted 
from  Labrador  northward  possibly  to  67°  30',  and 
then  southward  to  the  gulf  of  St  Lawrence,  and 
perhaps  to  Cape  Ilatteras.  There  is  no  reason  to 
question  the  fact  that  these  voyages  of  the  Cabots 
were  made  as  claimed;  but  the  records  are  vague,  and 
nothing  is  known  of  the  cosm ©graphical  motives  or  the 
results.  The  Cortereals,  Gaspar  and  Miguel,  made 
three  voyages  for  Portugal  in  1500-2,  in  which  they 
followed  the  coast  from  Newfoundland  far  to  the 
north,  perhaps  to  Greenland.  Both  brothers  were 
lost;  and  of  disco  eries  made  during  the  last  expedi- 
tion nothing  is  known.  The  Cortereals  gave  names 
to  Newfoundland  and  Labrador,  as  depicted  on  maps 
of  the  time;  they  also  left  several  local  names.  No 
contemporary  narrative  of  the  discoveries  of  either 
the  Cabots  or  Cortereals  is  extant.  The  Portuguese 
fishermen  are  supposed  to  have  continued  their  trips 
to  Labrador  and  Newfoundland — Bacalaos,  land  of 
codfish — but  no  geographical  results  are  known;  and 
the  same  may  be  said  of  the  voyages  of  the  Bretons 
and  Normans,  including  those  of  Denys  in  1506  and 
Aubert  in  1508,  the  former  of  whom  is  said  to  have 


, 


12 


NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION. 


explored  the  gulf  of  St  Lawrence.  In  1520  Vazquez 
de  Aillon  sent  out  an  expedition  from  Espanola  under 
Jordan,  who  reached  a  country  called  by  him  Chicora, 
on  the  present  Carolina  coast.  In  1524  Giovanni 
Verrazano,  for  France,  reached  the  coast  not  far  from 
Jordan's  Chicora,  sailed  southward  some  fifty  leagues, 
and  then  northward  to  Newfoundland.  He  was  thus 
the  first  to  explore  a  large  portion  of  the  United 
States  shore-line.  Estdvan  Gomez  perhaps  completed 
that  line  in  1525,  when  seeking  in  behalf  of  Spain  a 
strait  between  Newfoundland  and  Florida.  Aillon  in 
1526  also  sought  the  strait  from  Chicora  southward, 
making  at  the  same  time  a  vain  effort  at  colonization. 
In  1527  John  Rut,  an  English  navigator,  is  said  to 
have  followed  the  coast  from  53°  down  to  Chicora. 
Jacques  Cartier  for  France  made  three  expeditions,  in 
1534,  1535-6,  and  1541-2.  Incited  by  Verrazano's 
narrative  and  charts,  his  main  object  was  to  find  a 
passage  to  the  South  Sea  and  Spice  Islands.  He  did 
not  find  the  strait,  but  he  effected  a  very  complete 
survey  of  the  gulf  and  river  of  St  Lawrence,  New- 
foundland, and  all  the  surrounding  complication  of 
islands  and  channels.  From  Cartier's  time  the  names 
of  Nouvelle  France,  Canada,  Newfoundland,  St  Law- 
rence, Montreal,  and  many  others  still  in  use  became 
current,  some  of  them  having  been  applied  before. 
French  and  other  fishermen  had  long  frequented  these 
waters;  and  maps  of  the  time  show  many  details  not 
to  be  found  in  any  narrative.  The  French  possessions 
included  all  territory  above  latitude  40°.  In  connec- 
tion with  Cartier's  last  voyage,  a  settlement  was  made 
near  Quebec  under  Roberval  as  viceroy  of  Canada, 
Labrador,  and  the  rest;  but  it  was  abandoned  in  1543. 
And  finally  one  Master  Hore,  an  Englishman,  has 
left  on  record  a  voyage  to  Newfoundland  made  in 
1536.  This  completes  the  list  down  to  the  middle  of 
the  century.  For  the  purpose  in  view  we  may  regard 
the  Atlantic  coast  as  fully  explored  from  Darien  to 
Hudson  Strait  in  latitude  60°. 


PROGRESS  SOUTmVi^D. 


18 


We  now  turn  southward,  and  with  Vasco  Nunez 
de  Balboa  cross  to  the  South  Sea  in  1513.  His 
grand  discovery  made,  he  soon  built  certain  vessels, 
in  which  the  Isthmian  coasts  and  islands  were  ex- 
plored. And  with  these  vessels  in  1519  Gaspar  de 
Espinosa  pushed  the  exploration  to  the  Costa  Rican 

fulf  of  Nicoya,  in  10°,  visited  already  in  1517  by 
lurtado  in  canoes.  In  1522  Gil  Gonzalez  Dilvila, 
on  other  craft  transported  across  the  Isthmus,  sailed 
again  to  Nicoya,  and  by  land  went  on  to  Nicaragua, 
while  Andres  Niiio  continued  his  voyage  by  sea 
at  least  to  the  gulf  of  Fonseca,  in  latitude  13°, 
and  probably  farther — even  to  Soconusco  or  Tohuan- 
tepec,  if  we  may  credit  the  distances  given  by  the 
chroniclers.  Meanwhile  Hernan  Cortes,  after  con- 
quering for  Spain  the  Mexican  table-land  of  Anilhuac, 
had  through  Spanish  agents  discovered  the  western 
coast  at  three  different  points,  thus  determining  its 
general  trend,  and  adding  from  two  to  five  degrees  to 
knowledge  of  its  extent.  All  this  before  the  end  of 
1522.  The  points  were  Tehuantepec,  in  16°,  whence 
the  native  chiefs  sent  their  allegiance;  Tututepec,  in 
about  the  same  latitude,  but  one  hundred  miles  farther 
west,  occupied  by  Pedro  de  A.lvarado;  and  Zacatula, 
in  18°,  where  Cortds  simuli  "c  msly  began  to  found 
a  settlement,  and  constructed  vessels  for  northern 
exploration.  After  long  and  vexatious  delays,  with 
which  we  are  not  at  present  concerned,  the  new 
vessels  were  completed  in  1526,  and  another  from 
the  strait  of  Magellan,  under  Guevara,  arrived  at 
Tehuantepec,  and  was  brought  to  Zacatula.  This  fleet 
was  ordered  to  the  Moluccas  in  such  haste  that  it 
could  not  take  the  proposed  route  along  the  northern 
coasts,  but  sailed  direct  for  India  in  1527;  not,  how- 
ever, until  three  of  the  vessels  had  made  a  trial  trip 
to  the  port  of  Santiago,  in  Colima,  a  port  already  dis- 
covered by  Francisco  Cortds'  land  expedition  three 
years  before.  The  coast  now  lay  disclosed  from  Panamd. 
to  Colima.    Five  years  elapsed  before  Cortds  was  able 


\mjBSSilU2 


U 


NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION. 


to  accomplish  anything  on  the  northern  coasts.  The 
expeditions  sent  out  by  him  were  as  follows:  In  1532 
Hurtado  de  Mendoza  reached  the  Sinaloa  coast,  and 
killed  at  the  Rio  Fuerte,  while   his  associate 


was 


Vr 

u 


Mazuela  returned  with  one  of  the  vessels  to  Banderas 
Bay,  in  Jalisco.  In  1533  were  made  the  voyages  of 
Becerra,  Grijalva,  and  Jimenez,  in  which  the  latter 
discovered  the  southern  part  of  the  Califomian  Penin- 
sula, supposed  to  be  an  island.  Beyond  the  revelation 
of  this  new  land  the  expeditioi  and  that  of  Cortds 
himself  in  1535-6,  added  no^  "to  north-western 
geography.    Finally  Ulloa  wf  '  out  in  1539;  and 

he  not  only  explored  the  gulf  to  its  head  on  both  sides, 
but  doubled  the  cape  and  pushed  the  exploration  on 
the  main  coast  to  Cedros  Island,  in  29°.  The  viceroy 
Mendoza  now  succeeded  the  conqueror  as  patron  of 
exploration,  and  despatched  two  expeditions  by  water. 
The  first  was  that  of  Alarcon,  in  1540,  in  which  he 
reached  the  head  of  the  gulf  and  explored  the  mouth 
of  the  Colorado.  The  other  was  under  the  command 
of  Cabrillo,  who  in  1542-3  reached,  as  he  thought, 
the  latitude  of  44°,  determining  the  general  trend  of 
the  coast,  though  not  landing  above  Point  Concepcion, 
in  34°.  No  more  attempts  were  made  in  this  direction 
before  1550. 

Meanwhile  maritime  exploration  had  been  sup- 
plemented to  some  extent  by  land  expeditions  and 
settlement,  which,  contributing  materially  to  current 
knowledge  of  the  continent,  must  be  noticed  here.  In 
the  north-eastern  section,  from  Texas  to  Labrador,  there 
was  nothing  that  could  be  called  settlement,  though 
the  regions  about  Newfoundland  were  frequented  by 
French  and  Portuguese  fishermen,  and  a  French  fort 
had  been  maintained  near  Quebec  for  a  year  or  two, 
till  1543.  lu  the  far  north  the  only  penetration  into 
the  continent  was  that  of  1536-42,  by  Cartier,  who 
went  up  the  St  Lawrence  gulf  and  river  nearly  five 
hundred  miles,  past  the  site  of  Montreal  and  to  the 
falls  of  St  Louis.     Southward,  only  the  coast  outhne 


INTERIOR  EXPEDITIONS. 


18 


was  known  to  Florida,  where  we  have  the  inland 
wanderings  of  Hernando  de  Soto,  contemporary  with 
those  of  Cartier.  Landing  with  a  large  company  in 
1539  on  the  gulf  coast  of  Florida,  at  Tampa  Bay,  Soto 
proceeded  by  an  inland  course  to  the  vicinity  of  Talla- 
hassee ;  thence  north-easterly  to  the  Savannah  River, 
below  Augusta;  thence  north-westward  to  the  Ten- 
nessee line, near  Dalton, Georgia;  thence  south-easterly 
to  a  point  near  he  head  of  Mobile  Bay;  and  again 
north-west  to  the  Mississippi,  not  far  from  the  moutli 
of  the  Arkansas.  From  this  region  in  1541-2  the 
Spaniards  made  a  long  tour  to  the  westward.  After 
their  return  to  the  great  river,  Soto  died,  and  was 
succeeded  in  command  by  Luis  de  Moscoso,  under 
whom  they  attempted  to  reach  Mexico  by  land,  pene- 
trating about  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  to  the 
westward,  and  coming  within  sight  of  mountains.  But 
they  were  forced  to  return  to  the  Mississippi;  and 
from  a  point  not  far  above  the  Arkansas  they  em- 
barked, July  1543,  in  vessels  built  for  the  purpose, 
reached  the  gulf  in  twenty  days,  and  thence  sailed  to 
Pdnuco.     In  respect  to  particular  localities  this  ex- 

Eloration  leaves  much  room  for  doubt  and  discussion, 
ut  the  general  scope  and  direction  of  Soto's  wan- 
derings through  the  territory  of  Florida,  Georgia, 
Alabama,  Arkansas,  Texas,  and  Louisiana  are  well 
enough  established.  Least  defined  of  all  is  the  route 
in  Texas;  but  seven  years  before,  in  1535,  Cabeza 
de  Vaca  and  his  three  companions,  shipwrecked  mem- 
bers of  Narvaez'  band,  had  escaped  from  their  long 
captivity  among  the  Indians^  crossed  Texas  from 
Esplritu  Santo  Bay  to  the  region  of  El  Paso,  and 
had  passed  into  Chihuahua  by  a  route  south  of  that 
of  Soto,  though  gradually  approaching  it,  and  extend- 
ing farther  into  the  interior. 

For  the  regions  of  Central  America  and  southern 
Mexico  I  need  not  give,  even  en  r^sumS,  the  different 
expeditions  by  which  conquest  and  settlement  were 
effected;  suflfice  it  to  say  that  before  1550  both  had 


16 


NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION. 


;i  1 


been  accomplished  in  a  general  way  from  Darien  and 
Panamd  to  Panuco  on  the  gulf,  and  to  Sinaloa  on 
the  Pacific.  On  the  western  side,  the  occupation  from 
Michoacan  to  Sinaloa  had  preceded  maritime  explo- 
ration in  the  same  direction,  chiefly  under  Nuno  de 
Guzman,  who  had  conquered  Jalisco  and  established 
a  permanent  Spanish  garrison  at  Culiacan  in  1531. 
From  this  advanced  post  Guzman's  officers  made  ex- 
peditions northward  to  the  Yaqui  River  in  1533,  and 
north-eastward  into  Durango  at  an  earlier  date.  It 
was  in  1536  that  Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  his  compani(  ns 
arrived  at  San  Miguel  de  Culiacan,  after  traversing 
Texas,  Chihuahua,  and  Sonora,  thus  completing  the 
first  transcontinental  trip  in  northern  latitudes,  and 
the  most  famous  since  that  of  Vasco  Nufi'^z  de  Balboa. 
Cabeza  de  Vaca  had  heard  reports  of  th^  New  Mexi- 
can Pueblo  towns,  south  of  which  he  had  passed; 
and  these  reports,  exaggerated,  kindled  anew  the  zeal 
for  northern  exploration,  resulting  in  the  voyages  of 
Ulloa,  Alarcon,  and  Cabrillo,  to  which  I  have  already 
alluded,  and  the  land  expeditions  of  Niza  and  Coronado, 
the  last  that  come  within  the  limits  of  the  present 
sketch. 

Friar  Marcos  de  Niza  advanced  in  1539  from  Culia- 
can to  Cibola,  as  the  Zuni  Pueblo  towns  in  35°  were 
then  called,  and  brought  back  most  exaggerated  re- 
ports of  rich  cities  and  kingdoms  in  that  region.  In 
the  following  year  Francisco  Vasquez  de  Coronado 
with  a  large  force  set  out  for  fuither  exploration  and 
conquest  in  the  north.  Coronado,  like  Niza,  went  to 
Zufii;  and  from  that  point  he  sent  out  Tobar  and 
Cdrdenas  to  the  Mooui  towns  in  36°,  the  latter  reach- 
ing the  great  canon  of  the  Colorado  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  what  is  now  Arizona.  He  also  senc  a 
party  back  to  Sonora,  from  which  region  one  of  the 
officers,  Melchor  Diaz,  made  u,n  expedition  to  tho 
mouth  of  tho  Colorado,  ascending  the  river  nearly 
to  the  Gila,  and  crossing  to  explore  a  little  farther 
west.     Meanwhile  Coronado  proceeded  eastward  and 


SIXTEENTn-CENTURY  PROGRESS. 


If 


passed  the  winter  in  tlie  Pueblo  towns  of  the  Rio 
Grande  «lel  Norte,  in  New  Mexico.  In  .the  spring  of 
1541  an  expedition  was  made  which  carried  the 
Spaniards  some  eighty-five  days'  journey  north-east- 
ward over  the  plams  of  Texas  to  the  wigwam  town 
of  Quivira,  perhaps  in  40°,  beyond  the  Arkansas. 
Coronado  passed  far  north  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca's  route, 
but  very  likely  crossed  that  of  Soto,  or  at  least  ap- 
proached it  very  closely.  During  another  winter 
passed  on  the  Kio  Grande,  exploration  was  pushed  to 
Taos,  in  36°  30';  and  then,  in  1542,  the  expedition 
returned  to  Culiacan,  leaving  the  great  northern  in- 
terior to  its  primeval  savagism. 

Thus  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
northern  limit  of  inland  exploration  may  be  given  as 
a  line  crossing  the  continent  just  below  the  thirty- 
sixth  parallel  from  the  Colorado  to  the  Savannah; 
Coronado  having  passed  the  line  in  its  central  part, 
and  advanced  into  the  modern  Kansas.  The  coasts 
on  either  side  were  explored  to  much  higher  latitudirj, 
the  Atlantic  with  tolerable  accuracy  to  60°,  and  the 
Pacific  in  a  manner  barely  to  show  the  shore-line  trend 
to  44°.  Maps  of  the  time,  which  there  is  no  occasion 
to  specify  in  this  connection,  added  nothing  to  tlie 
narratives  of  explorers  in  the  west,  an.d  were  even 
less  perfect  than  they  might  have  been  made  from 
those  narratives;  while  in  the  east,  and  particularly 
in  the  north-east,  maps  were  in  advance  of  written 
records,  including  many  details  from  voyages  never 
described.  Enough  had  i^een  accomplished  to  con- 
vince competent  men  that-  south  of  40°  there  would 
be  found  neither  great  cities  nor  a  navigable  passage 
between  the  oceans,  gra  ve  doubts  even  being  suggested 
in  the  minds  of  many  whether  any  strait,  or  nations 
worth  plundering,  would  be  found  in  the  north. 
During  all  this  period  only  one  navigator,  Ferrelo, 
the  successor  o''  Cabrillo,  had  possibly  entered  the 
waters  of  the  Northwest  Coast,  passing  the  line  of  42°, 
but  not  landing;  Alarcon,  by  water,  had  approached. 

Hist.  N.  W.  Coabt,  Vol,.  I.    a 


!! 


18 


NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION. 


within  a  thousand  miles  of  the  boundary,  and  Cdr- 
dcnas,  by  land,  wi     *  .  half  that  distance. 

I  have  next  to  trace  the  progress  of  exploration 
north-westward  for  two  centuries,  from  the  middle  of 
the  sixteenth  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. This  progress  was  insignificant  compared  with 
that  of  the  brilliant  era  just  recorded.  New  foun- 
dations had  to  be  laid,  and  most  slowly,  for  a  new 
advance.  The  foundations — rediscovery  of  old  lands, 
futile  attempts  at  settlement  followed  by  successful 
colonization — were  massive  and  complicated  for  the 
light  superstructure  which,  from  the  present  point  of 
view,  they  were  to  sustain.  The  frame,  reduced  to 
the  merest  skeleton,  is  gigantic  for  the  flesh  and  blood 
of  geographical  discovery  that  hardly  suffices  to  cover 
it — that  is  if  we  confine  ourselves  to  facts  of  actual 
discovery,  and  I  propose  to  defer  for  treatment  in 
the  following  chapter  the  grand  achievements  of  the 
imagination.  For  convenience  let  us  advance  by  half- 
century  steps. 

From  1550  to  1600  the  extreme  north-east  was  first 
visited  by  the  English  navigator  Martin  Frobisher,  in 
three  voyages,  in  1576-8.  His  original  purpose  was 
to  discover  the  strait;  but  the  finding  of  what  was 
mistaken  for  gold  ore  in  the  first  voyage  changed  the 
nature  of  the  expedition,  and  caused  Frobisher  to 
confine  his  researches  to  the  inlet  bearing  his  name, 
between  62°  and  63°.  He  also  entered  the  inlet  next 
south,  without  discovering  its  connection  with  a  great 
inland  sea,  although  he  thought  that  either  inlet 
would  afford  a  passage  to  the  Pacific.  The  only  other 
navigator  of  northern  seas  during  this  period  was 
John  Davis,  who  made  three  voyages  in  1585-7.  He 
reached  72°,  the  highest  point  yet  attained,  and  made 
a  somewhat  careful  examination  of  the  coast  line 
from  G7°  southward.  The  main  strait  northward 
Jbears  his  name. 

Farther  south  there  is  no  occasion  to  notice  partic- 


.«.*! 


ATLANTIC  AND  GULF  REGIONS. 


19 


md  Cdr- 


ploration 
middle  of 
jnth  cell- 
ared with 
ew  foun- 
or  a  new 
old  lands, 
successful 
id  for  the 
t  point  of 
educed  to 
and  blood 
3S  to  cover 
i  of  actual 
satment  in 
nts  of  the 
CO  by  half- 

st  was  first 
robisher,  in 
arpose  was 
f  what  was 
langed  the 
'obisher  to 

his  name, 

inlet  next 
ith  a  great 
either  inlet 

only  other 
period  was 
585-7.  He 
,  and  made 
I   coast  line 

northward 

otice  partic- 


ular voyages.  In  Canada,  or  Nouvelle  France,  after 
the  failure  of  Cartier  and  Robcrval,  there  was  no  re- 
newal of  attempts  to  colonize,  though  French  fishing 
craft  still  frequented  Canadian  waters.  On  the  Florida 
coast,  however,  the  French  Huguenots  under  Ribault 
and  Laudonniere  established  colonies  at  Port  Royal 
and  St  Mary  in  15G2-5,  thus  adding  *  La  Floride  Fran- 
gaise'  or  'La  Caroline'  to  the  northern  possessions  of 
Nouvelle  France.  The  interior  of  what  is  now  Florida, 
Georgia,  and  South  Carolina  was  explored  to  some 
extent  during  this  occupation,  which  was  brought 
to  an  end  by  the  Spaniards.  Pedro  de  Menendez, 
annihilating  the  French  colonies  in  1565  by  hanging 
most  of  the  colonists,  proceeded  to  found  forts  for 
Spain  from  San  Agustin  northward  to  Carolina.  The 
Spaniards  in  their  search  penetrated  the  interior 
farther  north  perhaps  than  Soto,  but  not  to  the 
Mississippi  region.  The  French  under  De  Gourgues 
in  15G8  took  terrible  vengeance  for  the  massacre  of 
1565,  but  did  not  attempt  to  regain  possession,  and 
Spain  remained  mistress  of  Florida.  In  1584-7  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh  made  several  unsuccessful  attempts 
to  found  a  colony  at  Roanoke,  on  the  North  Carolina 
coast,  so  Englishmen  learned  even  less  about  the 
great  interior  than  had  Frenchmen  and  Spaniards. 
On  the  gulf  coast  from  Florida  to  Texas  all  that 
was  known,  so  far  as  Europeans  were  concerned, 
had  been  gleaned  from  Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  Her- 
nando de  Soto.  There  was  no  settlement,  no  main- 
land exploration. 

In  the  interior  of  Mexico  the  frontier  of  occupa- 
tion was  pushed  northward  in  general  terms  to  27°, 
so  as  to  include  Durango  and  southern  Chihuahua, 
with  small  portions  of  Coahuila  and  Nuevo  Leon. 
From  1562  extensive  explorations  were  made  here, 
chiefly  by  Francisco  de  Ibarra;  mining-camps  were 
established ;  and  missionaries,  Jesuit  and  Franciscan, 
began  their  labors  in  Nueva  Vizcaya.  No  less  than 
five  entradas  were  iLade  into  New  Mexico  during  thia 


29 


NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION. 


period;  those  of  Rodriguez  in  1581-2,  of  Espejo  ifl 
1582-3,  of  Castano  de  Sosa  in  1590-1,  of  Morlete  in 
1591,  and  of  Bonilla  about  1596.  None  of  thete 
reached  so  high  a  latitude  on  the  Rio  Grande  as  had 
Coronado,  but  Bonilla  went  far  out  into  the  plains 
in  search  of  Quivira.  Espejo's  return  and  Castano's 
entry  were  by  the  Pecos  instead  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
and  Espejo,  crossing  Coronado 's  track  in  the  west, 
penetrated  to  the  region  of  the  modern  city  of  Pres- 
cott.  Finally  Juan  de  Oiiate,  in  1598,  effected  the 
permanent  conquest  and  settlement  of  New  Mexico. 
On  the  western  coast  Spain  accomplished  little  or 
nothing  in  the  way  of  northern  exploration;  yet  in 
1565  Urdaneta  made  the  first  trip  eastward  across 
the  Pacific,  opening  a  northern  route,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  Manila  traders  for  more  than  two  cen- 
turies. How  many  times  the  trip  was  made  during 
this  period  of  1550-1600  we  have  no  means  of  know- 
ing; probably  not  often,  but  we  have  mention  of  two 
voyages.  Francisco  de  Gali,  in  1584,  coming  from 
the  west  reached  the  coast  in  37°  30' — possibly  57" 
30' — and  observed  the  trend  and  appearance  of  the 
shore,  as  he  sailed  southward,  without  landing.  And 
Cerinefion  by  a  similar  route  was  wrecked  in  1595  at 
Drake  Bay,  just  above  the  present  San  Francisco. 
But  another  nation  had  entered,  albeit  somewhat 
irregularly,  this  field  of  exploration.  In  1579  Fran- 
cis Drake,  an  English  freebooter,  his  vessel  laden 
with  plunder  taken  from  the  Spaniards  in  the  Jioutli, 
attempted  to  find  the  northern  strait  by  which  to 
reach  the  Atlantic.  He  reached  perhaps  latitude  43°, 
anchoring  in  tha+^^  region;  and  then,  abandoning  hia 
search,  returned  to  Drake  Bay,  on  the  Californian 
coast,  and  thence  home  round  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  Thomas  Cavendish  was  another  Englishman 
of  the  same  class,  whose  expedition  sailed  in  1587; 
his  operations  did  not  extend  beyond  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  Californian  peninsula.  Finally  Sebas- 
tian Vizcaino  was  sent  out   by  Spain  in  1597,  but 


SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 


21 


his  explorations  were  confined  to  the  gulf,  and  his 
vain  attempts  at  settlement  to  Baja  California. 

For  the  next  half  century,  1600-50,  we  have  in  the 
extreme  west  but  one  expedition  to  be  noticed,  that 
of  Vizcaino,  in  1602-3.  It  was  but  a  repetition  of 
Cabrillo's  voyage,  though  its  results  were  more  widely 
known.  Vizcaino  anchored  at  Monterey,  and,  with- 
out landing,  at  the  old  San  Francisco  under  Point 
Reyes;  thence  he  went  as  high  as  42°,  where  he 
named  a  cape  Blanco  de  San  Sebastian.  His  associate 
Aguilar  possibly  reached  43°,  at  another  Cape  Blanco, 
where  seemed  to  be  the  mouth  of  a  great  river.  Other 
Spanish  effoits  were  confined  to  the  waters  of  the 
gulf;  and  the  pichilingues,  or  freebooters,  though  still 
troublesome,  had  no  temptation  to  enter  northern 
waters. 

In  the  interior  of  Sonora,  Spanish  occupation  had 
been  advanced  by  the  Jesuits  to  the  Arispe  region  in 
30"  30'.  To  the  east  in  Chihuahua  the  missionaries 
were  struggling  northward  at  about  29°.  In  New 
Mexico  Spanish  authority  was  maintained,  but  north- 
ern exploration  was  not  greatly  advanced.  In  1601 
Oiiate  made  a  long  tour  over  the  buffalo  plains,  going 
far  to  the  north  and  east.  Records  are  vague,  but 
it  is  not  probable  that  he  reached  a  higher  lati- 
tude than  Coronado,  or  certain  that  he  went  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  modern  Texas.  In  1604-5  he  under- 
took another  extensive  exploration  toward  the  west, 
visited  Zuni  and  the  Moqui  towns,  thence  directed  liis 
march  south-westward  beyond  the  limits  of  Espejo's 
exploration  till  he  reached  the  Colorado,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Santa  Maria,  and  following  the  great  river 
down  to  its  mouth,  returned  by  the  same  route.  There 
were  also  several  entradas  among  the  Texan  tribes 
of  the  far  east  from  New  Mexico,  notably  those  of 
padres  Perea  and  Lopez  in  1629,  and  of  Captain 
Vaca  in  1634. 

On   the  gulf   coast   all   remained    in  undisturbed 


« 


NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION. 


aboriginal  possession;  and  of  the  Spaniards  in  eastern 
Florida  there  is  nothing  to  be  said.  To  the  north, 
however,  were  laid  the  foundations  of  permanent 
English  occupation,  and  of  the  future  power  of  the 
United  States  by  Newport  and  Smith  in  Virginia, 
160G;  by  the  Puritans  in  Massachusetts,  1620;  by 
Lord  Baltimore  in  Maryland,  1634;  and  by  other 
hardly  less  notable  bands  of  pioneer  settlers.  These 
men  came  to,  make  homes  for  themselves  rather  than 
to  test  geographical  theories;  and  though  some,  like 
the  adventurous  John  Smith,  were  bent  on  finding  a 
passage  to  the  Pacific,  their  explorations  were  con- 
fined to  the  examination  of  a  few  short  rivers  and 
inlets  near  their  respective  settlements. 

In  Canada,  French  colonization  had  been  resumed, 
with  all  its  complication  of  fur-trading  companies,  of 
spiritual  conquest  by  Recollet  and  Jesuit  missionaries, 
of  Indian  wars  against  and  between  the  Iroquois  and 
Huron  nations,  and  of  contentions  with  hostile  En- 
glishmen, by  which  New  France  lost  and  regained 
Acadie,  or  Nova  Scotia,  and  even  Quebec.  It  appears 
that  by  1650  geographical  exploration  had  been 
pushed  westward  into  the  interior,  at  first  by  Cham- 
plain  and  later  by  Jesuit  fathers,  beyond  lakes  Erie 
and  Huron,  and  the  head- waters  of  the  Ottawa  River; 
that  Jean  Nicolet  as  early  as  1634-5  had  discovered 
Lake  Michigan,  and  had  sojourned  among  the  tribes 
on  the  west  of  that  lake  in  the  Wisconsin  territory, 
going  up  Fox  River  from  Green  Bay ;  and  that  subse- 
quently Lake  Superior  had  been  discovered. 

The  voyages  of  Weymouth  in  1602,  and  of  Knight 
in  1606,  added  nothing  to  the  knowledge  of  far-north 
geography;  but  in  1610  Henry  Hudson,  who  the 
year  before  had  discovered  the  river  that  b'^.ars  his 
name  in  the  south,  not  only  entered  the  strait  i:amed 
for  him,  as  Frobisher,  Davis,  and  Weymouth  had 
done  before  hiin,  but  pressed  on  and  discovered  the 
great  Hudson  Bay,  an  inland  sea,  on  which  ho  was 
turned  adrift  by  mutineers  to  perish.     The  bay  was 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY.  98 

further  explored  by  Button  in  1G12-13,  and  by  Baffin 
in  1G15,  the  latter  being  inclined  to  think  even  at  this 
early  date  that  the  passage  to  the  Pacific  would  be 
found  not  there  but  farther  north;  but  he  did  not  find 
it  when  in  IGIG  he  reached  the  latitude  of  78°  through 
Baffin  Bay  to  Smith  Sound.  In  1G31-2  Hudson 
Bay  v/as  visited  by  Foxe  and  by  James. 

The  next  period,  1650-1700,  was  not  one  of  mari- 
time discovery  in  the  north;  but  in  1G70  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  was  organized;  and  soon  five  forts 
were  established  in  the  region  adjoining  the  bay. 
Meanwhile  a  French  company  was  also  formed,  and 
in  the  ensuing  contentions  the  forts  changed  hands 
more  than  once.  In  1700  the  English  retained  but  a 
slight  footing.  There  is  no  record  of  extensive  inland 
explorations  beyond  the  bay  shore. 

Great  activity  prevailed  in  the  regions  of  New 
France,  an  activity  marked  not  only  by  Indian  wars, 
and  political,  commercial,  and  ecclesiastical  dissensions 
at  home,  by  strife  with  the  English  on  the  north  and 
south,  and  by  fur-hunting  adventures  in  every  di- 
rection, but  by  a  J,  ded  advance  in  the  great  work 
of  exploration.  The  Jesuit  missionaries,  accompanied 
in  some  instances  by  the  fur-traders,  closely  followed 
or  even  preceded  b^'^  them  in  others,  penetrated  on 
the  north  to  Hudson  Bay,  and  on  the  west  far  into 
the  plains,  besides  completing  the  survey  of  the 
great  lakes  and  founding  missions  on  their  shores; 
above  all,  they  found  and  explored  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  In  IG73  M.  Joliet  and  Pore  Marquette  set 
out  to  find  the  'Great  Water'  of  which  so  much  had 
been  heard.  They  crossed  over  from  Lake  Michigan 
to  the  Wisconsin  River,  went  down  that  stream  to 
the  Mississippi,  and  sailed  in  canoes  down  the  great 
river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  and  to  the  north- 
ern limit  of  Soto's  wanderings.  Then  they  returnovl 
to  Quebec  by  the  Illinois,  instead  of  the  Wisconsin. 
It  was  now  pretty  clear  that  the  Mississippi  flowed 


>    \ 

i 

i      11     ] 
{SI 


21 


NOHTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION, 


into  the  gulf  and  not  into  the  Pacific.  In  1G80  P5re 
Hennepin  was  sent  by  La  Salle  down  the  Illinois 
and  thence  up  the  Mississippi  to  the  falls  of  St 
Anthony,  in  45°,  half-way  across  the  continent  from 
east  to  west.  In  1G82  La  Salle  himself  descended 
the  Mississippi  not  onl}'  to  the  limits  of  Soto  and 
Joliet,  but  to  the  gulf,  and  erected  a  fort  at  th^ 
mouth  of  the  Ohio.  Thus  was  the  Mississippi  Valley 
added  to  the  domain  of  New  France;  but  wars  with 
the  English  and  Indians  prevented  any  extension  of 
settlement  or  exploration  during  the  rest  of  the  cen- 
tury. Not  only  had  the  Mississippi  been  discovered, 
but  the  size  of  the  rivers  flowing  into  it  from  the 
west  showed  clearly  that  the  stretch  of  continent  to 
the  Pacific  was  much  broader  than  had  ever  been  sus- 
pected. 

Southward,  after  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi, 
we  are  no  longer  interested  in  the  gradual  advance  of 
the  English  colonists  toward  that  stream;  and  the 
Spaniards  in  Florida  made  no  efforts  in  the  interior. 
In  the  gulf  I  have  noted  La  Salle'o  arrival  down  the 
river  from  Canada  in  1G82.  In  1G85  he  came  back 
by  sea  with  a  colony  from  France,  and  missing  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  was  cast  away  on  the  Texan  coast, 
w^icre  a  fort  was  built  and  formal  possession  taken  for 
France.  La  Salle  wandered  about  extensively  in 
Texas,  us  Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  Soto  had  done  before 
him;  and  on  one  of  his  trips  in  search  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, in  1G87,  he  was  assassinated.  Of  his  colony 
half  a  dozen  reached  Canada;  many  were  killed  by 
disease  or  Indians,  and  a  few  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniards  of  New  Mexico.  Several  parties  of  trap- 
pers and  missionaries  came  down  the  great  river  from 
Canada,  establishing  themselves  at  different  points; 
and  in  1G99  came  Iberville  and  Bienville  to  found  a 
permanent  French  settlement  in  Louisiana. 

In  New  Mexico  the  only  expeditions  sent  ou  (,  were 
a  few  into  southern  Texas  during  the  first  half  of  the 
period.     Then  came  the  great  revolt  of  1680>  whi«^'b 


EIGHTEENTn  CENTURY. 


25 


drove  the  Spaniards  out  of  the  country.  It  was  thir- 
teen years  before  the  province  was  reconquered;  and 
down  to  the  end  of  the  century  there  was  no  thought 
of  northern  exploration.  South,  in  Chihuahua,  the 
missionaries  and  miners  were  strugghng  with  greater 
or  less  success  against  the  Indians  between  them  and 
New  Mexico.  In  the  west  during  the  last  decade 
of  the  century  Padre  Kino  explored  the  regions  of 
Pimeria  Alta,  or  northern  Sonora,  by  repeated  tours 
among  the  people  up  to  the  Gila  and  Colorado,  with- 
out reaching  the  limits  of  Coronado,  Cdrdenas,  Diaz, 
Espejo,  and  Oilate  of  earlier  date,  but  making  a  far 
more  careful  examination  of  the  country  traversed, 
and  meeting  with  extraordinary  success  in  tliQ  con- 
version and  pacification  of  the  natives.  Across  the 
gulf  the  Jesuits  also  *  established  themselves  perjna- 
nently  in  1697  in  Baja  California.  On  the  coast  there 
were  no  expeditions  to  northern  latitudes,  only  such 
as  were  directed  to  the  California  Gulf  for  pearls,  or 
in  vain  attempts  at  settlement,  or  by  foreign  pirates 
in  quest  of  the  Manila  galleons. 

In  1700-50  the  Philippine  treasure-ships  continued 
to  cross  the  Pacific  by  the  northern  route  without 
touching  on  the  California  coast;  and  a  French  vessel 
under  Frondac  took  the  same  course.  There  were 
no  maritime  expeditions  sent  northward  by  Spain; 
neither  did  the  foreign  privateers  Dampier,  Rogers, 
Shelvocke,  and  Anson  enter  northern  waters,  though 
each  of  their  narratives  contains  something  on  north- 
ern theoretical  geography.  In  the  interior  there  was 
no  advance  whatever,  but  rather  in  some  quarters  a 
retrograde  movement  under  the  aggressive  raids  of 
savages.  On  the  Mexican  Gulf  the  Texan  territory 
was  several  times  traversed  and  partly  occupied  by 
Spain  and  France.  From  the  French  settlements 
of  Louisiana  it  is  probable  th.at  a  wider  tract  than 
had  been  previously  known  wac  explored  toward  the 
north-west  in  the  course  of  Indian  wars  and  vain 


ill 


86  NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION". 

searches  for  gold,  but  I  find  nothing  definite  in  the 
records. 

It  was  in  the  north,  from  Canada,  that  the  greatest 
results  were  achieved.  The  French  trappers  ranged 
the  country  in  all  directions  as  far  as  and  beyond  the 
upper  Mississippi,  visited  by  Hennepin ;  and  the  Jesuits 
continued  their  labors,  though  they  had  no  establish- 
ments so  far  west.  The  French  had  a  fort  on  the 
Missouri,  and  in  1727  Bourgmont  made  a  trip  up  the 
river  from  that  fort  to  a  point  above  the  Kansas. 
Vcirendrye's  efforts  to  form  a  line  of  trading -posts 
across  the  continent  were  in  1731-43;  forts  were 
established  in  the  regions  round  lakes  Winnipeg  and 
Manitoba;  in  1742  the  upper  Missouri  River  was 
ascended  to  the  region  of  the  Yellowstone;  and  in 
1743  the  Verendryes  reached  the  eastern  base  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  in  what  is  now  Montana.  Mean- 
while reports  were  current  of  a  great  western  river 
flowing  from  the  mountains  into  the  Pacific;  and  an 
Indian  of  the  lower  Mississippi  claimed,  under  circum- 
stances indicating  that  his  narrative  may  have  been 
true,  to  have  followed  that  river,  the  Columbia,  to  its 
mouth  in  1745-50. 

Explorations  in  the  far  north  were  confined  to 
Hudson  Bay.  Half  a  dozen  expeditions  visited  these 
waters  under  Knight,  Scroggs,  Middleton,  Moor, 
Smith,  and  others;  but  the  only  result  was  to  find  an 
ice-blocked  passage  leading  northward  from  the  bay, 
and  to  prove  that  some  of  its  western  inlets  did  not 
lead  to  the  Pacific,  though  others  yet  remained  to  be 
examined. 

I  have  thus  outlined  the  progress  of  North  Amer- 
ican discovery  for  two  centuries,  from  1550  to  1750, 
showing  how  very  slight  it  was  in  comparison  with 
that  from  1492  to  1550.  In  the  we'stern  ocean  two 
navigators,  perhaps,  had  reached  new  coast  latitudes, 
Drake  and  Gali;  though  it  is  not  certain  that  either 
had    done    so    much,  and    neither    noted    anything 


FLIGHT,  NORTIIW^VRD,  OF  THE  MYSTERY.  V 

beyond  the  general  shore  trend  in  regions  vaguely 
located.  In  the  southern  interior  the  Spaniards  had 
pushed  their  missions,  mining -camps,  and  settle- 
ments northward,  accomplishing  much  in  the  face  of 
great  obstacles;  but  their  occupation  had  not  reached 
the  limit  of  earlier  exploration,  though  it  had  nearly 
done  so  in  New  Mexico.  The  Rio  Colorado  was  still 
the  northern  boundary,  and  all  beyond  was  an  un- 
known land.  The  Texan  plains  had  been  several  times 
retraversed;  but  the  wanderings  of  later  travellers  are 
as  vaguely  recorded  as  those  of  the  pioneers;  and  it 
is  by  no  means  certain  that  the  limits  of  Cabeza  do 
Vaca,  Coronado,  and  Soto  had  been  passed.  The 
Atlantic  coast  territory  had  been  the  scene  of  great 
colonizing  achievements,  by  men  who  came  more  to 
settle  than  to  solve  geographical  enigmas  by  long 
extended  search  for  gold,  spice  islands,  and  rich  king- 
doms for  conquest.  The  French  were  the  great 
American  explorers  of  the  period,  to  whom  is  due 
nearly  all  the  progress  made  into  the  broad  interior. 
Entering  by  the  St  Lawrence  they  occupied  the  region 
round  the  great  lakes,  and  penetrated  northward  to 
the  shores  of  Hudson  Bay,  westward  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  southward  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico  by 
the  Mississippi  Valley.  In  the  far'  north  they  were 
excelled  by  the  English,  who  had  discovered  Hudson 
Bay  and  explored  the  labyrinth  of  adjacent  chamiels 
nearly  to  the  Arctic  circle. 

For  the  present  purpose  I  am  called  upon  to  con- 
sider, and  that  very  briefly,  but  one  more  half-century 
of  discovery.  For  before  1800  the  west  coast  was 
explored  to  Bering  Strait;  the  territory  from  Hud- 
son Bay  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  was  more  than  once 
traversed;  trappers  not  infrequently  had  reached  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains;  the  Spaniards  had 
I)enctrated  to  Utah  and  had  settled  Alta  California. 
There  was  yet  a  broad  interior  to  bo  explored  by  men 
whose  exploits  in  that  direction  will  receive  attention 


28 


NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION. 


1-  II 


i 


in  different  parts  of  this  work;  but  the  Nortlicm 
Mystery  in  its  cosniograpliical  aspects  was  at  an  end; 
and  tlie  north-west  passage  was  pushed  out  of  the 
Hinits  of  this  volume  up  into  the  arctic  regiuus,  where 
it  properly  belongs. 

After  further  exploration  by  water  in  Hudson  Bay, 
and  particularly  in  Chesterfield  Inlet,  the  chief  ex- 
peditions being  those  of  Christopher  aad  Norton  in 
1761-2,  the  attention  of  English  explorers  was  di- 
rected mainly  to  current  reports  of  great  rivers  flow- 
ing northward;  and  in  1770,  after  two  unsuccessful 
attempts,  San-uel  Hearne  descended  the  Copp  ermine 
River  to  its  mouth.  In  1789  Mackenzie  v,  m  down 
the  river  that  took  his  name  to  the  Arctic  shores; 
in  1793  the  same  explorer  won  the  honor  of  being 
the  first  to  reach  the  Pacific  by  crossing  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  His  route  was  up  the  Peace  River,  down 
the  Eraser,  and  acrrss  to  tide- water,  in  53°.  I  find 
no  definite  records  respecting  the  discoveries  of  the 
French  trappers  in  this  period,  after  they  built  a  fort 
at  the  eastern  base  of  the  mountains  in  1752;  and 
there  is  no  evidence  that  any  explorer  from  the  United 
States  penetrated  beyond  the  Miss"  sippi before  1800. 
In  Louisiana,  Texas,  an-^  N  v  Muxico  all  remained 
essentially  m  statu  qv  '^>\  as  exploration  was  con- 

cerned; but  from  the  lamea  pro"     ce  there  were 

(Several  minor  expeditit ;  orth  -  ard  acr-oss  the  streams 
that  form  the  Colorado;  and  i  1776  Dominguez  and 
Escolanta  penetrated  the  great  basin  to  Utah  Lake, 
above  40°.  In  1769  Alta  California  was  explor  I  by 
a  Spanish  military  and  missionary  force,  up  to  San 
Francisco  Bay,  in  37°  48';  and  by  1776  not  only  was 
the  whole  coast  region  occupied  up  to  that  point,  but 
Anza  had  in  two  trips  opened  an  overland  rou  ■  fronr, 
Sonora  by  way  of  the  Gila  and  Colorado,  while  Padre 
Garcds  had  crossed  California  from  the  Mojave  region 
and  had  penetrated  the  great  Tulare  Valley  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  lakes.  There  was  no  further  advance 
by  land  before  1800. 


DOINGS  OF  THE  RUSSIANS. 


29 


Busalan  discoveries  fiom  the  north -west  clomand 
but  brief  notieo  here,  the  subject  beiiij'  presented 
with  full  details  in  a  later  volume  of  thin  series  de- 
voted to  the  hii^tory  of  Alaska.  Before  IGOO  the 
Cosisaeks  had  crosyod  the  Ural  Mountains  and  oeeu- 
l)ied  the  valley  of  the  Obi,  in  Asia.  At  the  same  date 
small  Russian  craft  navigated  the  coast  waters  of  that 
region  in  the  Kara  Sea;  and  the  same  waters  hafl  \)vv.n 
reached  by  the  English  and  ])utch  in  their  search 
for  a  north-cast  passage,  toward  which  end  but  little 
additional  progress  was  ever  made  in  later  times. 
Between  IGOO  and  1050  the  Cossacks  traversed  Siberia 
in  search  for  sable,  crossed  river  ai'tcr  river  an  fresh 
hunting-grounds  were  needed,  subdued  the  inhaJM- 
tants,  and  reached  the  Pacific  in  1039.  The  chief 
Russian  establishment  on  the  Pacific,  which  was  dis- 
covered at  many  points,  was  at  Okhotsk,  on  the  sea 
of  the  same  name.  Thus  mor-e  than  twenty-five  hun- 
dred miles  of  unknov/n  territory  were  expk)rcd  and 
occupied  by  small  bands  of  roving  fur-hunt«rs.  The 
discovery  of  mines  on  the  Amoor,  and  fossil  ivory  in 
the  extreme  north-east,  was  added  to  the  incentives. 
During  1050  to  1700  nearly  every  part  of  the  Asiatic 
coast  up  to  the  strait  and  including  the  peninsula  of 
Kamchatka  had  boen  visited  by  one  adventurous  party 
or  another,  aud  only  the  fierce  Chukchi  of  the  north- 
east remained  unconquered.  Abundant  eviclen(;e  was 
found  of  '.he  existence  of  land  still  fiirther  east. 
Trees  and  various  articles  not  of  Asiatic  origin  were 
oftcii  washed  ashore;  and  indeed  the  natives  made  no 
secret  of  their  frequent  intercourse  with  a  i)e()ple 
f.'om  the  east  who  came  in  boats  or  on  the  ice,  and 
who  spoke  a  language  different  from  their  own.  The 
Russian  government  became  interested  in  the  rumors 
cf  new  lands;  a  post  had  been  founded  on  the  eastern 
shore  of  Kamchatka;  and  in  1728  Vitus  Bering 
was  sent  in  a  vessel  built  there  to  learn  the  truth 
respecting  the  current  rumors,  and  especially  to  find 
whether  the  eastern   landii  were  pai't  of  Sibeiia  or 


8» 


NORTHWEST  COAST  EXPLORATION. 


i   I 


separated  from  it  by  water.  Bering  in  this  voyage 
i-eached  the  strait  between  the  continents  to  which 
his  name  is  given,  naming  St  Lawrence  Island, 
and  observing  the  point  in  67°  18',  b8y(md  which 
the  coast  turned  abruptly  westward,  decided  that 
the  reported  land  not  yet  seen  by  any  Russian  was 
not  an  extension  of  Asia.  There  is  some  evidence 
that  in  the  earlier  coastings  Bering  Strait  had  been 
passed  through  once  or  twice;  and  it  somewhat 
vaguely  appears  that  in  1730  Krupischef  and  Gwoz- 
def,  following  Bering,  actually  came  in  sight  of  the 
American  continent,  along  which  they  coasted  south- 
ward for  two  days.  In  1741  Bering  made  his  second 
expedition,  during  which  his  associate  Chirikof  first 
saw  the  continent,  in  latitude  55°  36',  near  the  later 
Sitka,  where  two  boat-crews  landed  and  were  probably 
killed  by  the  natives,  as  they  were  never  heard  of 
again.  The  commander  then  coasted  northward  four 
or  five  hundred  miles  before  returning  to  Kamchatka. 
Bering  meanwhile  struck  the  coast  a  few  days  later 
than  Chirikof,  in  latitude  58°  28',  in  sight  of  Mount 
St  Elias.  Thence  he  followed  the  shore  westward  and 
south-westward,  named  the  Shumagin  Islands,  and 
was  finally  wrecked  on  Bering  Island,  near  the  Kam- 
chatka coast,  where  he  died.  The  presence  of  valu- 
able sea-otter  on  the  American  coast  and  islands — or 
rather  at  first  on  j^.&iatic  islands  in  that  direction — 
becoming  known  was  the  chief  incentive  to  further 
efforts.  In  174  J  Nev6dc]iikof  made  the  first  hunting 
trip  to  the  nearest  Aleutian  Islands;  and  thencefor- 
ward one  or  more  expeditions  were  fitted  out  nearly 
every  year  by  Siberian  merchant  companies,  many  of 
which  proved  profitable.  Discovery  was  in  this  way 
pushed  eastward  until  Kadiak  was  reached  by  Glottof 
m  his  trip  of  ^63-5.  The  obstacles  encountered  in 
the  exploration  of  these  northern  seas,  and  the  reck- 
less daring  and  energy  displayed  in  overcoming  these 
obstacles,  are  unsurpassed  m  the  history  of  American 
discovery.    The  Russian  craft  were  small,  hastily  con- 


RUSSIAN  NAVIGATION. 


81 


structcd  by  men  who  knew  but  little  of  their  task, 
and  were  often  mere  boxes  of  planks  he'd  together 
by  leathern  thongs,  without  iron.  They  were  in 
every  way  inferior  to  the  worst  vessels  employed  by 
navigators  of  other  nations  in  any  part  of  America. 
In  these  frail  boats,  poorly  supplied  with  food,  gener- 
ally without  remedies  against  scurvy,  these  bold  sailors 
did  not  hesitate  to  commit  themselves  to  the  icy  waves 
and  furious  gales  of  the  Arctic  seas.  Rarely  was  an 
expedition  unattended  by  shipwreck  and  starvation; 
but  sea-otter  were  plentiful.  Notwithstanding  the 
numerous  voyages  it  does  not  appear  that  the  conti- 
*  "ital  coasts,  either  above  or  below  the  Alaskan 
peninsula,  were  ever  visited  by  the  Russians  after  the 
time  of  Bering,  and  before  Cook's  survey  in  1778. 
After  this  date  such  visits  were  frequent,  resulting  in 
permanent  occupation  at  many  points;  but  it  remained 
for  Cook  to  make  known  the  general  features  of  the 
entire  coast  to  the  strait.  Subsequent  local  explora- 
tions by  the  Russians,  English,  Spanish,  and  French 
in  south-eastern  Alaska  at  later  dates  have  no  bearing 
on  our  present  study. 


i 


II 


ii -f 


CHAPTER  11. 

THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY  AND  IMAODfARY  GEOGRAPHY. 

1500-1595. 

Field  of  Conjecture — Mythic  Geography — Strait  or  no  Strait — Pas- 
SAOK  to  India — Cabots  and  Cortereals — Ruvsch  and  Schoneb — 
Amazon  Isles — Clavos  and  Esclavos — Maps  of  1530-1 — Queen  of 
Caufobnia — Canadian  Rumors— Nisa's  Fictions — Real  Explora- 
tions OF  1540-3 — Cibola,  Tiouex,  and  Quivika — Gomara's  Blun- 
der—  RUSCELLI  AND   MuNSTER  — RaMUSIO  AND    HOMEM — A  CHOICE  OF 

Straits — Theories  of  Menendez — First  Trip  through  the  Strait — 
Ubdaneta— Salvatieura's  Tale — Ribault— TApia — Ortelius'  The- 

ATRUM — ToLM — AnIAN  —  ORIGIN   OF  THE   NaME  —  LaDRILLEUO    AT  THE 

Strait— Meta  Incognita — Martin  Chacke — Drake's  Pilot — Espejo's 
Lake  and  River  —  Haklu\t  —  Lok's  Map  —  By  the  Roanoke  to  thb 
Pacific — La  Gran  Copal—Peter  ALvrtyr — Acosta  on  the  Mystery. 

In  the  preceding  chapter,  after  an  outline  of  North- 
west Coast  explorations,  showing  how  much  of  its 
interest  and  importance  is  connected  with  events 
which  are  geographically  and  chronologically  outside 
the  limits  of  this  section,  and  presenting  the  mythical 
aspects  of  the  matter  in  their  origin  and  general 
scope,  I  have  traced  the  progress  made  by  Europeans 
toward  the  Northwest  Coast  before  they  reached  the 
territory  so  designated  and  began  its  actual  explora- 
tion. Deferring  that  exploration  for  other  chapters, 
I  propose  first  of  all  to  treat  the  subject  in  its  myth- 
ical, imaginary,  theoretical,  and  apocryphal  phases. 
It  is  an  oUa  pudrida  of  absurdities  that  is  offered,  made 
up  of  quaint  conjectures  respecting  a  land  that  ha  I 
never  boon  seen,  and  the  various  approaches  to  that 
land;  for  it  was  not  to  the  Northwest  Coast  proper 
that  these  conjectures  were  directed  so  mui^h  as  to 
the  broad  border-land  surroundiu''  it. 


^i 


ASIA  AND  AilERICA. 


33 


In  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  aa  we  have 
seen,  the  western  coayt  was  known  northward  to  hiti- 
tude  40°  and  beyond,  the  eastern  coast  above  00°, 
and  the  interior  vaguely  as  far  north  as  the  Colorado 
and  Arkansas  rivers.  All  the  broad  interior  farther 
north,  slightly  encased,  up  to  the  limits  named,  by  a 
thin  shell  of  coast  discovery,  was  a  terra  incof/nita,  if 
indeed  it  were  a  terra  at  all,  and  not  part  of  an  ocean 
or  an  inland  sea.  Respecting  this  region  conjecture 
had  thus  far  been  partly  reasonable.  The  process  of 
development  has  already  been  traced;  first  the  new 
discoveries  as  part  of  the  Asiatic  main  to  be  coasted 
south-westward  to  India;  next,  the  southern  portion 
of  those  discoveries  as  a  great  island  separated  from 
Asia  by  a  'strait';  then  the  strait  an  isthmus  rather, 
and  the  island  a  great  south-eastern  projection  from 
the  continent;  and  finally  an  extension  of  the  pro- 
jection so  as  to  include  the  regions  north  as  well  as 
south  of  the  Panamd  Isthmus,  and  to  join  the  Asiatic 
main  at  a  higher  latitude  than  40°  at  least,  if  at  all. 
I  do  not  say  that  this  theory  of  geographical  evolu- 
tion will  satisfactorily  account  for  every  recorded 
statement  or  idea  of  every  early  navigator,  or  cosmog- 
rapher,  or  map-maker;  but  the  exceptions  are  so  few 
and  slight  as  by  no  means  to  impair  the  theory,  or  to 
aftbrd  a  basis  for  any  other. 

By  1550  it  was  well  understood  that  the  new  lands 
were  of  continental  proportions,  and  very  far  from 
Asia  in  their  southern  parts.  Whether  they  were 
also  distant  in  the  north  was  an  open  question,  for  the 
solution  of  which  no  real  data  existed.  Official  chart- 
makers  and  the  most  competent  of  geographers  con- 
tented themselves  with  recording  the  results  of  actual 
exploration,  leaving  a  blank  on  their  maps  for  the 
country  yet  unvisited,  while  in  the  text  they  noted, 
without  committing  themselves,  the  various  theories. 
Many  still  believed  North  America  to  be  a  part  of 
the  Asiatic  continent,  and  expected  to  find  tlu>  coast- 
line turning  to  the  west  not  far  beyond  latitude  40', 

Hui  .N.  W.  CuAsi,  Vui..  I.    a 


MSiSittMiiiisa^f. 


1 


iM 


IHE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY. 


i. 


and  thence  southward  to  India;  but  others — almost 
all  in  later  years — believed  in  a  strait  separating  the 
two  continents  somewhere  in  the  north-west.  This 
theory  of  a  northern  strait  was  somewhat  incoherently 
built  on  the  circumstance  that  a  passage  had  been 
vainly  sought  in  the  central  regions,  on  Magellan 
Strait  actually  found  in  tlio  far  south,  on  statements 
of  ancient  writers  respecting  the  lost  Atlantis,  which 
might  have  been  part  of  America  and  which  had 
been  described  as  an  island,  and  on  the  discovery 
of  certain  unexplored  inlets  along  the  north-eastern 
coasts.  Those  who  believed  in  the  separation  by  water 
differed  widely  about  its  natuia.  Some  thought  it  to 
be  a  narrow  strait,  others  a  broad  one ;  some  placed  it 
between  two  opposite  capes,  others  made  of  it  a  long 
winding  channel,  or  a  succession  of  lakes,  or  a  net-work 
of  intertwining  channels,  or  an  archipelago;  while 
there  were  many  who  regarded  it  as  a  broad  expanse 
of  salt  water,  reducing  North  America  to  a  long 
naiTow  strip  of  irregular  form,  which  extended  from 
south-west  to  north-east,  and  perhaps  was  itself  cut  up 
by  narrow  interoceanic  passages  not  yet  discovered. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  the  ideas  of  one  class  on  this 
subject  were  in  any  respect  superior  to  those  of 
another;  all  were  but  conjecture;  nor  do  such  maps  as 
represent  the  northern  regions  in  something  like  their 
real  position  and  proportion  entitle  their  makers  to 
credit.  I  now  proceed  to  chronicle  some  of  these 
conjectures  which  held  sway  for  more  than  two 
centuries,  and  which  bear  more  or  less  directly  on 
north-western  geography,  and  are  often  entertain- 
ingly supplemented  by  falsehood.  I  shall  treat  the 
subject  so  far  as  possible  chronologically. 

There  were  few  if  any  of  the  voyages  to  America 
before  1550  the  object  of  which  was  not  to  find  among 
other  things  a  passage  by  water  to  India;  but  there 
is  no  need  of  recapitulating  these  voyages  for  the  sake 
of  presenting  their  common  object  and  failure.     For 


1 


DIVERS  CONJECTURES. 


33 


ilmost 
ig  tho 

This 
rently 
I  been 
bgellaii 
nnents 
which 
ih  had 
covery 
jastern 
J  water 
it  it  to 
Laced  it 
,  a  long 
3t-work 
;    while 
iBxpanse 

a  long 
3d  from 
f  cut  up 
jovered. 

on  this 
lose  of 
maps  as 
ke  their 
akers  to 
of  these 
lan  two 
ectly  on 
itortain- 
reat  the 


America 

id  among 

)ut  there 

the  sake 

ire.     For 


this  earliest  period  of  maritime  discovery,  I  have  to 
notice  for  the  most  part  only  such  expeditions  as 
furnished  material  for  later  argument  and  conjecture, 
such  as  not  only  sought  the  strait  but  found  it,  or  at 
least  something  that  might  be  deemed  an  indication 
of  its  existence.  The  Northmen,  the  earliest  in  the 
field  of  American  discoveries,  did  not  stop  to  theorize 
about  the  western  lands,  nor  did  they  care,  so  far  as 
the  records  show,  whether  they  belonged  to  Asia  or 
Africa.  They  were  bent  on  adventure,  conquest,  and 
settlement,  and  sought  no  passage  to  the  Spice  Islands 
of  the  south  or  the  cities  of  the  Grand  Khan.  Doubt- 
less had  their  adventures  been  known  to  the  cosmog- 
raphers  they  would  have  furnished  much  food  for 
theory;  but  the  records  were  for  the  time  lost,  and 
the  sagas  therefore  have  no  bearing  on  the  Northern 
Mystery.  Of  Columbus  and  his  vagaries  about  the 
terrestrial  paradise  in  South  America  as  well  of  his 
associates  and  tbeir  explorations  in  southern  parts 
enough  has  been  said  elsewhere ;  likewise  of  the  pro- 
Columbian  theories  of  wonderful  islands  in  the  Atlan- 
tic. For  these  and  other  matters  that  have  indirect 
bearing  on  the  present  subject,  I  refer  the  reader  to 
the  first  volume  of  the  History  of  Central  America. 

There  exist  no  contemporary  narratives  of  the  voy- 
ages of  the  Cabots  to  northern  parts  of  the  continent 
in  1497-8,  and  the  fragments  of  a  later  date  are  as 
contradictory  respecting  the  navigators'  exact  ideas 
as  about  the  exact  regions  visited.  "And  understand- 
mg  by  reason  of  the  Sphere,"  wrote  Sebastian  Cabot, 
"that  if  I  should  saile  by  way  of  the  Northwest,  I 
should  by  a  shorter  tract  come  into  India.  .  .not 
thinking  to  finde  any  other  land  then  that  of  Cathay, 
and  from  thence  to  turne  toward  India,  but  after  cer- 
taine  dayes  I  found  that  the  land  ranne  towards  the 
North,  which  was  to  mee  a  great  displeasure"^ — why 

'  HaMiiyt's  Voy.,  iii.  4-11,  with  several  nccour.ts.  For  further  references  on 
the  voyages  mentioned  in  this  chapter  see  Qeogniphical  Summary,  in  Hint, 
CeiU.  Am.,  vol.  i.  chap.  i. 


3d 


THE  NORTHEHIf  MYSTERY. 


I    '  < 


is  not  apparent;  but  he  wrote  at  a  time  when  it  was 
clear  that  a  new  continent  had  been  discovered. 
Moreover,  he  wrote  to  Ramusio  that  in  latitude  67° 
30',  "finding  still  the  open  Sea  without  any  manner  of 
impediment,  hee  thought  verily  by  that  way  to  liaue 
passed  on  still  the  way  to  Cathaio,  which  is  in  the 
East,  and  woulde  haue  done  it,  if  the  mutinie  of  the 
shipmaster  and  marriners  had  not  rebelled."'  At  first 
there  was  no  doubt  that  Cabot  had  reached  Asia,  or 
later  that  he  had  discovered  a  strait  leading  to  that 
coast.  The  expeditions  of  the  Cortereals  in  1500-2 
were  like  the  preceding,  in  that  they  are  not  described 
by  contemporary  documents;  but  so  much  the  better 
for  later  theorists.  I  do  not  suppose  that  either  Cabot 
or  Cortereal  really  sought  a  '  strait,'  but  only  a  pas- 
sage, not  doubting  that  they  were  on  the  Asiatic 
main;  but  in  their  reports  there,  was  no  lack  of  ma- 
terial for  a  strait  when  needed — instance  Cortereal's 
Rio  Nevado,  where  his  progress  was  impeded  by  ice. 
In  later  times  Cortereal  was  credited  by  many  with 
not  only  having  discovered  the  strait,  but  with  having 
named  it.  I  am  not  certain  who  originated  this  theory; 
but  we  are  told  by  Forster,  Fleurieu,  Burney,  Hum- 
boldt,* and  others,  that  Cortereal  found  the  strait, 
named  it  Anian,  in  honor  of  certain  brothers  with  him, 
and  was  lost  when  returning  to  utilize  his  discovery. 
The  authorities  differ  as  to  whether  there  were  two 
brothers  or  three,  whether  the  name  was  that  of  the 
family  or  of  one  of  the  brothers,  possibly  that  of 
Cortereal's  own  brother;  and  they  likewise  differ 
respecting  the  identity  of  the  strait  with  Hudson  Bay 
or  St  Lawrence  River.  It  does  not  matter,  however; 
none  of  the  earliest  writers  mention  the  circumstance. 


^Hakluyt'a  Divers  Voy.,  25,  from  Ramusio.  A  letter  announcing  Cabot 'a 
return  credits  him  with  '  having  likewise  discovered  the  seven  cities,  four 
hundred  leagues  from  England,  on  the  western  passage;'  and  still  another 
says  that  he  had  visited  '  the  territory  of  the  Grand  Cham.'  Bn/aiU's  Ukt. 
U.S.,i.\M. 

^  For  tier's  Hist.  Fby.,  460;  Flnirieu,  in  Mnrckand,  Voy.,  i.  vi.;  Biirrey'a 
Ditcov.  Soufh  Sen,  i.  C;  Ihimh'Mt,  Esmi  Pol.,  3;30.  'II  prit  son  noni  d'uu  des 
frures  ombarquds  sur  le  voiaseau  de  Gaspar  de  Corteral. ' 


EARLY  MAPS. 


37 


It  is  tolerably  certain  that  the  strait  of  Anian  was  not 
named  for  more  than  fifty  years  after  Cortereal's  voy- 
age, and  I  shall  notice  the  matter  again  in  due  time.* 
Johann  Ruyscli  in  1508  printed  the  first  map  that 
showed  any  part  of  the  New  World,  which  he  published 
in  Ptolemy's  geography.     It  represents  the  mystery 


Euysch'8  Map,  1508. 

of  the  strait  in  an  early  stage  of  development.  As  yet 
there  was  nothing  to  impede  navigation  to  India. 
It  is  said  that  the  Ptolemy  map  of  1511  separates 
the  Terra  Corterealis  from  the  Asiatic  main.  To 
quote  from  an  earlier  volume  of  this  series:  "As  long 
as  the  new  lands  were  believed  to  be  a  part  of  Asia, 
the  maps  bore  some  resemblance  to  the  actual  coun- 
tries intcndod  to  be  represented,  but  from  the  first 
dawning  of  an  idea  of  separate  lands  we  shall  see  the 
greatest  confusion  in  tlie  efforts  of  map-makers  to 
depict  the  New  World."  Ponce  de  Leon's  famous 
search  for  the  fountain  of  youth  in  Florida  might  in 

*The  London  Quarterly  lievifw,  xvi.  154,  thinks  that  Cortereul,  entering 
Iludaou  l]ay,  thought  it  part  of  an  opening  on  the  Tacifiu  uheady  known 
(before  1500!)  as  the  strait  of  Anian;  and  tlic  North  American  Hei-ieir,  Janu- 
ary 1831),  U8,  dceniB  tliis  not  very  brilliant  theory  more  probable  than  any 
other. 


rf*P 


38 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY. 


a  certain  sense  be  cited  as  a  ihase  of  the  present  sub- 
ject; but  this  bubble  soon  burst,  and  so  far  as  I  know 
had  no  effect  on  the  vagaries  of  later  days.  The  map 
in  Stobnicza's  Ptolemy  of  1512  is  said  to  show  the 
New  World  as  a  continuous  coast  up  to  50°.  A  Portu- 
guese chart  of  about  1518  exhibits  for  the  first  time 
the  Pacific  divided  by  an  isthmus  from  the  Atlantic; 
leaving  spaces  between  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  Lab- 
rador where  the  coast  may  not  be  continuous."^ 

Schoner's  globe  of  1520  explains  itself  It  was 
doubtless  founded  on  mere  conjecture,  though  in  cer- 
tain respects  an  approximation  to  accuracy,  for  as 


1 — n^i — ~" 


Schoner's  Globe,  1520. 

yet  there  were  no  discoveries  to  suggest  a  broad  sheet 
of  water  north-west  of  the  newly  found  lands.^  In 
the   earliest  land    expeditions   from    Mexico   to  the 

*  See  Hist.  Cent.  Am.,  i.  133. 

*  In  Bi-!iniif\  Hist.  U.  S.,  i.  149,  it  is  stated  that  tlic  Rio  Jordan  visited 
by  Aillon  in  lo'iO  on  t'le  Carolina  coast  was  sought  as  the  'saered'  Jordan  of 
biblicvtl  tradition  1 


ESTliJVAN  GOMEZ. 


m 


near  north-west  of  Michoacan  and  Colima  in  1522-4 
much  interest  was  excited  by  reports  of  a  province  of 
Ciguatan,  or  of  an  island  some  ten  days'  journey  be- 
yond, inhabited  by  women,  like  Amazons,  wIkj  being 
visited  at  intervals  by  men  from  the  mainland,  killed 
their  male  children;  they  were  withal  rich  in  pearls. 
This  was  all  the  more  interesting  because  Cortes 
expected  to  find  rich  and  marvellous  isles  in  his 
voyage  to  India,  for  which  he  was  then  preparing.'' 
In  1524  Francisco  Cortes  found  also  in  Colima  traces 
of  Christian  rites,  and  rumors  of  a  vessel  wrecked 
in  earlier  years.  Verrazano  visited  the  eastern  coast 
in  1524,  and  has  been  credited  with  being  the  lirst  to 
pronmlgate  the  true  theory  of  the  earth's  size  and 
the  geographical  relation  of  the  New  World  to  Asia." 
I  find  nothing  in  his  report  to  justify  such  a  conclu- 
sion, though  the  name  '  Mar  de  Verrazano'  is  apjjlied 
to  the  western  waters  on  a  later  map.  Esttjvan 
Gomez  sought  the  strait  in  1525  between  Florida 
and  Newfoundland;^  and  about  his  return  an  amusing 
story  has  often  been  repeated.  He  brought  home  a 
cargo  of  esclavos,  or  slaves;  and  an  enthusiast  in  the 
cause  of  discovery,  failing  to  catch  the  first  syllable, 
rushed  to  court  with  the  news  that  Gomez  had  at 
last  found  the  passage  to  the  Spice  Islands,  having  re- 
turned with  a  cargo  of  clavos,  or  cloves!  The  truth 
was  soon  known,  nmch  to  the  amusement  of  the  court 
and  the  messenger's  discomfiture.  In  those  days  the 
Spaniards  little  thought  of  sailing  to  the  extreme 

' '  Y  asimismo  me  trujo  Rclacion  tie  los  Sefiores  de  la  Provincia  de  Ciguatan, 
que  so  aiiniian  miicho  haber  una  Isla  toda  pol)lada  do  !Miigcios  sin  Vafou 
ninguno,  y  (jue  en  ciortos  tieniiw  van  de  la  Tiorra-Firnie  lloniln'os,  con  los 
(Hialos  han  aceso,  y  las  (juc  quedan  prenadius,  si  paren  Mugcrcs  la  guardan ; 
y  si  }lonil)res  los  echan  <lo  su  Conipania.'  Cortis,  J  list,  iV.  EspaCia,  34'J-iiO; 
ileaiimoii/,  Hist.  Jlich.,  MS.,  S'2. 

"liriianl's  lllsf.  U.  S.,  i.  180. 

"  '  It  is  also  decreed,  that  one  Stephanua  Gomez,  who  also  hiinselfe  is  a 
skillfull  Nauigator,  shall  goe  another  way,  \vhere'l)y  betweeno  tlic  '  icalaos, 
and  Florida,  long  since  our  countries,  he  saith,  he  will  lindo  oui  waye  to 
C'ataia:  one  onely  sliip|ie  called  a  Caraucll  is  furnialiod  for  liim,  and  ho  shall 
liaiio  no  other  thing  in  ciiargo,  then  to  search  out  whether  any  passj-.gc  to  the 
g.oat  Chan,  from  out  tlie  diuers  windings,  and  vast  conipassmgs  of  tiiis  our 
Ocean,  were  to  be  fuuude. '  Pttvr  Martyr,  dec.  vi.  cap.  x. 


iH' 


i 


II 


In 

il  •  I' 

^i    •  ■ 

a 

40 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY. 


north;'"  but  Robert  Thornc  in  1527  urged  his  king  to 
oH'orts  in  that  direction.  "  Nowc  then,  il"  from  the 
sayde  newc  founde  landes  the  See  bee  Nauigable,  there 
i.s  no  doubte  but  sayhng  Northwarde  and  passing  the 
j)()le,  descending  to  the  equinoctiall  lyne,  wee  shall 
hitte  these  Ilandes,  and  it  should  bee  much  more 
shorter  way  than  eyther  the  Spaniard  es  or  the  Portin- 
gales  haue."" 

The  best  charts  of  these  days  were  not  pubHshed. 
Confined  for  the  most  part  to  the  representation  of 
actual  discoveries,  they  left  the  northern  parts  blank, 
and  have  no  special  interest  in  connection  with  the 
present  subject.  Published  maps  indulged  more  freely 
in  speculation.  The  Ptolemy  map  of  1 530,  as  herewith 
given,  was  circulated  with  slight  variations  in  different 
editions  of  Ptolemy  and  Munster  for  many  years ;  and 


FnAN018CA=S^r"''''''""' 


Ptolemy  Map,  1530. 

other  maps,  both  manuscript  and  print,  were  of  the 
same  type,  representing  North  America  above  Mexico 

*"  Peter  Martjrr,  dec.  vii.  cap.  v.,  about  this  time  wrote:  '  But  concerning 
the  strayght  there  is  little  hope ;'  and  especially  had  lie  no  faith  in  north 
ern  prosjiccts.    '  To  the  south  !   To  the  south  !    For  the  great  and  exceeding 
riches  of  the  ^i^Cquiiioctiall,  they  tliat  sccke  riches  must  not  goe  vnto  the 
cold  and  frozen  north.'  See  liri/an/'ii  Hist.  U.  S.,  i.  1.50. 

"  Tlwme's  Book,  iii  UakiuyVa  Divers  Voy.,  48;  Id.,  Voy.,  i.  214-20. 


GUZMAN  AND  JIMENEZ. 


41 


as  a  narrow  continent  oxtcinling  north-eastward  to  tlio 
region  of  (Greenland,  se{)arated  tr<Mu  upper  luilia  by 
a  wide  strait,  and  nearly  severed  just  above  Florida 
by  j\  broad  inlet  from  the  west.  The  origin  of  this 
inlet  or  bay  is  not  known,  but  it  was  ])robably  founded 
on  certain  unpubhshed  reports  of  Verrazano  or  Go- 
mez.   Orontius  Fine,  in  his  map  of  1531,  adhered  to 


Orontius  Fink's  Map,  1531. 

the  original  idea  that  the  new  regions  were  part  of 
Asia,  disregarding  the  conjectures  of  his  contempo- 
raries, which,  if  accidentally  more  accurate  than  his, 
were  much  less  consistent  with  real  knowledge. 

Nuiio  de  Guzman's  conquest  in  1531,  extending 
to  Siualoa,  did  much  to  discredit  earlier  tales  of  a 
province  of  Amazons;  but  the  discovery  of  a  place 
called  Aztatlan  seemed  to  furnish  some  confirma- 
tion of  supposed  aboriginal  traditions  about  an  Aztec 
migration  from  the  north-west.  In  1533  the  efforts  of 
Cortes  were  so  far  successful  that  Jimenez,  one  of  his 
commanders,  discovered  land  which  was  supposed  to 
be  an  island  and  named  Santa  Cruz.  Had  Jimenez 
been  able  to  explore  more  fully  the  eastern  coast  of 
his  new  land,  the  theory  would  doubtless  have  been 
on  his   return  that  he  had  reached  a  part  of  the 


43 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY. 


Asiatic  continent,  and  had  entered  tlie  mouth  of  the 
lonff  souirht  strait.  This  would  have  been  natural, 
and  might  have  had  nmeh  mnuence  in  shapnig  later 
conjecture  and  ex})loration ;  but  Cortes  was  intent 
not  only  on  finding  the  strait  but  rich  islands  on  the 
way  to  India;  therefore  he  was  willing  to  accept  the 
new  discovery  as  an  island,  even  after  a  fruitless  at- 
tempt at  occupation  and  finding  riches.  The  idea  that 
it  was  an  island  was  soon  abandoned, only  to  be  revived 
for  a  longer  life  in  later  years.  Meanwhile  some  one 
called  attention  to  a  popular  romance,  some  twenty- 
five  years  old,  in  which  the  following  passage  occurred : 
"Know  that  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Indies  there  is 
an  island  called  California,  very  near  to  the  terres- 
trial paradise,  which  was  peopled  with  black  women, 
without  any  men  among  them,  becauce  they  were 
accustomed  to  live  after  the  fashion  of  Amazons." 
Therefore  the  now  island  was  appropriately  named 
California,  because  of  its  position,  its  supposed  wealth, 
and  of  the  Amazons  of  native  tradition. 

At  the  same  time  Diego  de  Guzman  made  a  trip 
from  Culiacan  to  the  Yaqui,  to  verify  the  reports  of 
the  Seven  Cities,  and  of  a  river  four  or  five  leagues 
wide  flowing  into  the  South  Sea,  and  having  an  iron 
chain  stretched  across  its  mouth  to  prevent  boats 
penetrating  the  interior."  On  the  eastern  coast 
Jacques  Cartier  was  questioning  the  Indians  of  Canada 
about  the  west.  Referring  doubtless  to  the  great 
lakes,  they  said  that  from  the  upper  St  Lawrence 
there  "  was  fresh  water,  which  went  so  farre  upwards, 
that  they  had  never  heard  of  any  man  who  had  gone 
to  the  head  of  it,  and  that  there  is  no  other  passage 
but  with  small  boates."  Less  intelligible,  but  equally 
interesting  to  the  hearers,  was  their  statement  that 
from  Hochelaga  was  but  a,  month's  journey  to  a 
country  of  cinnamon  and  cloves.*'     Agnese's  map  of 

"  Ovzman,  Seguiula  Rel.  Avdn.  303.  The  Seven  Cities  may  have  been  an 
afterthought  of  the  autlior,  as  he  did  not  write  until  some  years  after  the 
events  descrilicd. 

^■^  Itamumo,  Viujgi,  iii.  453;  Ilakluyt's  Voy.,  iii,  ilS. 


II     f 


VACA,  SOTO,  AND  NIZA.  i» 

1530  and  a  Portuguese  map  of  the  same  year  are 
essentially  the  same  as  the  Ptolemy  map  of  1530, 
except  that  the  north-western  coast  Hne  is  for  the 
most  part  left  vague  and  indefinite,  being  reprewenteJ 
hy  (lotted  lines,  and  that  the  latter  lacks  the  narrow- 
ing to  an  isthmus  just  above  Florida,  but  shows  f. 
strait  affording  a  passage  to  Cathay  just  below  Baca- 
laos,  or  Newfoundland," 

It  was  in  1536  that  Cabeza  de  Vaca  arrived  in 
Sinaloa  and  Mexico  from  his  overland  trip.  His 
report  contained  little  or  nothing  that  was  marvellous 
about  the  north.  He  had  received  a  few  turquoises 
and  emeralds  from  the  Indians,  who  said  they  came 
from  the  north,  "whore  were  populous  towns  and  very 
large  houses,""  referring  of  course  to  the  Pueblo 
towns.  But  this  in  connection  with  other  rumors  of 
northern  towns  was  sufScient  to  kindle  anew  the  flame 
of  adventure.  While  Soto  was  wandering  in  the  broad 
Mississippi  Valley  without  contributing  anything  of 
importance  to  the  marvels  of  the  Northern  Mystery, 
Friar  Marcos  de  Niza  started  northward  from  Culia- 
can,  and  went  so  far  probably  as  to  come  actually  in 
sight  of  one  of  the  towns  at  Cibola,  or  Zufii;  though 
Hernan  Cortds  and  others  regarded  Niza's  narrative 
as  pure  fiction.  Friar  Marcos,  however,  preferred 
falsehood  or  gross  exaggeration  to  the  truth.  He 
jiroved  to  his  own  satisfaction  that  California  was 
an  island,  and  that  there  were  thirty  others  rich  in 
pearls;  he  learned  that  the  coast  turned  abruptly  to 
the  west  in  35°;  he  learned  much  of  a  country  richer 
and  more  populous  than  Mexico,  including  Cibola, 
Totonteac,  Abacus,  and  Marata;  he  saw  from  a  dis- 
tance Cibola,  a  town  larger  than  Mexico,  though  the 
smallest  of  the  Seven  Cities;  he  listened  credulously 
to,  if  he  did  not  invent,  stories  of  gold  and  precious 


"  See  Ko/iPh  Witt.  Dij<cov.,  292,  296.  In  Id.,  296,  is  another  similar  map 
by  Homcm,  1540,  without  the  strait;  but  thero  is  a  strait  between  iliicalaoa 
auit  ioehuid. 

^■' Ccdiiza  de  raca.  Relation,  107. 


ii 


I 


m 


M 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY. 


stones  being  in  common  use;  and  after  taking  formal 
possession  of  this  New  Kingdom  of  San  Francisco 
lie  leturncd  to  Mexico  in  1539.^"  Niza's  misstate- 
ments were  soon  exposed ;  but  nevertheless  they  were 
widely  circulated,  and  their  influence  was  felt  for 
many  years.  The  names  Cibola,  Totonteac,  and  the 
Seven  Cities,  semi -mythic  in  later  years,  originated 
with  him;  though  the  last  had,  before  the  discovery 
of  America,  been  applied  to  a  mythic  region  in  the 
Atlantic. 

In  1540-3  were  made  the  famous  expeditions  of 
Coronado,  Ulloa,  Alarcon,  and  Cabrillo,  with  which 
the  reader  is  familiar.  The  reports  of  these  explorers 
were  ])lain  sto,tements  of  fact,,  They  were  disappointed 
in  their  expectation  of  rich  kingdoms  in  the  north; 
but  they  indulged  in  no  wild  speculations  of  what 
might  have  been  found  had  they  penetrated  farther. 
They  revealed  the  coast  line  beyond  latitude  40°; 
showed  California  to  be  a  peninsula;  explored  both 
shor-es  of  the  gulf;  discovered  the  Colorado  in  two 
places;  exposed  learly  all  Niza's  misrepresentations; 
proclaimed  in  their  true  character  the  Pueblo  towns 
of  modern  Arizona  and  New  Mexico;  discovered  the 
Ptio  Grande  del  Norte;  and  even  explored  the  great 
plains  far  to  the  north-east.  Indeed  they  made  known 
substantially  all  that  was  to  be  known  for  over  tv/o 
centuries  of  northern  geography;  and  they  practi- 
cally convinced  Spain  that  in  this  region  there  wl-s 
no  lield  for  conquests  similar  to  those  of  Cort($s  and 
Pizarro,  though  there  might  be  a  strait  above  the 
fortieth  parallel. 

Yet  especially  in  the  records  of  Coronado's  adven- 
tures A\-ere  left  the  seeds  of  mystery  and  perplexity. 
,  So  fully  was  exploration  suspended  that  the  regions 
described  became  semi-mythical.  It  was  not  rare  in 
later  years  for  even  Spaniards  to  discuss  the  general 
topic  of  northern  geography,  without  any  apparent 

^"Niza,  Deecvbrimiento  dt  '-•   Sielc  Ciudadcs. 


QUIVIRA  A\T)  TOTONTEAC. 


45 


knowledge  of  Coronado's  achievements."  It  was  not 
clear  from  th^^  narratives  whether  the  great  rivers 
visited  by  Cdruenas,  Alarcon,  and  Diaz  were  one, 
two,  or  three  streams;  nor  was  it  known  whether  the 
river  of  Tigucx,  the  Rio  del  Norte,  flowed  into  the 
Atlantic  or  the  Pacific  gulf  The  expedition  to  Qui- 
vira  was  undertaken  by  Coronado  from  Tiguex,  on 
the  Rio  del  Norte,  in  consequence  of  reports  by 
Indian.^  of  a  great  kingdom  in  the  north-east,  rich  in 
gold  and  other  wealth.  He  journeyed  far  in  that 
direction,  to  40"  as  he  believed,  and  found  Quivira  a 
wigwam  town  of  the  plains.  It  had  none  of  the  re- 
ported attractions;  and  one  of  the  two  natives  who 
had  been  most  liberal  with  information,  confessing 
his  deception,  was  put  to  death;  but  the  other,  and 
some  of  the  Spaniards,  having  returned  to  Tiguex 
before  reaching  Quivira,  refused  to  believe  in  the 
thoroughness  of  the  search,  and  in  the  non-existence 
of  this  wondrous  wealthy  kingdom.  Hence  the  imag- 
inary Quivira  Avell  nigh  crowded  the  wigwam  town 
out  of  existence.  That  it  was  rich  and  far  north  was 
ail  that  was  remembered,  its  longitude  not  being 
taken  into  account.  Though  Coronado  had  clearly 
defined  its  direction  from  New  Mexico,  it  was  gener- 
ally placed  on  the  coast  of  the  South  Sea. 

For  the  transfer  of  Quivira  from  the  north-east  to 
the  north-west  perhaps  the  historian  Gomara  was 
responsible,  as  he  certainly  was  for  other  misrepre- 
sentations. He  stated  that  Ciirdeuas,  who  really  went 
from  Zuili  to  the  Colorado  Canon,  reached  the  coast, 
perhaps  confounding  his  exploration  with  that  of  Diaz; 
and,  after  describing  the  trip  to  Quivira,  he  wrote: 
"They  saw  on  the  coast  ships  which  had  pelicanr; 
of  gold  and  silver  on  their  prows,  with  merchandise 
that  they  thought  to  be  from   Cathay  and  China, 

"Garc^s,  in  Doc.  Hiet.  Mex.,  serie  ii.  torn.  i.  30.5-7,  seems  to  think  timt 
Bome  of  Coronado's  men  reaolicd  the  Santfi.  Bilrbara  channel  of  AltaCJalifonii.i. 
JloU  I'adilla,  Com/.  X.  Gulkia.  MS.,  KID,  tells  us  tiuit  if  Oonjuadtj  Uati  /'(i.ie 
fai  ulitT  no'lh  and  soincwliat  wcstwavdly  he  would  have  reached  what  la  now 
(1740)  kuowii  ua  i>e\»  Mexico. 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY. 


■;  i 


'I     * 


because  they  made  signs  that  they  had  sailed  thirty 
days,""  meaning  perhaps  to  connect  the  falseliood 
with  tiie  visit  of  Cilrdenas  to  the  coast,  though  later 
writers  did  not  so  understand  it,  and  located  these  ships 
at  Quivira,  or  rather  carried  Quivira  to  the  ships. 
Niza/s  Totonteac,  as  the  natives  told  Coronado,  wc^  3  a 
small  town  on  a  lake;  and  this  mythic  town,  as  we 
shall  see,  long  lived  under  one  name  or  another. 
Moreover,  several  items  of  really  later  orisrin  were 
sometiuaes  dated  back  to  Coronado's  time. 

Before  Coronado  undertook  his  exploravi^.:  Niza's 
discoveries  becoming  known  had  created  some  ex- 
citement in  Spain,  a  curious  phase  of  which  was 
a  quarrel  in  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  in  Spain. 
Cor*".H8,  Guzman,  Soto,  and  Alvarado,  each  had  a 
license  for  discovery  in  the  north,  and  in  their  ab- 
sence were  represented  by  counsel.  Each  lawyer 
endeavored  to  make  the  stupid  consejo  understand 
that  Cibola  was  in  the  very  heart  of  the  particular 
territory  his  client  was  authorized  to  rule;  and  that 
to  allow  encroachment  by  another  on  a  conquest  for 
whicli  such  sacrifices  had  been  made  would  be  a 
grievous  wrong.  After  hearing  the  arguments  m 
favor  of  California,  New  Galicia,  and  Florida,  the 
council  wisely  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  waa 
unable  to  determine  the  lo«;ation  of  Cibola,  and  ac- 
cordingly authorized  Vicero}  Mendoza  to  continue 
his  explorations  for  the  province." 

Ulloa's  voyage  left  sonio  doubt  whether  there  was  & 
strait  just  abov«;  Santa  Cruz  separating  the  southern 
end  of  th*  peninsula.  Alarcon  was  entertained  on 
the  gulf  and  river  shores  by  the  natives  with  reports 
of  grand  rivers,  copyjer  mountains,  powerful  chief- 
tains, and  bearded  white  men.  One  or  more 'old  men' 
usually  accompanied  the  commander  in  his  voyage 
on  the  Colorado,  who  did  not  fail  to  impose  upon  the 

^"Oomara,  Jfiff.  Ind.  Ti(>~i  It  is  ropeutcd  by  Salmeron  and  other  writcni, 
with  vurious  I'luliellislinicntf!. 

'*Froce60  del.  Mai.{Ms,  300-408. 


I 


.1. 


RUSCELLI  AND  MUXSTER. 


47 


oredulity  of  his  visitor,  telling  him  among  otiicr  things 
of  an  old  woman,  Guatazaca,  who  livod  without  eat- 
ing, on  a  lake,  or  near  the  sea,  or  by  a  mountain,  in  the 
country  w^liere  copper  bells  were  made.  Cabrillo,  be- 
yond hearing  rumors  of  white  men  in  the  interior, 
contributed  nothing  to  mythic  annals;  in  fact  his 
exploration  was  well  nigh  forgotten  in  later  years. 
Most  prominently  to  be  remembered  in  connection 
with  Cabrillo  was  that  he  is  said  to  have  discovered 
and  named  Cape  Mendocino — which  he  certainly  did 
not. 

Two  maps  of  1540  and  1541  represent  very  accu- 
rately the  peninsula  coasts,  the  gulf,  and  the  mainland 
shore;  but  they  leave  the  interior  a  blank.^°  Iluscelli's 
map  of   1544,  which   I  reproduce,   adheres    to    lirst 


RusCELU's  Map,  1544. 


principles  indeed.  Not  only  are  New  Spain  and 
Florida  represented  as  part  of  Asia,  but  Bacalaos 
is  pictured  as  a  central  land  connected  by  narrow 
isthmuses  on  the  west  with  Asia  and  on  the  east 
with  Europe.     A  voyage  to  India  according  to  this 


••See  maps  in  Hial.  Cent.  Am.,  i.  153-4. 


48 


THE  NORTHERX  MYSTERY. 


map  would  liave  Ijcen  attended  with  many  difficulties. 
The  map  in  JMunster's  Cosmographia  of  1545  is,  as 


Munster's  Map,  1545. 

will  be  observed,  a  copy  of  the  PtolewAj  of  1530,  so 
far  as  the  southern  parts  of  Temistitan,  Florida,  Frap- 
cisca,  and  Cortercal  are  concerned;  but  it  exten.-^ 
farther  north.  Bacalaos,  or  Newfoundland,  joins 
Europe  as  in  Ruscelli's  map,  but  it  reaches  far  to 
the  west,  as  does  upper  India  far  to  the  east,  until 
a  strait  is  left  between  them,  into  the  northern  ocean; 
while  south  of  these  lands  is  '  the  strait,'  with  the 
inscription,  "Per  hoc  fretii  iter  patet  ad  Molucas." 

As  we  pass  1550  to  record  the  use  that  was  made 
of  the  brilliant  discoveries  achieved  before  that  date, 
with  the  vagaries  founded  on  those  discoveries,  and 
on  new  ones,  real  or  fictitious,  we  find  in  Ramusio's 
map  of  155G''''  the  first  printed  representation  of 
North  America  as  it  was  actually  known;  that  is,  witli 
indications  of  a  broad  continent,  but  all  loft  blank 
beyond  the  points  of  discovery.    In  the  western  iutc- 

"  liammio,  Viagf/i,\euct\a,,  1565,  iii.  455-6.  The  first  edition  of  this  volmae 
wa«  in  155<).  1  am  not  cei-tiiin  that  it  coutaineJ  llic  same  iiiap;  but,  it  iui»».«i» 
uu  dillerenue.     Also  in  ii)Uv<  an'  2\iKtii,  ]A.  iv.  uu.  '4. 


RAMUSIO  AND  HOMEM. 


rior  a  vague  record  of  Coronatlo's  expedition  is  given, 
but  with  a  curious  transposition  of  east  for  west  in 
the  k)cation  of  Cibohi,  Tiguex,  Cicuic,  and  Quivira 
respectively,  all,  it  would  seem,  for  the  purpose  of 
following    Gomara's  su[)posed    theory  that    Quivira 


Rampsio's  Map,  1556. 

was  on  the  western  coast.  And  there  Quivira  re- 
mained for  many  years.  The  Sierra  Nevada  has  been 
named  by  Cabrillo.  California,  not  named,  is  a  pe- 
ninsula of  peculiar  shape  not  copied  by  later  map- 
makers;  and  beyond  the  limits  of  my  copy,  some  50" 
west  of  California,  lies  an  island,  Giapam.  There  is 
no  expressed  oi)inion  respecting  the  strait.  In  its 
mam  features  this  map  is  of  a  tvpe  often  repeated. 
The  manuscript  map  of  the  Portuguese  Ilomem, 
m»«le  in  15J8,''^"  dili'ers  v»idely  in  the  nortli-west. 
Homem  adheres  to  the  old  idea  that  Norti.  America 
is  a  very  narrow  continent,  extending  from  sxutli-west 
to  north-east;  and  he  gives  the  navigator  his  choice 


'■■'Taken  froni  AV.;./'.<  //w/.  Discov.,  377.     Most  n; 
no  loaiirnj  im  tlua  suiijuct. 

MlMt.  N.  \V,  CoABT,  Vol.  I.    i 


iiiittod,  as  having 


■'% 


60 


THE  NORTHEEN  MYSTERY. 


\ 


(■1 


V^ 


I  ! 


of  many  ways  by  water  to  the  Pacific.  As  Kolil 
says:  "Our  author  appears  to  have  had  a  great 
passion  for  islands  and  a  strong  behef  in  north-west 


.•■^:^-£z?^^/fA 


T  K  K  K  A 
AOKICULE 


iHt  u  itUfiOeniiliiuM  ^£^ 


Homem's  Map,  1558. 

?assagos  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  western  ocean, 
le  cuts  up  the  whole  of  northern  New  France  into 
large  islands,  and  converts  several  branches  of  the 
St  Lawrence  into  sea-channels  and  straits.  He  puts 
down  a  strait  in  every  place  where  Cartier,  in  his 
report,  had  said  he  had  looked  for  one,  even  if  he  did 
not  find  it."  From  vague  rumors  of  the  great  lakes 
and  Hudson  Bay  he  makes  the  great  mare  lepcwa- 
rtmtium  a  name  for  the  western  ocean,  tiie  origin  of 
which  is  not  known.^ 

About  15GO-5  some  few  men  m  Spain  became 
greatly  interested  in  finding  the  northern  passage, 
though  thev  did  not  succeed  in  arouninjj  the  court  to 
actual  endeavor.     Prominent  among  these  was   the 

^  Ramusio,  V'uiggi,  iii.  6,  writing  in  1553,  Reems  to  liave  ha<l  like  ideas 
of_  Canada.  '  From  which  [Cartier's  reports]  we  are  not  yet  clear  whether  ib 
[New  France]  ia  joined  to  the  mainland  of  Florida  and  New  Spain,  or  'a  all 
dirided  into  i-ilands ;  or  wliether  it  ia  possible  to  go  by  ttofie  })arts  to  the 
province  of  Catliay,  a»  Sebastian  Cabot  wrote  mo  many  yemii»  -Ago. ' 


MKNENDEZ  AKD  URDAXETA. 


51 


Adclantado  Pedro  Menendcz  do  Avilos,  famous  in  the 
annals  of  Florida.  He  wrote  several  papei-s  on  the 
subject,  and  in  one  of  them  stated  that  in  1554  he  had 
brought  from  New  Spain  a  man  who  claimed  to  havo 
been  on  a  French  ship,  which  had  sailed  four  hundri'd 
leagues  on  a  hrazo  dc  mar  runnin<'  inland  from  Now- 
foundland  toward  Florida.  The  ship's  crew  then 
landed  and  a  quarter  of  a  league  distant  found  another 
channel,  on  which  they  built  four  small  vessels,  and 
sailed  another  three  hundred  leagues,  to  latitude  48  , 
north  of  Mexico,  near  the  mines  of  Zacatecas  and  San 
Martin,  where  were  large  and  prosperous  settlements. 
The  channel  led  to  the  South  Sea,  toward  China  and 
the  Moluccas,  though  it  was  not  followed  so  far.  Tlu 
French  ship  on  her  return  was  wrecked,  but  the  nar- 
rator with  some  others  was  saved  b}'  a  Portuguese 
vessel.  This  was  perhaps  the  first  definite  narrative  of 
a  fictitious  vovai^e  throuofh  the  famous  strait.  The 
story  was  often  repeated;  and  other  like  trips  were 
invented,  as  we  shall  see.  Menendez  doubtless  tild 
the  story  in  good  faith,  being  deceivetl  by  an  adven-, 
turerwdio  took  advantage  of  his  enthusiasm.'^* 

One  of  the  Spaniards  who  like  Menendt'/,  was  in- 
terested in  the  problem  was  Andres  de  I^rdaneta, 
friar  and  n.'ivigator,  the  man  who  first  crossed  the 
Pacnfic  eastward  and  discovered  the  northern  rou^e. 
Urdaneta  was  acquainted  with  Menendez,  and  know- 


''■' Xavarrett,  Viar/fs  Apdrri/os,  39;  /'/.,  in  Sutil  y  Mex.,  Viur/e,  xxxix.-xl. 
It  was  in  1565  that  MonenJez  told  this  storv ;  but  he  had  apparently  prowentcd 
a  memorial  oa  the  passage  soon  .after  1554.  \avarrett',  in  tiic  I'iaijr-!  ApOrrij'o':, 
quotes  from  several  original  communications  of  Menendcz.  In  one  of  tlicm 
be  speaks  of  a  salt-water  channel  from  the  region  of  the  bay  of  Santa.  Maria,  in 
latitude  .37°,  which  'goes  towards  the  W.  X.  W.,  and  it  ia  suspected  th.t  it 
goes  ti>  the  South  Sea;  aud  the  Indians  kill  many  cows  like  those  of  Kcv 
Spain  [buf&Ioes],  which  Coronado  fouml  in  those  plains,  and  carry  the  hides 
in  canoes  to  sell  to  the  French  at  Newfoundland;'  aud  in  a  subsequent  one, 
of  "another  ftra::o  de  7nar  which  le.ids  towards  China  aud  enters  the  South 
Sea:  and  this  is  deemed  certain,  althou);(h  no  one  has  gone  by  it  to  the  Soiuh 
Sea,  but  they  have  gone  by  it  over  1)00  leagues  W.  N.  W.,  starting  at  4'2'  and 
reaching  48'',  500  leagues  north  of  Mexico,  an<l  not  over  100  leagues  from  llio 
South  Sea  or  from  China  itself.'  Acosta,  I/Ut.  Xat.  liid.,  lo_'-.'J,  allude  i  1(» 
Menendez  and  his  positive  belief  in  a  strait.  '  El  Adelautado  I'eilro  Melcdez 
hubre  t\  platico  y  excelite  en  lu  mar  iUirmaua,  ser  cosa  cieriu,  cl  auer 
Estrocho.' 


I 


J 


■f.  $ 


m  THE  NORTHERX  MYSTERY. 

ing  all  the  current  reports  about  the  strait  and  its 
discovery  l)y  foreigners,  deemed  it  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance for  Spain  to  ascertain  the  truth.  In  a  docu- 
ment of  1500  he  wrote  of  the  report  current  in  New 
Spain  about  the  French  finding  a  passage  from  New- 
foundland, beginning  above  latitude  70°,  extending 
west  and  Houth-west  to  below  50°,  which  afforded 
open  Hoa  navigation  to  China;  also  that  on  their  re- 
turn tliey  had  found  another  exit  below  50°  toward 
Florida.'"*  This  writer  was  wiser  and  less  credulous 
tlian  Menendez,  for  he  never  placed  implicit  faith  in 
these  rumors;  still  less  did  ho  claim  for  himself  the 
discovery  of  the  strait.  Yet  such  a  claim  was  attrib- 
uted to  iiini.  One  Salvatierra,  a  Spanish  nobleman 
returning  home  from  the  West  Indies,  touched  at 
Ireland  in  15G8,  and  there  related  that  Urdanetahad 
found  the  passage  in  1556  or  1557,  and  had  shown 
the  narrator  a  map  on  which  the  discovery  was  laid 
down.  The  friar  had  revealed  the  matter  to  the  king 
of  Portugal,  who  had  urged  him  to  keep  it  a  profound 
secret,  lest  the  English  should  come  to  know  it  and 
make  trouble  for  Spain  and  Portugal.^"  The  exact 
origin  of  this  tale  is  not  known,  although  it  was  not 
without  its  influence  in  later  speculations. 

In  1562  the  Frenchman  Ribault  by  no  means 
neglected  the  problem  on  the  Carolina  coast.  "As  we 
now  demaunded  of  them  concerning  ye  land  called 
Seuola  [Cibola],  whereof  some  liaue  written  not  to 
bee  farre  from  thence,  and  to  bee  situate  within  the 
lande,  and  toward  the  Sea  called  the  South  Sea.  They 
shewed  vs  by  signes  that  which  we  vnderstood  well 
enough,  that  they  might  goc  thither  with  their  Boates, 
by  riuers,  in  twentie  dayes."^''  In  1563,  when  Fran- 
cisco de  Ibarra  reached  the  province  of  Topia,  in 
north-western  Durango,  by  some  means  he  and  his 

".Vornrre'c,  r;r(;/M^l/)dcr;/bs,.'?4-40;  f<l.,\nSHtily  ]\fex.,Viiifj('s,xxxvi.-x\i. 

'"^Fors:tr's  J  list.  Voy.,  441),  repeated  brietly  by  other  writers.  Forster 
givea  no  authorities. 

-'  liibauU's  True  and  Last  Diacoiierie  of  Florida,  in  Ilakiuyt'a  Div,  foil.. 
102-3. 


i 


iihi 


ABRAHAM  ORTELIUS. 


R3 


associates  persuaded  tlieinsclves  without  any  known 
reason  that  they  had  found  a  grand  and  rich  country, 
a  second  Mexico;  and  wo  it  was  represented  in  l!u) 
reports  under  the  name  of  Copahx.  It  is  probahh*, 
however,  that  this  was  dehberate  deception  rather 
than  the  enthusiasm  of  cxph)rcrs.^* 

I  reproduce  the  map  puhhshcd  by  the  famous^ 
geographer  Abraham  Orteluis  in  his  Theatrum  Orhis 
Terrarum  of  1574.^  It  will  be  seen  that  this  map 
combines  the  leading  features  of  the  Ramusio  and 
Ptolemy-Munster  maps.  From  tlie  latter  we  have 
the  strait,  and  even  the  indentation,  though  now  re- 
duced to  a  small  bay  and  not  almost  severing  Canatla 
from  Florida,  while  as  in  Ramusio  we  have  a  broad 
stretch  of  continent,  and  an  attempt  to  show  the 
discoveries  of  Niza,  Coronado,  Ulloa,  Alarcon,  and 
slightly  those  of  Cabrillo.  The  topographical  features 
of  the  peninsula  and  gulf  of  California  are  much  un- 

I)roved,  also  the  course  of  the  rivers  flowing  into  the 
atter.  Totonteac  and  other  names  are  added  from 
Niza,  and  those  of  Tuchano  and  Tolm  from  unknown 
sources.  The  Gomara- Ramusio  transposition  of  tlio 
Cibola-Quivira  towns  is  continued  ;  and  Tiguex,  with 
its  river,  really  the  Rio  (jrrande  del  Norte  of  New 
Mexico,  is  transferred,  as  Cicuic  (Pecos)  and  Quivira 
had  been  before,  to  the  coast  of  what  was  later  Upper 
California.  Finally  the  kingdom  of  Anian  appears 
on  the  same  coast  above  G0°. 

This  name  of  Anian,  as  applied  to  a  north-west  rn 
kingdom  and  to  the  famous  strait,  apparently  origi- 
nated during  this  decade  of  1570-80,  but  under  cir- 
cumstances that  have  never  been  explained.  There 
was  a  theory,  of  which,  however,  I  hear  nothing  Vjc- 

^"fbarrii,  Relaclon,  553-01. 

'"  Orti'livs,  Thrutrvm  Orbis  Terrarvm,  Aiitweqj,  1574,  gr.  folio,  tf.xt,  60. 
There  were  t^arlier  editions  of  1570  and  1571;  and  later  ones,  in  difFerciit 
languages,  of  1.J88,  15!)5,  1508,  l(iO;{,  100(j,  and  10-24;  also  a  Th(sa„i;,ii 
GeO'jru/jhkiiK,  by  the  same  author,  of  1578,  ISflO,  and  101 1.  In  my  edition  of 
the  Tlu'otrnia  there  are  over  70  brilliantly  colored  maps,  finely  engraved  on 
copper  by  Ilogenberg,  two  of  which,  the  TypvK  Orhis,  or  the  wjrld,  and 
Anwricce  nive  Novi  Orhis,  A^'cwt  Dfucri/ilio,  relate  to  the  Pacitic  States  ter- 
ritory.    One  page  of  text  is  given  on  Ajnerica,  of  no  special  importance. 


i 


t ,'» 


I 


THE  NAME  ANIAN. 


65 


fore  the  eighteenth  century,  that  Cortcrcal  in  1500 
named  the  strait  from  two  or  three  brothers  who 
accompanied  him,  or  from  one  of  his  own  hrotliers. 
There  were  also  vague  traditions  of  three  brothers  who 
had  passed  through  a  strait,  sometimes  called  from 
them  '  Fretum  Trium  Fratrum.'  It  appears  that  there 
was  a  province  of  Ania  somewhere  in  Asia,  as  de- 
scribed by  the  early  travellers  and  geographers." 
Again,  we  learn  that  "An  excellent  learned  man  of 
Portingale,  of  singuler  grauety,  authoritie,  and  expe- 
I'ience,  tolde  mee  [Hakluyt,  in  1582]  very  lately  that 
one  Anus  Cortercal,  [this  being  editorially  explained 
as  a  form  of  *  loao,'  'loannes,'  or  'John,']  Captayne 
of  the  yle  of  Terccra,  about  the  yeere  1574,  which  is 
not  aboue  eight  yeeres  past,  sent  a  Shippe  to  discouer 
the  Northwest  passage  of  America,  and  that  the  same 
shippe  arriuing  on  the  coast  of  the  saide  America,  in 
fiftie  cyghte  degrees  of  latitude,  founde  a  great  entrance 
exceeding  deepe  and  broade  without  all  impediment 
of  ice,  into  which  the}?-  passed  aboue  twentie  leagues, 
and  founde  it  alwaies  to  trende  towarde  the  South, 
the  lande  lying  lowe  and  plaine  on  oyther  side :  And 
they  perswaded  them  selues  verely  that  there  was 
a  way  open  into  the  south  sea."^^  Here,  then,  we 
have  as  elements  the  old  popular  belief  in  a  strait, 
the  Asiatic  province  of  Ania,  the  '  three  brothers,'  the 
voyages  of  the  Cabots  and  Cortereals,  the  fact  that 
there  were  several  'brothers'  of  both  families,  the  name 
Anus  Cortereal,  the  renewed  interest  in  the  subject 
at  this  juncture,  and  the  circulation  of  the  name  on 
Ortelius'  maps.  Out  of  all  this  was  evolved  the  name 
strait  of  Anian,  which  early  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 

"•I  have  rot  found  any  mentioii  of  Ania  in  any  document  or  map  of 
earlier  date  tlian  that  of  which  I  am  now  treating  ;  but  Burney,  Huit.  JJiscov. 
HoiUh  Sea,  i.  5,  implies  that  Marco  Polo  mentions  the  province.  80  does  (jil- 
bei-t,  ill  his  Discouise  of  1370.  Ortelius  himself  gives  the  name  Ania  in  the 
interior  opjwsite  Japan  in  his  map  of  Asia.  Purchas,  Hia  Pili/rimen,  iv.  iXKJ, 
mentions  Anian  as  an  island  on  the  coast  of  China.  D'Avity,  Le  Monde,  1037, 
has  Anian  on  his  general  map  as  the  extreme  north-eastern  province  of  Asia. 

"  /lakluyt'ii  Divers  Vioj.,  7.  Nothing  further  is  known  about  this  voyage, 
but  it  is  not  unlikely  that  a  Portuguese  navigator  in  these  times  may  have 
entered  Hudson  Strait. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

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THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY. 


1 1< 


tury  became  common.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  light 
may  yet  be  thrown  on  the  process  of  evolution.  At 
present  all  is  conjecture.  I  know  not  whether  the 
name  Anian  appears  in  the  Ortelius  editions  of  1570 
and  1571,  as  m  that  of  1574;  nor  do  I  know  his 
motive,  cr  that  of  the  author  he  followed,  for  trans- 
ferring the  province  to  America.  There  is  no  doubt, 
liowevo ,  that  the  strait  was  named  from  the  province, 
and  it  is  plain  that  the  resemblance  of  the  names  Anus 
and  Anian  caused  the  discovery  and  name  of  the  strait 
to  be  attributed  to  the  Cortereals.*" 

In  the  cosmographical  work  of  Peter  Apianus,  as 
amended  by  Gemma  Frisius  and  published  in  1575," 
are  two  maps,  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  copy. 
Oi.3,  with  movable,  revolving  attachments,  represents 
North  America,  without  names,  as  an  island  detached 
from  South  America,  equidistant  between  what  may 
be  regarded  as  Cuba  and  Japan,  and  a  little  larger 
than  either.  The  other,  with  only  the  names  T/w- 
mistiton  and  Baccalearum,  makes  of  the  continent  a 
very  narrow  strip  of  land  attached  to  South  America, 
extending  north-west,  north,  and  north-east,  and  sepa- 
rated by  a  long  and  wide  strait  containing  an  island 
from  Eastern  India  in  the  r6le  of  an  Arctic  continent.^ 

•'Amoretti,  Vo;/.  McUdonado,  26,  36-9,  favors  the  theory  that  the  name 
Anian  may  have  had  a  Chinese  or'gin,  and  gives  quotations  and  references  to 
support  that  view;  and  that  the  form  Streto  de  Anian  on  the  earliest  maps 
indicates  its  oi  igm  through  Venetian- Italian  medium,  that  is,  Marco  Polo,  pcr- 
Iiaps.  Ho  cites  Sprengcl  to  the  eflfect  that  the  name  is  on  Mercator's  map  of 
1J70;  and  Engel  as  having  seen  it  on  a  map  of  1566.  Amoretti  is  Often 
inaccurate  in  his  references,  as  when  he  says  that  Urdaneta  saw  the  name  on 
c  map  of  15(38,  and  that  Gali  visited  the  strait  in  1582;  but  it  is  not  impos- 
sible, nor  inconsistent  with  the  views  expressed  in  the  text,  that  the  name 
began  to  bo  used  just  before  rather  than  just  after  1570.  Malte-Brun,  in 
AnnalfH  dca  Fof/atjeit,  xix.  395,  says  that  Ani  is  Japanese  for  'brother,' and 
suggests  that  the  name  may  have  originated  from  the  Portuguede  having 
told  the  Japanese  of  the  discovery  by  the  'brothers.'  In  Voia/jea  an  Nora, 
RecufU,  f,  Ea^iii,  82,  wo  read :  'On  parla  du  Golfe  d' Anian,  &  travers  duquel  les 
Japonois  et  ceux  du  Pais  do  Jesno  assuroient  qu'il  y  avoit  un  passage  ju8qu'& 
la  Mer  de  Tarto.rie.  On  alia  au  doU  du  Japon,  jusqu'au  50°.  On  entra  dons 
nn  Detroit  fort  commode,  pour  aller  dans  TOceau  Septentrional. ' 

"^Apiaiw,  Cornnoifraphia,  Anvers,  1575.  The  work  is  chieHy  theoretical; 
the  description  of  the  New  World,  fol.  34,  seems  to  be  taken  from  Goinara ; 
tlie  maps  are  on  fols.  32,  35. 

''  In  Gill>frt'»  Digcoume  of  a  Dinconerie  for  a  neio  Passage  to  Cataia,  London, 
lu76,  is  a  map  '  in  which  all  impedimeuta  in  the  way  of  the  north-west  pas- 


I1i! 


LADRILLERO  AND  GILBERT. 


57 


In  1584  one  Juan  Fernandez  de  Ladrillcro  made  a 
sworn  statement  in  Spain  respecting  the  strait,  of 
whose  existence  some  eight  hundred  leagues  north  of 
Compostela  he  was  sure.  He  was  over  sixty  years 
of  age,  had  gone  to  America  in  1535,  and  had  navigated 
tho^e  waters  as  a  pilot  for  twenty-eight  years.  The 
strait  was  said  to  lead  to  where  the  English  caught 
codfish,  or  bacalaos;  and  he  with  others  once  at- 
tempted to  find  it.  Had  he  been  alone  with  one 
vessel  he  would  have  gone  on  and  made  the  discovery ; 
but  contrary  winds  and  damages  to  the  accompanying 
ships  forced  them  to  turn  back,  and  they  remained  in 
the  Californias  until  the  vessels  were  ordered  to  join 
Villalobos'  expedition  to  the  Moluccas.^  A  Portuguese 
had  written  to  inform  the  emperor  that  he  had  been 
imprisoned  by  the  king  of  Portugal  because  ho  had 
found  the  strait,  and  passed  through  it  from  one  ocean 
to  the  other.  The  emperor  notified  the  viceroy,  and 
the  latter  therefore  sent  out  the  expedition  which 
Ladrillero  accompanied.  He  had  heard  other  pilots 
talk  of  this  matter;  and  especially  an  Englishman 
who  had  sailed  with  him  twenty-seven  years,  and  wlio 
with  his  countrymen  had  entered  the  strait  while 
fishing  for  bacalaos.  Now  therefore  in  1574,  when  the 
English  and  French  were  believed  to  be  entering  the 
South  Sea  by  this  codfish  canal,  Ladrillero,  notwith- 
standing his  age  and  infirmities,  was  willing  to  go  and 
fortify  the  strait  for  Spain.^  Naturally  enough  an 
old  pilot,  desiring  a  position  of  honor  and  profit, 
found  something  in  his  store  of  old  recollections  to 
support  a  growing  theory,  and  counted  on  his  expe- 
rience in  American  waters  to  give  him  preferment. 

Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert's  ideas  on  our  general  topic 
were  set  forth  in  157G  in  A  Dlscovrse  Of  a  Discouerie 

sage  arc  cleared  away  in  a  most  summary  manner.'  Introd.  to  Hakluyt  Soc. 
reprint  of  HaUuyt's  Div.  Voy.,  1,  li. 

*■>  Villalobos'  voyage  was  in  1542,  which  fixes  the  date  of  Ladrlllero'a 
exploits.     It  is  not  unTikelv  that  lie  may  liave  been  with  Alarcon  or  Ulloa. 

^'  Ladrillero's  Memorial  iu  the  Spanish  archives,  consulted  by  Navorrete, 
SutU  y  Hex.,  xlii.-iii.;  V^iayes  Apdc.,  41. 


i;;.: 


3      :  ■:  r 


'     11 


Vhi'  ;l 


■.  ! 


1» 


THE  northi:rn  mystery. 


for  a  new  Passage  to  Catai'a.^  His  first  chapter  was 
designed  "to  proue  by  authoritie  a  passage  to  be  on 
the  North  side  of  America,  to  goe  to  Cataia,  China, 
and  to  the  East  India,"  the  authority  being  that  of 
the  ancient  writers  like  Plato  and  Aristotle  touching 
the  old  Atlantis,  confirmed  by  all  the  'best  modern 
geographers'  like  Frisius,  Apianus,  Munster,  and  the 
rest,  to  the  effect  that  America  is  an  island.  "  Then, 
if  when  no  part  of  the  sayd  Atlantis  was  oppressed 
by  water,  and  earthquake,  the  coasts  round  about  the 
same  were  nauigable:  a  farro  greater  hope  now  re- 
niaineth  of  the  same  by  the  Northwest,  seeing  the 
most  part  of  it  was,  since  that  time,  swallowed  up 
with  water,  which  could  not  utterly  take  away  the 
olJe  deeps  and  chanols,  but  rather,  be  an  occasion  of 
the  inlarging  of  the  olde,  and  also  an  inforcing  of  a 
great  many  new:  why  then  should  now  we  doubt?. . . 
seeing  that  Atlantis  now  called  America  was  euer 
knowen  to  be  an  Hand,  and  in  those  dayes  nauigable 
round  about,  which  by  accesse  of  more  water  could 
not  be  diminished."  The  writer  adds:  "What  moued 
those  learned  men  to  aflfirme  thus  much,  I  know  not, 
or  to  what  ende  so  many  and  sundry  trauellers  of  both 
ages  haue  allowed  the  same:  But  I  coniecture  that 
they  would  neuer  haue  so  constantly  affirmed,  or  noti- 
fied their  opinions  therein  to  the  world,  if  they  had 
not  had  great  good  cause,  and  many  probable  reasons, 
to  haue  led  them  thereunto  I" 

The  second  chapter  is  '  to  prooue  by  reason'  what 
had  been  so  clearly  established  by  'authoritie'  in  the 
first.  The  reason  was  threefold:  1st,  the  deepening 
of  the  waters  in  the  north,  whereas  "all  seas  are  main- 
tained bv  the  abundance  of  water,  so  that  the  neerer 
the  ende  any  Riuer,  Bay,  or  Hauen  is,  the  shallower 
it  wareth;"  2d,  the  facts  that  no  intercourse  is 
known  between  Asiatic  and  American  peoples,  that 
Paulus  Venetus  travelling  in  Cathay  never  reached 

*^  Oilbert'a  Ducourse,  London,  1576;  reprinted  in  IlaUuyt'a  Voy.,  iii.  11-24. 


A  DBCOVRSE  OF  A  DISCOUERIE.  W 

America,  any  more  thon  Coronado,  "who  trauelled 
the  North  part  of  America  by  land,"  reached  Asia; 
and  3d,  a  complicated  arganient  is  founded  on  the 
great  ocean  current,  which  not  only  had  been  observed 
by  voyagers,  but  which  must  of  necessity  have  a 
passage  by  the  north  to  complete  the  circle  and  to 
"  salve  his  former  wrongs." 

In  the  third  chapter  is  proved  "by  experience  of 
sundry  men's  trauels,  the  opening  of  some  parts 
of  this  Northwest  passage."  The  travellers  were 
Paulus  Venetus,  or  Marco  P.olo,  who  sailed  fifteen 
hundred  miles  on  the  coasts  of  Mangi  and  Anian 
north-eastward,  all  being  open  sea  so  far  as  he  could 
discern;  and  Coronado,  who  "passing  through  the 
countrey  of  Quiuira,  to  Siera  Neuada,  found  there  a 
great  sea,"  etc.,  according  to  the  Gomara  blunder; 
and  John  Baros,  Alvar  Nuiiez,  Jarques  Cartier,  and 
others,  especially  Cabot,  who  in  67°  30'  would  have 
gone  to  Cathay  but  for  mutiny. 

The  fourth  chapter  proves  "by  circumstance  that 
the  Northwest  passage  hath  been  sayled  throughout," 
that  is,  by  the  'three  brothers'  from  Europe,  and  by 
certain  Indians  who  came  to  Germany  before  the 
Christian  era,  and  others  in  1160.  Next  are  three 
chapters  to  prove  that  these  Indians  could  have  come 
by  no  other  way;  and  three  more  of  general  conclu- 
sions and  on  the  advantages  of  finding  the  passage.^ 

"Just  after  Gilbert,  Richard  Willes  learnedly  wrote  on  'Certaine  other 
reasons,  or  arguments  to  proouo  a  passage  by  the  Northwest.'  IlalduyCa  Voy., 
iii.  24-9.  He  began  bv  exerting  all  his  ingenuity  and  learning  to  denounce 
the  scheme,  to  show  that  the  old  writers  were  in  error,  or  ignorant  on  the 
subject,  that  there  M'as  no  strait,  that  it  was  ice-blocked,  tliat  the  rapid  cur- 
rent proving  its  existence  would  also  prevent  its  navigation,  and  that  if  En- 
glishmen could  pass  the  strait  they  might  not  be  permitted  to  trade.  Passages 
From  Ptolemy,  Mercator,  and  Moletius  are  adduced  in  favor  of  the  strait's 
non-existence.  All  this  was  but  a  device  to  give  weight  to  later  arguments 
by  which  Mr  Willes  showed  tliat  these  objections  hati  no  force.  His  views 
were  similar  to  those  of  Gilbert;  but  he  added  the  experience  of  'a  Portugall' 
who  passed  the  strait  and  was  imprisoned  therefor  many  years  in  Lisbon ;  of 
Urdaneta,  'a  Fryer  of  Mexico,  who  came  out  of  Mar  del  Zur  tliis  way  into 
Germanie;'  of  Cabot,  who  learned  tliat  the  'straight  lyeth  neere  the  318 
Meridian,  betweeno  61.  and  64.  degrees  in  the  eleuation,  continuing  the  same 
bredth  about  10  degrees  West,  where  it  opeueth  Southerly  more  and  more, 
until  it  come  under  the  tfopicke  of  Dancer,  and  so  runneth  into  Mar  del  Zur, 


'4 


\  ' 


J"i^ 


I,    ■ 


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'  '  t 


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H! 


T    i 


1  ! 


60 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY. 


From  the  narratives  of  Martin  Frobisher's  voyages 
of  1576-8  to  the  inlet  bearing  his  name,  and  to  tlie 
Meta  Incognita,  as  the  regions  of  the  far  north  were 
often  termed  from  his  time,  we  learn  that  "the  11. 
we  found  our  latitude  to  be  63.  degr.  8.  minutes,  and 
this  day  we  entred  the  streight,"  a  sentence  pregnant 
with  meaning  to  the  theorists,  especially  as  we  read 
of  the  people  that  "  they  bee  like  to  Tartars."  And 
again,  "This  said  streight  is  supposed  to  haue  passage 
into  the  sea  of  Sur,  which  I  leaue  unknowen  as  yet. 
It  seemeth  that  either  here,  or  not  farre  hence,  the 
sea  should  haue  more  large  entrance,  then  in  other 
parts  within  the  frozen  or  temperate  Zone."  Later 
the  author  speaks  calmly  of  crossing  the  inlet  to  the 
east  shore,  "oeing  the  supposed  continent  of  Asia," 
and  back  to  the  "supposed  firme  with  America." 
They  were  doubtless  in  the  strait,  but  cosmography 
had  to  yield  to  the  love  of  gold,  believed  to  be 
plentiful  in  the  black  rocks  around  the,  explorers. 
Yet  of  the  third  voyage  it  is  said  that  Frobishor  con- 
fessed that  "if  it  had  not  bene  for  the  charge  and  caro 
he  had  of  the  Fleete  and  fraughted  ships,  he  both 
would  and  could  have  gone  through  to  the  South 
Sea."=» 

"I,  Thomas  Cowles  of  Bedmester, in  the  countie  of 
Somerset,  Marriner,  doe  acknowledge,  that  six  yearos 
past,  at  my  being  at  Lisbon,  in  the  kingdome  of  Portu- 
gall,  I  did  heare  one  Martin  Chacke,  a  Portugall  of 
Lisbon,  reade  a  booke  of  his  owne  making,  which  he 
had  set  out  six  yeares  before  that  time,  m  Print,  in 
the  Portugale  tongue,  declaring  that  the  said  Martin 

at  the  least  18.  degrees  more  in  bredth  there,  than  it  was  where  it  first  began ;' 
and  of  Frobisher,  who  returned  safely  from  the  icy  regions.  Respecting  the 
currents,  'Lay  you  now  the  nurame  hereof  together.  The  riuers  ruune  wliere 
tlie  chanels  arc  most  hollow,  the  sea  in  taking  his  course  wareth  deeper,  tlie 
Sea  waters  fall  continually  from  the  Korth  Southward,  the  Northeastemo 
current  striketh  downs  into  the  straight  we  speake  of,  and  is  there  augmented 
with  whole  mountaiues  of  ice  and  snowe. . . .  Wheie  store  of  water  is,  there 
is  it  a  thing  impossible  to  want  Sea,  where  Sea  not  onely  doeth  not  want, 
but  wareth  deeper,  there  con  be  discou^red  no  Ian  .1. ' 

**  J/akluyt'nvo!i.,  iii.  ,30-3,  80-1,  with  on  argument  proving  the  existence 
of  the  strait  from  the  tides,  etc. 


TKOBISHER  AND  DRAKE. 


61 


Chacko  had  founde,  twolve»yeare3  now  past,  a  way 'from 
the  Portugall  Indies,  through  a  gulfe  of  the  New 
found  Land,  which  he  thought  to  be  in  59.  degrees  of 
the  oleuation  of  the  North  Pole.  By  meanes  that 
hee  being  in  the  said  Indies,  with  foure  other  Shipper 
of  great  burden,  and  he  himsclfe  in  a  small  Shippe  of 
fourscore  tunnes,  was  driuen  from  the  company  of 
the  other  foure  Shippes,  with  a  Westerly  winde;  after 
which,  hee  past  alongst  by  a  great  number  of  Hands 
which  were  in  the  gulfe  of  the  said  New  found  Land. 
And  after  hee  ouershot  the  gulfe,  hee  set  no  more 
sight  of  any  other  Land,  vntill  he  fell  with  the  North- 
west part  of  Ireland;  and  from  thence  he  tooke  his 
course  homewardu,  and  by  that  meanes  hee  came  to 
Lisbone  foure  or  fiue  weekes  before  the  other  fouro 
Ships  of  his  company  that  he  was  separated  from, 
a.s  before  srad.  And  since  the  same  time,  I  could 
nouer  see  any  of  those  Books;  because  the  King  com- 
manded them  to  be  called  in,  and  no  more  of  them  to 
bo  printed,  lest  in  time  it  would  be  to  their  hindrance. 
In  witnesse  whereof  I  set  to  my  hand  and  marke,  the 
ninth  of  Aprill,  Anno  1579."*°  All  of  which  explains 
itself  I,  like  Cowles,  have  never  seen  any  more  of 
those  books. 

Francis  Drake's  voyage  in  1579  had  some  indirect 
bearing  on  the  present  subject.  It  was  the  hope  of 
finding  a  strait  by  which  to  reach  home  with  his 
ill-m)tten  gains  that  carried  him  into  the  northern 
I'acitic;  and  his  failure  in  this  respect  caused  England 
for  a  long  time  to  confine  her  search  to  the  Atlantic 
side.  His  presence  and  ravages  in  the  South  Sea  made 
Spain  realize  more  fully  the  importance  of  finding 
•and  fortifying  the  strait  for  her  own  protection;  ajid, 
Diake's  homeward  route  being  for  years  not  clearly 
known,  rumors  were  current  tliat  he  had  actually 
found  the  northern  passage,  and  had  returned.  More- 
over, there  appeared  soon  alter  a  fictitious  narrative 

*" Puri-hfi-1,  ffis  Pi!;jr!mi's,  iii.  849.     Tlie  story  is  mentioned  by  Jefferya, 
Ruruey,  uiid  uuiuy  otiiers  tioni  tiiid  source. 


r 


i   .. 


.'J 


;  i. 


i. 


I    <:\ 


..1,^..     .   I 


a.. 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY. 


connected  with  this  expedition.  Padre  Ascension  told 
the  tale  to  Padre  Zdrate  de  Salmeron,  who  wrote  of 
it  in  1626.  It  seems  that  "a  foreign  pilot,  named 
N.  de  Morena,  who  entered  al  inrjUs" — whatever  that 
may  mean — "from  the  Sea  of  the  North  to  that  of 
the  South  by  the  Strait  of  Anian,"  gave  this  account 
to  Rodrigo  del  Rio,  then  governor  of  New  Galicia: 
Morena  was  set  on  shore  in  the  region  of  the  strait 
of  Anian  "very  sick  and  more  dead  than  alive"  by 
Drake  as  the  latter  was  returning  homeward."  Re- 
covering his  health  he  wandered  through  divers  lands 
for  four  years,  over  more  than  five  hundred  leagues 
of  tierrajirme,  until  he  came  to  a  brazo  de  mar  dividing 
New  Mexico  from  a  great  western  land.  This  body 
of  water  ran  north  and  south,  and   seemed  to  tlie 

f)ilot  to  extend  northward  to  the  port  where  he  had 
anded.  On  its  banks  were  many  large  settlements, 
including  a  nation  of  white  people,  who  possessed 
horses  and  fought  with  lance  and  shield.  "Padre 
Antonio  [Ascension]  says  he  believes  they  are  Mus- 
covites, I  say  that  when  we  see  them  we  shall  know 
who  they  are,"  writes  Salmeron.  On  the  coast  where 
he  was  put  ashore  Morena  saw  many  good  ports  and 
great  bays,  and  from  that  point  ho  thought  he  could 
sail  to  Spain  in  forty  days.  He  came  out  finally  in 
I  few  Mexico,  and  went  down  to  Sombrerete,  where 
ho  told  his  story  to  Governor  Rio.  He  was  going 
to  England  to  bring  his  discovery  before  the  court, 
but  was  willing  to  guide  the  governor  to  the  strait." 
Drake's  narratives  do  not  record  the  putting-ashore 

"  The  apparent  meaning  is  that  the  pilot  had  entered  the  Pacific  by  the 
strait  with  Drake,  and  was  Linded  near  its  entrance  as  ho  was  about  to  return 
by  tlio  same  route ;  yet  the  Spaniards  ought  to  have  known  well  enough  the  . 
way  by  which  Drake  came,  even  if  uncertain  how  ho  returned.  * 

*'^  tialmeron,  Itelacinneade  N.  Mex.,  51-2.  Rodrigo  del  Rio  y  Loza  was 
governor  of  Nueva  Vizcaya,  not  Galicia,  in  1590-6.  Padre  Nid,  Apunta- 
tnientos,  78,  identifies  Drake's  port  with  the  mouth  of  the  Carmelo  River !  '  Ese 
desomboqno  del  rio  Carmelo  y  un  puerto  quo  61  hace,  que  el  padre  Zdrate  no 
apunta,  quizd  t)orquo  Sebastian  Vizcaino  no  Burgi6  en  61,  y  se  llama  eso  puerto 
el  puerto  del  Draque,  correspondo  con  esa  punta  de  Pinos  y  puerto  de  Mon- 
terey al  descmbotiue  del  rio  Colorado,  que  entra  acd  en  nuestra  costa  con 
vointidos  leguaa  de  boca,  en  cnarenta  y  uu  grados,  de  latitud  y  doscientos  cin> 
cuenta  y  uno  de  longitud.' 


■m 


IN  NEW  MEXICO.  fl| 

of  any  man  in  the  north.  Morcna's  story  was  doubt- 
less pure  fiction;  but  it  is  probable  that  it  had  an 
influence  in  forming  the  later  belief  that  California 
was  an  island. 

Rodrigo  del  Rio,  to  whom  Morena  made  known  his 
adventures,  giving  his  views  in  1582  as  an  expert 
respecting  the  proper  outfit  for  a  force  to  explore  New 
Mexico,  recommends  that  material  be  furnished  for 
building  a  vessel,  both  for  crossing  brazos  de  mar  likely 
to  be  encountered,  and  perhaps  for  returning  by  water. 
He  understands  that  the  country  reaches  to  the  strait 
near  the  Gran  China,  in  latitude  57°,  and  plausibly 
concludes  that  in  a  territory  so  broad  there  must  bo 
notable  things.** 

Espejo,  in  his  New  Mexican  travels  of  158 1-3, found 
no  occasion  to  build  ships,  nor  did  he  reach  the  Gran 
China;  but  a  Concho  Indian  in  northern  Chihuahua 
told  him  of  towns  having  houses  of  three  and  four, 
stories  situated  on  a  great  lake  some  fifteen  days' 
journey  to  the  west;  at  Zufii  and  west  of  it  he  heard 
again  of  a  great  lake,  now  sixty  days  distant,  with 
great  and  rich  cities,  whose  inhabitants  wore  golden 
bracelets;  and  finally,  in  the  region  of  the  modern 
Prescott,  he  was  told  of  a  mighty  river  behind  the 
sierra,  on  the  banks  of  which  were  towns  in  com- 
parison with  which  those  already  seen  were  nothing, 
the  inhabitants  using  canoes  to  cross  the  river  and 
pass  from  town  to  town."  And  Vargas,  writing  just 
after  Espejo's  return,  attaches  no  small  importance  to 
that  great  river,  really  the  Colorado,  suggesting  that 
it  might  be  the  Estrecho  de  Bacalaos.  Moreover,  the 
reported  lake  towns  might  have  a  significance  in  con- 
nection with  the  fact  that  the  ancient  Culhuas  camo 
from  those  regions."  Thus  did  men  try  to  arouse  the 
old  enthusiasm  for  northern  discovery  dormant  since 
Coronado's  time. 


**Iiodrigvez,  Testitnonio. 

*^E*pt}o,  Helacion;  IlnkluyVs  Voy,,  iii.  38& 

*''  Rodiijuei,  TcMimonio, 


LLUii 


"!•■*,'•    i 

I   1 


■;:i. 


m 


M    ! 

•f-t"  kr 
i    .1 


111" 


64 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY. 


i  ; 


J  , 


Richard  Ilakluyt  published  in  London  in  1582  his 
Divers  voyages  touching  the  discouerie  of  America,  from 
which  I  have  already  drawn  freely.  A  kind  of  prefa- 
tory note  is  entitled,  "A  verie  late  and  great  proba- 
bilitie  of  a  passage  by  the  north-west  part  of  America 
in  58  degrees  of  northerly  latitude,"  which  probably 
rests  on  the  discoveries  of  Anus  Cortereal  in  1574, 
already  cited.  Then  in  the  *  Epistle  Dedicatorie '  are 
set  down  eight  reasons  for  belief  in  the  north-west 
passage.  These,  with  which  the  reader  is  already  so 
familiar  that  a  mere  allusion  will  suffice,  were:  Ist, 
Cabot's  statement  to  Ramusio  that  the  north  of 
America  is  all  divided  into  islands;  2d,  Verrazano's 
map,  to  be  noticed  presently ;  3d,  Gil  Gonzalez'  explora- 
tions on  the  western  coast  of  Central  America;  4th 
and  5th,  the  reports  of  natives  to  Jacques  Cartier; 
Gth,  the  reports  of  Florida  Indians  to  Ribault;  7th, 
the  experience  of  Frobisher  "on  the  hyther  side,  and 
Sir  Fraunces  Drake  on  the  back  side  of  America," 
with  the  testimony  of  the  Zeni  respecting  Estotiland; 
and  8th,  the  judgment  of  Mercator,  "there  is  no 
doubt  but  that  there  is  a  straight  and  short  way  open 
into  the  West,  euen  vnto  Cathay."^" 

The  map  published  in  Hakluyt's  work  and  here  re- 
produced was  made  by  Michael  Lok,  who  claimed, 
Vv'ithout  much  apparent  reason,  to  have  fashioned  it 
largely  after  Verrazano's  charts.  It  is  a  strange  com- 
bination of  the  geographical  ideas  that  we  have  no- 
ticed on  earlier  maps.  The  entrance  to  the  strait, 
which  is  short  and  leads  by  two  arms  into  a  great 
north-western  sea,  is  by  Frobisher's  inlet.  Tlio  bay 
of  old  that  so  nearly  cuts  the  continent  in  twain  is 
christened  '  Mare  de  Verrazano,  1524,'  though  that 
navigator  is  not  known  to  have  reported  having  seen 
or  heard  of  any  such  western  sea.    California  is  still 

*^ llaklnyfs  D'w.  Voy.,  7-13.  He  adds:  'And  heere,  to  conclude  and  shut 
vp  this  matter,  I  hauo  heardc  my  selfe  of  Jlcrchanta  of  erudite,  that  liave 
liucd  long  ill  .Spaino,  that  King  Phillip  hath  matle  a  lawe  of  late  that  none  of 
ills  Bubicciea  t.hall  discouer  to  the  Northwardea  of  iiue  and  fortie  degrees  of 
America,'  lest  the  u'cruit  be  fouud. 


$ 


JOHN  DAVIS. 


6S 


a  peninsula,  but  is  joined  to  the  main  by  a  narrow 
isthmus  in  45°,  where  the  coast  turns  abruptly  east- 
ward to  and  past  Cabrillo's  Sierra  Nevada.    What 


j*^  j#»*^  wo 


Lok's  Map,  1582. 

foundation  Lok  imagined  himself  to  have  for  this 
geographical  abortion  I  do  not  know." 

John  Davis  did  not  indulge  in  any  very  wild  specu- 
lations respecting  the  Northern  Mystery ;  yet,  return- 
ing from  his  voyages  of  1585-7,  he  wrote:  "I  haue 
brought  the  passage  to  that  likelihood,  as  that  I  am 
assured  it  must  bee  in  one  of  foure  places,  or  els  not 
at  all;"  and  again:  "I  haue  bene  in  73  degrees,  find- 
ing the  sea  all  open,  and  forty  leagues  betweene  land 
and  land.  The  passage  is  most  probable,  the  execution 
easie,  as  at  my  coming  you  shall  surely  know."*"    To 

"HnklnyVs  Div.  Voy.,  55;  Kohl's  Hist.  Discov.,  290.  Between  the  two 
ships  and  above  the  line  connecting  them  are  the  following  inscriptions,  in 
Latin :  A  shin  which  directly  hither  from  tfte  Moluccas,  and  hence  in  turn  to  the 
Moluccas,  saiifd  in  the  year  1518.  A.  Oalvano.  O.  Friaius; — which  seems  suffi- 
«t<ntly  absurd;  and  Thus  far  the  voyages  of  the  Portugvene,  1520;  of  the 
ti^iiiards,  1540;  of  the  Englinh,  16S0 — which  is  not  much  more  intelligible. 

*'Halduyt'8  Voy.,  iii.  108,  114,  119-20. 

Hnr.  M.  W.  CoAir,  Vol.  I.    S 


I      'I 
il 


■ 

»•' 

''It. 

Hi 

—j-.ii.. 

; 

'1'  1 

i     .J.; 


r     I 

r 


II  THE  NORTHERN  irVSTERY. 

the  English  colonists  of  Carolina,  158G,  the  natives 
said  that  the  Roanoke  "gushed  forth  from  a  rock,  so 
near  the  Pacific  Ocean,  that  the  surge  of  the  sea 
sometimes  dashed  into  it«  fountain;  its  banks  were 
inhabited  by  a  nation  skilled  in  the  art  "4'  refining 
the  rich  ore  in  which  the  country  abounded.  The 
walls  of  the  city  were  described  as  glittering  from  the 
abundance  of  pearls."  Governor  Lane  explored  the 
river  in  a  vain  search  for  these  marvels.*'  To  Raleigh 
in  1587  Hakiuyt  wrote:  "I  am  fully  perswaded  by 
Ortelius  late  reformation  of  Culuacan  and  the  gul^e 
of  California,  that  the  laml  on  the  backe  part  of 
Virginia  extendeth  nothin^r  so  far  westward  as  ia 
put  downe  in  the  Maps  of  those  parts;"  and  noting 
a  report  of  Florida  Indians  to  Ribault  of  a  great 
interior  city  where  King  Chiquola  dwelt,  the  same 
writer  says :  "  This  seemeth  to  be  La  grand  Copal."" 
The  map  in  Hakluyt's  edition  of  Peter  Martyr, 
1587,  leaves  the  great  north-west  a  blank,  as  unex- 
plored; yet  it  puts  a  maredul  at  60°,  about  midway 
of  the  continent,  and  by  great  rivers  running  north- 
ward from  the  interior  indicates  the  probability  of 
open  sea  on  the  north.  California  is  a  peninsula,  as 
in  Ortelius'  map;  Quivira  is  on  the  coast,  in  40°;  in 
the  interior  just  below  latitude  40°  and  over  the  name 
New  Mexico  is  an  immense  lake  some  six  hundred 
miles  in  length,  communicating  by  rivers  perhaps  with 
the  Gulf  and  with  the  ocean  just  above  Quivira. 
Drake's  discovery  of  Nova  Albion  is  shown  for  the 
first  time  just  below  50°;  and  the  coast  line  seems 
to  extend  to  55°  before  trending  westward.  The 
Cathay  coast  is  about  fifty  degrees  west  of  Nova 
Albion.  If  we  disregard  the  great  lake,  and  look 
apon  the  rmire  dulce  as   Hudson  Bay,  this  is  the 

**Oeorge  Bancroft's  Hitt.  U.  8.,  i.  99-100. 

^  Hakluyt's  Voy.,  iii.  303,  311.  In  1389  Juan  B.  Lomas,  in  asking  a  license 
to  settle  New  Mexico,  understood  tJiat  territory  to  include  everything  above 
the  Rio  Conchos,  and  claimed  the  right  to  fortify  both  coasts,  and  to  buiid 
ships  to  sail  both  toward  Spain  and  the  Philippines.  Lotnan,  AsaieiUo  y  Capitu- 
lucion. 


HAKLUYT. 


nearest  approach  to  a  correct  roproaentation  of  North 
America  yet  produced." 

I  copy  a  map  of  the  strait  of  Anian,  said  to  have 
been  engraved  in  1500,  though  there  .^  /bo  some 
uncertainty  about  the  exact  date." 


Stbait  of  Anian,  1590. 

•'  I  have  only  the  very  bad  copy  in  Stevens'  Notes,  pi.  iii.  No.  1, 
'- Attioietti,  Voy.  Mallmiado,  44,  60,  and  pi.,  gives  the  map  as  taken  from 
a  Mf?.  Trattaf'i  dtllrhano  Monti.  This  author  gives  a  good  many  vague  refer- 
ence" M  rumors  of  the  existence  of  a,  strait  in  the  last  decade  of  the  century, 
no  one  of  >vliich  seeiAs  sufficiently  important  or  tangible  for  repetition. 


I      i 


■  t    ' 

■  i  'i 
'i 

•  \.\ 

i.    ! 


--■Ht 


IJl 


I 


I  y 

li  I: 
III    I 


'•■   . 


I'^J 


( 

s 


iiiii 


ii  I 


i    ! 

■i 


68 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY. 


In  his  great  work  of  1590  Acosta  devotes  a  chap- 
ter to  "  the  strait  which  some  affirm  to  be  in  Florida.'* 
"As  Magellan  found  that  strait  that  is  in  the  South, 
so  others  have  claimed  to  discover  another  strait  which 
they  say  there  is  in  the  north,  which  they  place  in  the 


HoNDius'  Maf,  1695. 

land  of  Florida,  a  land  stretching  so  far  that  its  end 
is  not  known."  He  alludes  particularly  to  the  ideas 
of  Menendoz,  and  mentions  as  some  of  the  latter's 
reasons  in  addition  to  those  already  noticed,  namely, 
pieces  of  Chinese  vessels  found  floating  in  the  At- 
lantic; and  the  presence  of  whales  from  the  South 
Sea  observed  in  a  bay  of  Florida;  and  besides  'the 


ACOSTA.  69 

good  order  of  nature'  requiring  an  Arctic  as  well  as  an 
Antarctic  strait.  It  is  thought  that  Drake  and  other 
English  corsairs  may  have  found  and  utilized  the 
strait.  Men,  like  ants,  do  not  pause  on  the  track  of 
novelties;  and  the  truth  will  be  known,  and  God  will 
make  use  of  man's  curiosity  to  carry  the  gospel  to 
northern  gentiles.  And  elsewhere  Acosta  says :  "Be- 
yond Cape  Mendocino,"  perhaps  the  first  mention  of 
that  name,  "it  is  not  known  how  far  runs  the  land, 
but  from  what  all  say  it  is  something  immense  what 
it  runs.""  I  reproduce  a  map  msMcle  by  Hondius 
about  1595. 


!■  ,-  !    < 


"AeoOa,  Hist.  Nat.  Ind.,  71,  152-3. 


5     4'"'^ 


.■i:v.'4 


■••  ■  ■  u 


;"    1 

i    '{ 


w 


-,:i :?,:-: 


!'■  ■" 


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iff  1 ' 

"I    : 


in 


^! 


li 


CHAPTER  III. 

APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTHWEST. 
1606-1609. 

JvAN  Ds  Fuoa's  PBEncNDSO  DiscovEBiKa— The  Stobt  to  Lok— Pkestthp* 

TIONS  AGAINST  ITS  TeUTH — WeITEKS  ON  THE  SUBJECT — EXAMINATION  Of 

Evidence,  Histobical  and  Oeoorafhical — Doubtless  a  Puke  Fic- 
tion— Meboatob— Wytfuet — The  Great  Northwest — Imaoinabt 
Coasts,  Rivebs,  and  Towns — Conbad  L6w's  Remarkable  Map — Close 
OF  THE  Century — Captain  Lancaster — Herrera — ^Vizcaino — Aoui- 
lar's  River — Ascension— ToRQUEMAOA—OftATE— Lake  Copalla — 

ZlftOGABA    AND    QUEEN    CiSAOACOHOLA — TiDAN — JOHN    SuiTH  —  MaL- 

DONADo's  Pretended  Vovaos  through  the  Strait  or  Anian — A 
Famous  Lib. 

In  recording  the  fictitious  voyages  it  seems  most 
proper  and  convenient  to  notice  each,  not  under  its 
own  pretended  date,  but  under  the  date  when  the 
claim  was  first  made.  By  this  system  the  first  of  the 
famous  voyages,  several  anonymous  and  vaguely  re- 
corded trips  through  the  strait  having  been  already 
referred  to,  belongs  here,  under  date  of  1596,  when 
Juan  de  Fuca  told  his  tale  of  having  discovered  the 
Northwest  passage  in  1592.  This  is  also  the  only 
one  of  the  apocryphal  voyages  the  authenticity  of 
which  still  finds  defenders;  but  more  on  this  matter 
presently. 

In  April,  1596,  Michael  Lok,  an  Englishman  well 
known  for  his  interest  in  geographical  discoveries, 
met  Juan  de  Fuca  in  Venice.  Fuca  had  lately  arrived 
in  Italy  from  Spain,  and  in  Florence  had  encountered 
an  English  pilot,  John  Douglas,  with  whom  ho  came 
to  Venice,  and  by  him  w^as  introduced  to  Lok.  Fuca's 
story  was  as  follows:  He  was  a  Greek,  born  in  the 

(70) 


JUAN  DE  FUCA'S  STORY. 


71 


island  of  Cephalonia,  and  his  real  name  was  Apostolos 
Valerianos.  He  had  been  forty  years  mariner  and 
pilot  in  the  Spanish  West  Indian  service,  and  was 
on  board  of  the  galleon  when  captured  by  Cavendish 
off  the  point  of  California,  November,  1587,  having 
lost  sixty  thousand  ducats  on  that  occasion.  Subse- 
quently he  was  sent  as  pilot  of  three  vessels  and  one 
hundred  men  despatched  by  the  viceroy  to  find  the 
strait  of  Anian  and  fortify  it  against  the  English; 
but  by  reason  of  a  mutiny  among  the  soldiers,  "  for 
the  sodomie  of  their  Captaine,"  the  ships  turned  back 
from  the  Californian  coast,*  and  the  captain  was  pun- 
ished by  justice  in  Mexico. 

"Also  hee  said,  that  shortly  after  the  said  Voyage 
was  so  ill  ended,  the  said  Viceroy  of  Mexico  sent  him 
out  againe  Anno  1592,  with  a  small  Carauela,  and  a 
Pinnace,  armed  with  Mariners  onely,  to  follow  the 
saide  Voyage,  for  a  discouery  of  the  same  Straits  of 
Anian,  and  the  passage  thereof,  into  the  Sea  which 
they  call  the  North  Sea,  which  is  our  North-west  Sea. 
And  that  he  followed  his  course  in  that  Voyage  West 
and  North-west  in  the  South  Sea,  all  alongst  the  coast 
of  Nona  Spania,  and  California,  and  the  Indies,  now 
called  North  America  (all  which  Voyage  hee  signified 
to  me  in  a  great  Map,  and  a  Sea-card  of  mine  owne, 
which  I  laied  before  him)  vntill  hee  came  to  the  Lat- 
itude of  fortie  seuen  degrees,  and  that  there  finding 
that  the  Land  trended  North  and  North-east,  with  a 
broad  Inlet  of  Sea,  between  47.  and  48.  degrees  of 
Latitude,  hee  entred  thereinto,  sayling  therein  more 
than  twentie  dayes,  and  found  that  Land  trending 
still  sometime  North-west  and  North-east,  and  North, 
and  also  East  and  South-eastward,  and  very  much 
broader  Sea  then  was  at  the  said  entrance,  and  that 
hee  passed  by  diners  Hands  in  that  sayling.  And  that 
at  the  entrance  of  this  said  Strait,  there  is  on  the 

•Is  it  possible  that  Puca  might  have  heard  Ladrillero's  storj'?  It  will 
be  re  nbered  that  that  pilot  claimed  to  have  been  with  u  fleet  that  turned 
bock  1.  ^m  California  at  a  much  earlier  date. 


i    ■  I 


l. 


S       !    I:     '     11 


ll 

* 


j;ni 


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U'H 


.^i 


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I 


72 


APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTmVEST. 


i( 


W  i\ 


h 


1:  i 


In 


fA 


North-west  coast  thereof,  a  great  Hedland  or  Hand, 
with  an  exceeding  high  Pinacle,  or  spired  Rocke,  Hke 
a  piller  tliereupon.  Also  he  said,  that  he  went  on 
Land  in  diuers  places,  and  that  he  saw  some  people 
on  Land,  clad  in  Beasts  skins :  and  that  the  Land  is 
very  fruitfull,  and  rich  of  Gold,  Siluer,  Pearle,  and 
other  things,  like  Nona  Spania.  And  also  he  said, 
that  he  being  entred  thus  farre  into  the  said  Strait, 
and  being  come  into  the  North  Sea  already,  and  find- 
ing the  Sea  wide  enough  euery  where,  and  to  be  about 
thirtie  or  fortie  leagues  wide  in  the  mouth  of  the 
Straits,  where  he  entred;  he  thought  he  had  now 
well  discharged  his  office,  and  done  the  thing  he  was 
sent  to  doe."  So  he  returned  to  Acapulco  before  the 
end  of  the  year,  hoping  for  reward;  and  was  wel- 
comed by  the  viceroy  with  fair  promises,  but  after  two 
years  of  vain  waiting,  by  the  viceroy's  advice  he  went 
to  Spain  to  seek  reward  for  his  services  from  the  king. 
Even  here,  though  welcomed  at  court  "in  wordes 
after  the  Spanish  manner,  but  after  long  time  of  suite 
there  also,  he  could  not  get  any  reward  there  neither 
to  his  content;"  and  so  at  length  "he  stole  away  out 
of  Spaine,  and  came  into  Italie,  to  goe  home  againo 
and  Hue  among  his  owne  Kindred  and  Countrimen; 
he  being  very  old."  He  thought  the  reason  of  Span- 
ish ingratitude  was  occasioned  by  the  belief  that 
England  had  relinquished  the  search  for  a  strait,  and 
therefore  there  was  nothing  to  fear.  Now  he  was 
disposed  to  be  revenged  on  the  Spaniards  by  serving 
the  noble-minded  queen  of  England,  hoping  also  that 
she  would  make  good  his  losses  at  the  hands  of  Caven- 
dish. If  provided  with  a  ship  and  pinnace  he  would 
undertake  to  make  the  voyage  through  the  strait  in 
thirty  days. 

Lok  wrote  to  Cecil,*  Raleigh,  and  Hakluyt,  urging 
them  to  furnish  money  to  brmg  Fuca  to  England  with 
a  view  of  acting  on  his  proposition ;  but  the  money 
was  not  forthcoming,  and  in  a  fortnight  Fuca  started 
for  home.     In  July  Lok  wrote  to  the  pilot;  and  in 


'  ,H 


LOK'S  NOTE  IN  PURCHAS. 


78 


reply  received  a  letter  dated  at  Cephalonia  in  Septem- 
ber, in  which  Fuca  declared  himself  still  ready  for  the 
undertaking  if  money  could  be  furnished.  Similar 
letters  were  exchanged  in  1597,  and  again  in  1598; 
but  Lok  was  busied  with  other  matters  and  unable  to 
raise  the  needed  funds;  and  receiving  no  reply  to  a 
letter  of  1602  he  inferred  that  the  Greek  pilot  was 
dead." 

This  account,  in  the  shape  of  a  note  by  Lok, 
was  published  by  Purchas  in  1625,  and  has  been  re- 
peated from  this  source  by  later  writers.  That  it 
was  presented  accurately  and  in  perfect  good  faith 
so  far  as  Lok  and  Purchas  are  concerned  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt.  There  is  some  evidence  that  the 
Greek  pilot  gave  his  true  name  and  birthplace.'  But 
there  are  indications  that  his  claim  of  loss  at  the 
hands  of  Cavendish  was  grossly  exaggerated,  if  not 
unfounded.* 

The  fact  that  I  describe  Fuca's  voyage  in  this  chap- 
ter shows  that  I  regard  his  story  as  fiction.  Many 
intelligent  writers,  however,  believe  it  to  be  in  the 
main  true;  indeed  I  think  that  such  has  been  the 
prevalent  opinion  in  later  years."  Therefore  something 
cf  argument  br  'iomes  necessary. 

^Purchcu,  Hi*  Pilgrimes,  iii.  849-52,  with  copies  of  one  set  of  the  letters 
alluded  to. 

'in  1854  Alex.  S.  Taylor  had  inquiries  made  in  «Jephalonia  through  a  United 
State?  consul.  The  most  definite  statement  ob'.ained  was  oni  from  a  biograph- 
ical work  of  Masaraclii,  published  in  Venifd  in  1843,  evidently  made  up,  so 
far  as  Fuca  was  concerned,  from  the  story  to  Lok,  and  proving  nothing;  yet 
there  were  otiier  items  that  seemed  to  show  that  Focca  was  the  name  of  an 
old  family  there ;  that  a  branch  of  the  family  lived  near  Valeriano,  thus 
partly  accounting  for  the  name  'Apostolos  Valerianus's  and  that  Juan  him- 
self was  remejnbered  traditionally  as  a  great  navigator.  HiUchiwjs'  Maja- 
zine,iv.  116--»-2,  161-7. 

*  In  two  sworn  statements  made  at  the  time  by  the  captain  and  a  passen- 

fer,  though  many  penionsare  named  who  lost  much  less  than  60,000  ducats, 
'uca's  name  does  not  appear.  Navarrete,  Viaget  Apdc,  104.  Tliero  is  nothing 
in  the  narrative  of  Cavendish's  voyage  to  indicate  that  he  found  a  Greek 
pilot  on  the  Sta  Anna,  as  some  have  implied;  but  the  fact  that  he  did  find 
and  retain  a  Spanish  and  a  Portuguese  pilot  might  possibly  indicate  that  he 
did  not  find  the  Greek.  Neither  is  there  anything  to  support  the  statement 
that  Vizcaino  was  on  board  the  Sta  Anna. 

*  Not  much  was  said  of  Fuca's  voyage  before  1770,  except  to  mention  it, 
after  Purchas,  as  one  of  the  many  items  of  evidence  on  a  vexed  question. 
There  was  no  intelligent  criticism,  and  no  foundation  for  any.   When  explora- 


'i  I 


in 

i:  .    . 

I''     ■ . 

1     i| 

^1 

'     ;  i  ■ 

If 

',1    It 

■     :< 

'          ! 

■  t 

i  I 


'•I  ii 


Ml  i 


H 


APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTHWEST. 


The  story  itself,  in  other  than  geographical  aspects, 
is  improbable.    It  is  unlikely  that  Spain  would  have 

tion  began  atfain,  the  voyagers  sought  for  Fuca's  strait.  Tlie  Spaniards  had 
little  or  no  faith  in  the  Gi'eek  pilot's  discoveries,  and  they  found  nothing  to 
change  their  opinion.  Captain  Cook  in  1773  said:  '  We  saw  nothing  like  it; 
nor  is  there  the  least  probability  that  ever  any  such  thing  existed.'  Cook's 
Voy.,  ii.  263.  Forster  in  1780,  iJinl.  Voy.,  450-1,  pronounced  part  of  the 
story  fabulous  and  the  rest  suspicious.  But  in  1788  Meares,  Voy.,  li.  Ivi. 
Ixii.-iii.  155-6  et  seq.,  having  found  an  inlet  on  the  Northwest  Coast,  which 
be  did  not  fully  explore,  but  which  he  was  inclined  to  re^d  as  possibly 
the  entrance  of  'the  strait,'  declared  Fuca's  voyage  authentic,  and  fonnally 
named  it  the  'Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca.'  This  and  other  opinions  expressed 
before  the  geography  of  the  region  was  fully  known  have  obviously  no  special 
force ;  but  one  of  Meares'  stronseat  points  is  the  custom  of  flattening  the 
heads  of  native  children  as  dcscrioed  by  Fuca— a  point  somewhat  weakened 
by  the  fact  that  Fuca  says  nothing  on  the  subject.  Fleurieu  in  1787,  Introd. 
to  Maic/iaud,  Voy. ,  i.  pp,  xii.-xvi. ,  regarded  Fuca's  story  as  probably  true,  but 
exaggerated.  Fuca  probabiy  discovered  the  entrance,  and  perhaps  the  inland 
sea.  Navarrete  in  \902,  Sulil  y  Mex.,  Viage,  lii.;  Viaaes  Apde.,  104,  pro- 
nounced the  story  a  fiction,  relying  on  the  bbsence  of  all  contiraiation  in  the 
Spanish  archives,  and  on  the  latest  northern  discoveries.  Bumey,  HuA.  Discov. 
South  Sea,  ii.  110-17,  in  1806,  while  deeming  much  of  the  narrative  erroneous 
and  exaggerated,  thinks  it  'not  easily  conceivable,  tliat  mere  fancy  or  conjec- 
ture should  chance  upon  the  description  of  a  strait  so  essentially  corresponding 
with  the  reality.'  But  Humboldt  in  1808,  Easai  PoUtiiiue,  329,  341,  had  no 
hesitation  in  cleclaring  Fuca's  story  a  fiction,  and  his  voyage  apocryphal. 
Since  the  time  of  Humboldt  and  Navarreto  there  haa  been  but  little  inves- 
tigation or  argument  on  the  subject.  Most  writers  have  seemed  to  regard  all 
tho  early  explorations  of  the  Spaniards  as  wrapped  in  mystery,  have  seen  no 
reason  why  Fuca  may  not  have  made  a  voyage  as  well  as  Vizcaino  and  others, 
have  deemed  his  description  as  accurate  as  that  of  many  other  early  voyagers, 
and  have  drifted  into  a  lukewarm  support  of  the  pilot's  veracity.  They  have 
not  appreciated  Fuca's  motives  for  falsehood,  nor  the  fact  that  he  was  as 
likely  to  locate  a  strait,  in  whose  existence  nearly  all  believed,  and  which 
must  be  above  44°,  between  47°  and  60°  as  elsewhere,  and  that  nowhere  be- 
tween those  limits  could  his  error  have  been  greater.  Of  course  the  strait 
would  be  wide,  with  islands,  and  probably  trending  in  different  directions. 
Mun-ay,  North  Amer. ,  ii.  87,  in  1 829  deemed  Lok  a  respectable  witness,  and  the 
discovery  of  a  strait  conclusive.  Lardner,  Jlist.  Mar.  Diacov.,  ii.  280-1,  in 
1830  spoke  of  the  narrative  as  entitled  to  much  indulgence,  like  other  old 
writin)|s,  Fuca  having  probably  entered  the  strait  and  felt  sure  it  led  to  the 
Atlantic,  while  Tytler,  Hist.  View,  78-9,  in  1833  declared  the  story  to  rest  on 
apocryphal  authority.  The  authenticity  of  the  voyage  is  defended  by  the  North 
Amer.  Review  of  January  1839,  p,  123-6,  as  also  by  Greenhow,  in  his  Mem. , 
42-3,  of  1840,  andhisZ/Mt.  Or.  ancifCo/.,  86  ct  seq.,  407-11,  who  pronounces  the 
geographical  descriptions '  as  nearly  conformable  with  the  truth,  as  those  of  any 
other  account  of  a  voyage  written  in  tho  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. ' 
Most  later  writers  have  follo'-'^d  Greenhow;  and  for  a  time  doubtless  Americans 
allowed  themselves  to  be  influenced  somewhat  by  national  prejudices.  They 
often  pointed  triumphantly  to  the  fact  that  the  voyage  was  defended  by  'first- 
class  English  authority '  like  the  Quarterly  Review,  xvi.  For  similar  reasons 
some  Englishmen  Ijko  Twiss,  Oregon  Question,  60-70,  felt  called  upon  to  take 
the  other  side.  Galiatin  in  1846,  Letters  on  Or,  Question,  11-13,  found  much 
inteinal  evidence  of  truth,  but  deemed  the  story  somewhat  doubtful.  To  Nico- 
lay,  Oregon  Ter.,  28-30,  it  seemed  to  have  stood  tho  test  of  investigation.  See- 
nian,  Voy.  of  the  '  HeraJJd, '  i.  97-8,  thinks  Fuca  sailed  round  Vancouver  Island. 
Taylor,  llutrhinga'  Mag.,  iv.  1 16-22, 101-7 ;  Pacific  MoiUhly,  xi.  047;  Browne's 
L,  Cal.,  22-3,  modestly  believes  that  his  own  researches  showing  the  ex< 


LINE  OF  ARGUMENT. 


75 


withheld  reward  from  such  a  man  as  Fuca;  she  would 
naturally  have  utilized  his  services  in  the  northern 
expeditions  under  Vizcaino ;  it  is  hardly  credible,  to 
one  acquainted  with  the  spirit  of  the  times,  that 
she  could  have  trusted  so  implicitly  in  the  relin- 
quishment of  the  search  by  England;  and  least  of  all 
would  she  have  permitted  a  pilot  to  carry  such  a 
grievance  and  such  a  secret  to  foreign  parts.  More- 
over, the  fact  that  about  this  time  men  of  his  class 
were  habitually  telling  falsehoods  about  the  northern 
strait,  creates  a  probability  that  Fuca  also  spoke 
falsely.  His  temptation  and  opportunity  were  great. 
The  English  were  eager  to  find  the  strait;  they  sus- 
pected that  Spaniards  had  made  and  were  concealing 
the  discovery.  Accidentally  through  Douglas,  a  con- 
genial spirit,  whether  dupe  or  accomplice,  the  Greek 
pilot  meets  Michael  Lok.  He  need  no  longer  rely  on 
the  old  theories  and  rumors.  To  an  Englishman  he 
may  safely  claim  to  have  made  an  actual  discovery  in 
government  craft.  Lok  will  credit  the  tale,  because  it 
agrees  with  the  theories,  desires,  and  suspicions  of 
himself  and  his  class.  Fuca's  reward  will  be  an  ample 
one — satisfaction  for  pretended  or  exaggerated  losses 
at  the  hands  of  an  English  corsair,  honorable  and 


'■■:'  '!' 


if 

1      r 


istence  of  the  Focca  family  in  Cephalonla  have  removed  every  vestige  of  doubt 
of  the  authenticity  of  all  that  Fuca  may  ever  have  claimed  to  do.  Poussin, 
U.  S.,  239;  Dickinson,  Speeches,  i.  166-7;  and  Lord,  in  BritUh  Columbia,  i. 
pp.  vii.-xi. ,  support  Fuca,  Lord  introducing  some  imaginary  details  of  his  inter- 
view ■^•ith  Lok.  Li  later  years  El  wood  Evans,  Pmjet  Sound,  4-5 ;  Hist.  Oregon, 
MS.,  15-10,  has  little  or  no  doubt  of  Fuca's  discoveries;  else  the  pilot  must 
have  been  a  miraculous  prophet.  Mr  Evans  has  a  curious  theory  tliat  the 
Belection  of  Vizcaino,  an  old  friend  of  Fuca,  and  probably  aware  of  his  dis- 
coveries, to  head  the  later  expeditions  was  in  itself  a  strong  confirmation  of 
Fuca's  tale.  As  a  matter  of  fact  a  strong  argument  on  the  other  side  may  be 
drawn  from  the  facts  that  Vizcaino  made  any  voyages  at  all,  that  Fuca  did 
not  accompany  him,  and  that  Fuca  was  not  named  in  the  instructions  and  re- 
ports of  the  expedition.  Mrs  Victor,  Search  for  Fretum  A  nian,  in  The  Overland 
montldy,  iii.  474-5,  writing  of  the  famous  search  in  its  romantic  aspects, 
accepts  Fuca's  voyage  without  question.  Speaking  of  his  belief  that  ho  had 
reached  the  South  Sea  entrance  of  the  strait,  she  says  Avith  much  reason : 
'Familiar  to  us  as  is  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  we  see  every  thing  to  justify  sucli  a 
belief  in  the  mind  of  the  Greek  navigator ;'  and  indeed  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  Fuca  would  have  formed  such  an  opinion  had  he  ever  reached  the  en- 
trance. Finally,  in  The  Califonitan,  ii.  535-9,  '  D.  S.'  haa  an  article  entitled 
The  Voyage  ojJtian  de  Fuca  a  Fraud. 


.    ■    I       sil 


I 


m 


TO 


APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTHWEST. 


profitable  employment  in  English  service,  and  the 
fame  of  discovenng  the  long-sought  strait,  in  the  ex- 
istence of  which  he  like  others  had  perfect  confidence. 
There  is  reasonable  presumption  that  the  man  under 
these  circumstances  reported  a  fictitious  discovery,  a 
presumption  which  nothing  but  evidence  can  overcome. 
Historically  no  such  evidence  has  been  found. 
Nothing  is  known  on  the  subject  except  what  Fuca 
told  Lok.  No  later  writer  mentions  either  voyage  on 
any  other  authority;  and  no  contemporary  writer 
mentions  them  at  all.  The  Spanish  archives,  natu- 
rally the  best  source  of  information  on  government  ex- 
peditions, have  been  pretty  thoroughly  examined  for 
material  relating  to  early  northern  voyages,  and  special 
search  has  been  made  for  documents  on  Fucas  re- 
ported expeditions.  The  search  has  been  made  by 
men  who  were  competent  and  diligent,  and  under  cir- 
cumstances which  would  have  been  more  likely  to 
prompt  the  production  of  spurious  confirmation  than 
the  suppression  of  real  proofs.  Not  a  word  has  been 
found  bearing  directly  or  indirectly  on  the  subject. 
The  loss  of  a  document,  it  may  be  said,  is  not  unusual. 
True;  but  is  it  conceivable  that  of  all  the  paper 
covered  with  ink  in  the  inevitable  Hispano- American 
style — of  all  that  must  have  been  written  in  fitting 
out  five  or  six  vessels  for  two  distinct  expeditions,  in 
appointments  and  instructions  of  oflScials,  in  reports 
of  failure  and  success,  in  judicial  proceedings  against 
the  wicked  captain,  in  Fuca's  own  memorials  and 
appeals  for  a  just  reward — not  one  scrap  should  have 
come  to  light?  But,  we  are  told,  it  was  the  policy  of 
Spain  to  conceal  all  information  that  might  give  an 
advantage  to  foreign  powers.  Is  she  likely  to  have 
kept  this  secret  so  effectually  that  it  could  not  be 
revealed  when  her  own  interests  demanded  it?  But 
let  us  suppose  such  to  have  been  the  case;  that  all 
papers  on  this  topic  were  collected  in  one  expediente 
and  destroyed;  the  difficulty  is  by  no  means  removed. 
Spain  could  not  silence  all  the  members  of  both  expe- 


PUCA'S  STATEMENT  FALSE. 


77 


^m 


ditions ;  else  assuredly  she  would  have  found  means 
to  close  Fuca's  mouth.  The  Northern  Mystery  was 
a  common  topic  of  conversation  among  mariners. 
The  court  was  deluged  with  petitions  from  men  who 
sought  license  for  northern  discovery,  and  who  magni- 
fied every  circumstance  likely  to  give  plausibility  to 
their  schemes.  Why  h  it  that  none  mention  Fuca, 
or  any  voyage  of  15P0-2?  Could  the  prominent  men 
advocating  such  expeditions  have  been  kept  in  igno- 
rance that  the  government  they  were  importuning 
had  already  effected  the  discovery?  Not  only  was  the 
government  importuned,  but  it  actually  sent  out  two 
expeditions  in  1597  and  1602,  the  former  while  Fuca 
wa?  corresponding  with  Lok.  There  is  not,  however, 
a  single  circumstance  in  what  v  e  know  of  Vizcaino's 
voyages  to  indicate  that  ho  knew  of  any  preceding 
voyage;  yet  Padre  Ascension,  the  chief  chronicler, 
was  a  voluminous  writer  and  an  enthusiastic  theorist 
on  matters  pertaining  to  the  north. 

Thus  the  original  presumption  that  Fuca's  state- 
ment was  false  is  strengthened  into  well  nigh  absolute 
certainty  by  a  total  absence  of  supporting  testimony 
not  to  be  reasonably  accounted  for  on  any  other 
hypothesis.  There  remains  but  one  possible  source 
of  tffstimony  to  shake  this  conclusion;  and  that  is 
our  present  accurate  knowledge  of  north-west  coast 
geography.  To  support  his  claim  the  Greek  pilot 
must  describe  the  physical  features  of  the  region  in 
question  more  fully  and  accurately  than  would  be 
possible  without  personal  knowledge — more  fully,  in- 
deed, than  under  ordinary  circumstances  he  could  be 
expected  to  do  in  a  brief  verbal  narrative.  Extraor- 
dinary statements  demand  rigid  tests;  and  when  all 
the  props,  but  one,  supporting  a  heavy  weight  have 
been  knocked  down,  that  one  must  be  strong  indeed. 
Tolerably  good  guessing  on  Fuca's  part  will  not 
suffice;  nor  on  the  part  of  investigators  that  lenient 
criticism  which  has  led  his  supporters  to  say  in  sub- 
stance: "Supposing  him  to  have  made  the  voyage, 


i'H. 


1 1'  il 

't  i 


'■■!■■ 


'  '       'I 


':!'. 


il 

^-      'I 


;     V 


ill:  I;  ft 


T8 


APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTHWEST. 


Stbaits  at  Jvjls  ob  Fttoa. 


m 

I 


FUtA'S  PILLAR. 


79 


wo  find  in  the  entrance  to  Puget  Sound  certain  fea- 
tures that,  with  due  allowance  for  the  exaggeration, 
and  confusion,  and  error  common  in  such  cases,  may 
be  made  to  fit  his  narrative;  and  admitting  therefore 
that  he  discovered  the  strait,  we  can  account  more  or 
less  satisfactorily  for  the  loss  or  suppression  of  hia 
original  report." 

Fuca  claims  to  have  entered  a  strait  between  47' 
and  48°,  impliedly  just  above  47°,  and  even  to  have 
sailed  by  that  strait  through  to  the  Atlantic;  but 
there  is  no  inlet  within  fifty  miles  of  that  latitude. 
Ninety  miles  farther  north,  however,  in  latitude 
48°  30',  there  is  a  strait  leading  to  the  body  of 
water  which,  un  ler  various  names,  separates  Van- 
couver Island  from  the  mainland.  I  give  herewith  a 
map  of  these  waters.  Fuca's  strait  was  thirty  or  forty 
leagues  wide  at  the  entrance;  this  one  is  twelve  or 
twenty  miles,  according  to  the  place  and  method  of 
measurement.  At  the  entrance  on  the  north-western 
shore  Fuca  noted  "a  great  Hedland  or  Hand,  with  an 
exceeding  high  Pinacle,  or  spired  Rocke,  like  a  piller 
thereupon;"  but  nothing  of  the  kind  exists  in  the 
locality  indicated.  It  is  true  that  opposite,  on  the 
southern  shore,  about  Cape  Classett  and  the  Tatouche 
Islands,  are  numerous  detached  rocks  which  the  ac- 
tion of  the  waves  has  left  in  columnar  and  fantastic 
forms;  rocks  which  are  not  uncommon  on  different 
parts  of  the  coast.  Some  voyagers  have  found  nothing 
here  to  correspond  with  Fuca's  pillar;  others  have 
identified  with  that  landmark  one  of  the  rocks  alluded 
to;  and  Wilkes  has  furnished  a  sketch  which  I  copy. 
Commander  Phelps,  on  the  contrary,  has  found  the 
pillar  several  hundred  miles  farther  north,  on  Galiano 
Island.'    Obviously   nothing   but  a  very  prominent 

'  Phelps'  Reminiscences  of  SecUlle,  Phil. ,  1881,  p.  40.  He  thinks  that  Fuca's 
vague  language  has  been  misunderstood,  and  that  the  pillar  was  at  the  supposed 
outlet  into  the  Atlantic,  where  is  'a  remarkable  promontory  1200  feet  high.' 
He  admits  that  nothing  of  the  kind  is  found  near  the  south  end  of  Vancouver 
Island.  Meares,  Voi/.,  153,  found  'a  very  remarkable  rock,  that  wore  the 
form  of  an  obelisk,'  not  far  from  an  island  near  the  southern  shore.  Van- 
couver, Voj/.,  i.  217,  did  not  find  Meares'  '  Pinnacle  rock,'  '  or  any  other  rock 


... 

:.il.  :i 

:  •    5'  :  : 

m 

iiii; 

:iii  i 


mas 


APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTirW'EST. 


landmark — certainly  not  one  of  many  and  ordinary 
rocks  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  strait — can  sufSce  for 
the  purposes  of  this  investigation. 

Fuca  entered  his  strait  and  sailed  in  it  for  twenty 
days,  until  he  came  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  This  has 
to  be  'explained'  by  the  theory  that  ho  sailed  round 
the  island,  coming  out  again  to  the  Pacific  in  about 
51°.  A  professional  pilot  cannot  reasonably  be  sup- 
posed to  have  made  such  an  error.  As  he  advanced 
Fuca  found  the  strait — one  hundred  miles  wide  at  the 
entrance — to  grow  wider,  impliedly  throughout  his 


iiili^ 


TCAN   DE  FuCA'S  PiLLAB. 

navigation ;  but  as »  matter  of  fact  the  channel  narrows 
to  a  mile  in  width  ^ng  before  the  outlet  is  reached. 
Fuca  found  the  shor.  of  the  passage  trending  N.  W., 
N.  E.,  N.,  E.,  and  S.  .  — that  is,  naturally,  he  sailed 
those  courses  successiv  ly  in  his  voyage  to  the  Atlan- 
tic.   The  far-fetched  *e:  planation'  is,  that  from  a  point 

more  conspicuous  than  thousands  along  the  coast,  yarying  in  form  and  size ; 
some  conical,  others  with  flat  sides,  flat  tops,  and  almost  every  other  shape 
that  can  be  figured  by  the  imagination.'  Wilkes,  U.  S.  Ex.  EepeiL,  iv.  619, 
627,  docs  not  tell  us  where  he  foimd  the  'Fuca's  Pillar'  which  he  sketched, 
but  it  was  doub  Jess  on  the  sonth  side.  The  views  presented  by  Meares  and 
others,  and  especially  those  on  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey  charts,  show  no  land- 
mark corresponding  at  all  with  with  Fuca's  '  Hedland'  and  'Spired  Bocke.' 
Fiudlay,  Directury  Pacific  Ocean,  i.  374,  414-16,  though  supporting  Fuca's  voy- 
age, says :  'At  a  little  distance  S.  W.  from  the  foot  of  the  cape  [Ulasset],  and 
just  within  the  conflnes  of  the  beach,  is  a  rock  in  the  shape  of  a  pillar,  about 
400(?)  feet  high,  and  60  in  circumference. .  .These  columnar  rocks  are  very 
numerous  just  hereabout;  and  De  Fuca,  the  discoverer,  remarked  one  in  par- 
ticular, which  may  be  that  here  adverted  to.  Capt.  Wilkes  has  given  a  sketch 
of  it. .  .The  rock  in  question  is  difficult  to  make  out  among  the  thousands  of 
every  variety  of  form  about  it.' 


^™P 


THE  WYTFLIET-PTOLEMY  MAPS. 


81 


near  the  entrance  is  a  largo  I  ody  of  water  itretching 
southward  and  eastward.  Ho  round  tho  pooplo  clad  in 
skins,  and  passed  1 1  v  ers  islands — not  very  roniarkablo 
coincidences,  nor  requiring  explanation.  His  .state- 
ments that  the  land  was  "very  fruitfull,  and  rich  of 
gold,  Siiuer,  Pearle,"  explain  themselves. 

We  find,  then,  in  geographical  knowledge  nothing 
to  overcome  the  strong  presumption  that  Fuca's  tale 
is  fiction;  nothing  to  prove  that  he  visited  those  re- 
gions; nothing  that  without  'explanation'  agrees  with 
his  description,  even  if  his  visit  be  admitted.  Fuca 
was  not  even  remarkably  lucky  in  his  guessing.  If 
in  the  future  any  proof  appears  that  Fuca  made  a 
voyage  to  the  north-west  coast  and  reported  the  dis- 
covery of  a  strait,  then  a  plausible  theory  may  bo  set 
up  that  he  j  eached  the  entrance  in  latitude  48°  30', 
and  trusted  to  his  imagination  for  all  within.  No 
more  can  be  said  in  his  favor.  He  was  more  fortu- 
nate, however,  than  many  whose  lies  were  more  stu- 
pendous, to  have  his  name  permanently  attached  to  a 
strait  he  never  saw. 

There  are  yet  several  interesting  points  to  be  noted 
before  the  end  of  the  century.  In  Mercator's  Atlas 
of  1595  the  maps  are  essentially  the  same  as  in  Or- 
telius'  Tlieatrum  of  1573;  but  another  Asiatic  prov- 
ince, that  of  Bergi,  is  transferred  to  America  and 
located  on  the  coast  north  of  Anian.  The  name  strait 
of  Anian  is  applied  for  the  first  time,  not  to  the  long 
northern  passage,  but  to  one  about  fifty  miles  wide 
separating  Anian  from  Asia  between  latitudes  60° 
and  70°  and  leading  from  the  Pacific  into  the  northern 
strait;  and  finally  to  the  famous  gulf  penetrating  the 
continent  from  the  northern  strait  is  added  a  circular 
mar  dulce  still  farther  inland,  and  connected  with  the 
gulf  by  a  narrow  channel. 

Substantially  the  same  general  map  is  published  in 
Wytfliet's  Ptolemy  of  1597.'    But  in  this  work  the 

''  Deacriptio  Ptolemaica  Augmentum  Sive  Occidentia  Notilia  Breui  commen- 
Hist.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    6 


!      :    I  ' 


Hi 


*, 


82f  APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTHWEST. 

territory  is  shown  by  sections  on  a  larger  scale  in  a 
Beries  of  maps,  three  of  which  I  reproduce.  The 
first  represents  California  and  Granata  Nova — the 
latter  being  nearer  the  modern  New  Mexico,  Ari- 
zona, Colorado,  and  Utah.  The  gulf  and  peninsula 
are  well  drawn,  but  with  a  superfluity  of  rivers  flow- 
ing into  the  former.  Local  names  along  the  coasts 
are  mostly  found  in  one  or  another  of  the  known  voy- 
ages.    The  western  trend  of  the  shore  is  noticeably 


Wytfliet-Ptolemy  Map,  1597— No.  1. 

exaggerated.  The  chief  river  connects  the  gulf  with 
a  great  lake,  round  which  above  40°  stand  the  Seven 
Cities,  a  confused  rendering  of  the  ancient  Atlantic 
Island  myth  in  combination  with  the  seven  towns  of 
Cibola  described  by  Coronado.  It  is  not  unlikely 
that  at  some  stage  of  its  existence  the  oft-recurring 
lake  myth  may  have  had  connection  with  the  real 

tnrio  ilfustrala  studio  et  opera  Cornell)  Wyffliet  Louaniensis.  Lovanii,  1697.  The 
descriptive  text  is  on  pp.  167-75.  It  adds  nothing  of  interest  to  the  maps, 
but  miglit  be  quoted  entire,  did  space  permit,  for  its  blundering  reference*  t0 
the  uxploratioQS  of  Niza,  Coronado,  and  Cabeza  de  Vaoa. 


KOVA  GRANATA. 


8S 


Great  Salt  Lake.  The  rivers  are  those  discovered  by 
C4rdenas,  Diaz,  Alarcon,  Coronado,  and  heard  of  by 
Espejo — the  map-maker  not  knowing  that  all  were 
one  river,  the  Colorado  and  its  branches.  Nova 
Gran;^ca  must  come  from  the  name  Granada,  applied 
by  Coronado  to  one  of  the  Zuni  towns. 

The  second  map  represents  the  sectiou  next  west 
and  north,  under  the  name  Limes  Occidentis  Quivira 
et  Anian.    The  coast  extends  still  westward  to  Cape 


-,   fC  Midociro'.l    ^-y    J 


Wytfuet-Ptolemt  Map,  1597— No.  2. 

Mendocino,  +o  which  in  40°  is  joined  a  large  island. 
The  coast  names  are  taken  equally  from  Cabrillo's 
California  voyage,  from  Coronado's  wanderings  from 
New  Mexico  to  Kansas,  and  from  unknown  or  imagi- 
nary sources,  doubtless  satisfactory  to  the  cosmog- 
rapher.  The  geographical  fea lures  above  45°,  like 
most  below  that  latitude,  are  purely  imaginary.  I 
can  hardly  conjecture  any  plausible  origin  for  the 


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iPOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTHWEST. 


great  river  flowing  into  the  northern  sea,  with  its 
three  towns  of  Pagul,  Sal  boy,  and  Cubirago,  unless 
they  were  brought  over  from  Asia  with  the  prov- 
ince of  Bergi.  The  third  map  is  the  central  north- 
ern section  adjoining  the  two  preceding  on  the 
north  and  east  respectively,  under  the  name  Conibas 
Regio  cum  Vicinis  Gentihus.  Here  we  have  another 
mysterious  river  with  four  towns,  in  regions  as  yet 


WYTFUBT-ProLEBnr  Map,  1597 — No.  3. 

unapproached  by  white  men,  save  on  the  wings  of 
imagination.  Here  also  we  have  the  round  roar 
dulce  elaborated  into  Lake  Conibas,  and  in  its  centre 
an  island  and  a  town  of  the  same  name ;  also  a  River 
Cogib,  more  like  a  strait,  connecting  it  with  the 
northern  sea.  It  is  likely  that  this  representation  is 
owing  to  Canadian  aboriginal  rumors;  for  not  far 
away  to  the  east  are  the  lakes  from  which  the  Sague- 
nai  flowed  down  to  the  St  Lawrence  at  Hochelaga; 
while  about  the  same  distance  southward  are  New 


CON^L^  LOW'S  BOOK. 


85 


Granada  with  its  Seven  Cities,  very  near  to  the 
head-waters  of  the  great  river  of  Canada.  Verily,  for 
a  region  as  yet  unvisited,  the  great  northern  interior 
was  becoming  remarkably  well  known. 

Conrad  Low,  in  his  Book  of  Sea  Heroes,  1598, 
gives  a  general  map  like  those  of  Ortelius,  Ptolemy, 
and  others;*  but  another  map  in  this  work  has  some 
decidedly  novel  features,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  an- 
nexed copy.  It  represents  only  the  regions  north  of 
60°,  putting  California  above  70°  and  beyond  the 
strait  of  Anian,  but  explaining  in  an  inscription  that 


Lew's  Map,  1598. 

it  is  known  only  by  report  to  the  Spaniards.  The 
river  Obilo,  with  apparently  a  new  mouth,  has  towns 
on  its  banks,  as  in  Wytfliet  No.  3.  But  Lake  Conibas 
discharges  its  waters  westward  into  a  great  gulf  near 
Anian  Strait,  and  is  no  longer  identified  with  the 
circular  mar  dulce,  which  we  are  told  in  an  inscrip- 
tion is  the  body  of  water  whose  end  is  not  known 
to  the  Canadians.  Of  the  two  great  Arctic  bodies  of 
land,  that  on  the  east  is  said  to  be  the  'best  and  most 
healthful  in  all  the  north;'  while  on  the  other  it  is 
explained  that  the  ocean  has  broken  through  to  the 

'  Low,  Meer  oder  Seehaiien  Buck,  Darinn  Verzeichnet  seind  die  Wunderbare, 
Oedeiickwiirdiffe  fieine,  etc.  Colin,  1598.  A  collection  of  voyages  traualated  aud 
abridged  from  various  well  known  sourcea. 


■ 


88 


APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTHWEST. 


pole,  forming  four  channels,  two  of  which  are  shown 
on  this  copy,  which  only  includes  half  of  the  original. 
This  map  is  in  several  respects  remarkable,  as  the 
reader  may  convince  himself  by  a  comparison  with 
the  annexed  rough  sketch,  which  shows  the  regions 
mapped  by  Low  in  their  true  proportions,  and  on  the 
same  scale.  The  strait  of  Anian  in  its  latitude  and 
width  bears  a  resemblance  to  Bering  Strait  which  is 
really  startling.  Note  also  the  general  likeness  of 
Bergi  and  Anian  with  their  great  river  to  Alaska  with 
its  rivers  Kwichpak  and  Yukon.     No  less  wonderful 


Map  fob  Comparison. 

is  the  correspondence  between  the  Cogib  River,  flow- 
ing north-west  from  Lake  Conibas  into  the  Arctic  Sea 
just  beyond  the  strait  of  Anian,  and  the  Mackenzie 
Riv^r,  flowing  from  the  Great  Slave  Lake.  Compare 
the  mar  dulce,  its  strait  and  island,  with  Hudson  Bay 
and  the  corresponding  features.  Let  us  also  bear  in 
mind  how  little  is  known  even  yet  of  the  region  above 
80°;  and  not  forget  the  part  played  by  ice  in  those 
latitudes.  Suppose  certain  of  the  complicated  chan- 
nels frozen,  as  they  were  likely  enough  to  be;  and 
suppose  an  exploring  expedition,  as  well  equipped  and 
observant  as  were  the  best  in  thoso  times,  to  liave 
sailed  through  from  ocean  to  ocean  in  1598,  and  to 


FURTHER  ACCOUNTS. 


fH 


have  made  this  map  as  a  record  of  actual  observations, 
and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  map 
would  under  thobo  circumstances  be  regarded  to-day 
as  a  marvel  of  accuracy.  I  have  no  theory  to  rest 
on  these  facts;  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  geography 
depicted  was  purely  imaginary,  and  the  resemblance 
to  reahty  accidental;  yet  to  many  intelligent  men 
of  the  past  and  present  these  coincidences  would  be 
confirmation  stronger  than  holy  writ  in  support  oi 
whatever  they  might  happen  to  be  interested  in.  I 
shall  not  be  surprised  if  even  yet  the  accuracy  of  this 
map  as  herein  published  is  made  to  confirm  the 
authenticity  of  one  or  another  of  the  fictions. 

Felipe  III.  on  his  accession  in  1598  is  said  to  have 
found  among  the  papers  of  his  father  a  narrative  of 
certain  foreigners  who  from  the  coast  of  Newfound- 
land were  driven  by  a  storm  into  a  great  bay,  and 
thence  into  a  strait  by  which  they  passed  into  the 
South  Sea,  coming  out  at  48°,  and  finding  a  river  which 
brought  them  to  a  magnificent  city.  This  report  fur- 
nished one  of  the  motives  for  Vizcaino's  expedition.® 
About  the  same  time  Hernando  de  los  Rios  sent  to 
the  king  from  Manila  a  notice  of  two  ways  for  a 
quicker  and  safer  navigation  from  Spain;  one  by  a 
passage  entering  above  Florida  and  penetrating  to 
New  Mexico,  in  latitude  45°,  according  to  information 
obtained  by  the  Jesuit  Padre  Sedeno  and  an  Augus- 
tine friar  who  died  at  Manila;  and  the  other  by  the 
strait  of  Anian,  according  to  a  written  statement  of 
Friar  Martin  de  Rada,  founded  on  information  from 
Juan  de  Ribas  to  the  effect  that  certain  Portuguese 
passed  through  it  to  India  and  China,  and  from  Ucheo 
to  ]  iisbon  in  forty-five  days.^° 

*  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  i.  694,  says  the  strait  was  that  of  Anion 
above  Cape  Mendocino.  Navarrete,  Viagea  Apdc,  41;  Id.,  in  Sutil  y  Af ex., 
Vi'ige,  xliii.-iv.,  consulted  a  MS.  relation  of  Padre  Ascension  in  the  archive s. 
Salmcrou,  lielncionen,  14-22,  adds  that  one  man,  apparently  of  the  same  party, 
escaped  after  the  rest  had  perished,  reached  Florida,  and  died  at  Vera  Cruz, 
where  he  liad  a  priest  write  down  his  account  and  sent  it  to  ox-(Jovevnor  Rio. 

'"  Original  in  the  archives  of  Seville,  cited  by  Navarrete.  Also  alluded  to 
in  a  letter  of  the  king,  1002.  Col.  Doc.  liUd. 


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APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTHWEST. 


m-^^:^ 


A  postscript  attached  to  the  letter  of  Captain  Lan- 
caster on  his  East  Indian  voyage  of  1600-1,  but  of 
doubtful  authenticity,  states  that  "the  Pa'-sage  to  the 
East  Indies  lieth  in  62.^.  degrees  by  the  North-west 
on  the  America  side.""  The  historian  Herrera,  in  his 
description  of  1  GO  1,  gives  Quivira  its  proper  situation 
far  to  the  eastward  of  Cibola;  but  his  map  is  on  a 
very  small  scale,  without  names  for  the  most  part. 
California  is  correctly  delineated,  and  a  broaa  ocean 
separates  that  region  from  Asia;  but  in  latitude  45°, 
just  above  Cape  Fortuna,  the  coast  line  turns  abruptly 
to  the  E.  N.  E.,  extending  in  that  direction  to  above 
latitude  G0°,  beyond  which  all  is  blank." 

Vizcaino's  first  expedition  had  been  directed  to  the 
gulf,  and  contributed  nothing  to  our  subject;  but  his 
second  voyage  was  on  the  outer  coast  up  to  about  the 
limit  of  Cabrillo's  earlier  exploration.  Of  his  actual 
discoveries  in  general  and  in  detail  enough  is  said 
elsewhere,  and  I  have  to  note  only  those  points  con- 
nected with  the  Northern  Mystery.  For  one  of  his 
main  objects  was  to  find  the  strait;  and  some  of  his 
discoveries  were  thought  to  have  a  bearing  on  that 
all-important  search.  The  Carmelo,  near  Monterey, 
described  as  a  river  of  some  size,  played  a  minor  rdle, 
as  we  shall  see  in  subsequent  speculations;  but  of 
course  the  more  important  developments  were  farther 
north.  These  were  by  no  means  complicated.  In 
January  1603  Vizcaino  passed  Cape  Mendocino  and 
reached,  in  42°,  a  point  which  he  called  Cape  Blanco 
de  San  Sebastian.  Martin  de  Aguilar,  in  the  other 
vessel,  named  a  Cape  Blanco  in  latitude  43°,  near 
which  he  thought  he  saw  the  mouth  of  a  large  river, 
named  at  the  time  Santa  Inds,  but  generally  known 
later  as  Rio  de  Aguilar,  which  by  reason  of  the  cur- 
rent he  was  unable  to  enter.  From  the  cape  the 
coast  trended  north-west,  according  to  Torquemada;" 

'^Purchaa,  Hia  PUgrimes,  i.  163;  Bumey's  Hial.  Biacov.  South  Sea,  iL 
109-10. 

"  Ilerrrra,  Descripcion  de  Indiaa  (ed.  1730),  i.  6,  24. 
"  Torquemada,  i.  719,  725. 


v^f 


TORQUEMADA  AND  ASCENSION. 


89 


but  north-east  according  to  Padre  Ascension,  in  a 
narrative  distinct  from  that  followed  by  Torque- 
mada" — whence  not  a  little  confusion. 

Torquemada  also  writes :  "  It  is  understood  that 
this  river  is  the  one  that  leads  to  a  great  city  dis- 
covered by  the  Dutch;  and  that  this  is  the  strait  of 
Anian,  by  which  the  ship  that  found  it  passed  from 
the  North  Sea  to  the  South;  and  that  without  mis- 
take in  this  region  is  the  city  named  Quivira;  and 
that  it  is  of  this  place  that  the  relation  treats  which 
his  majesty  read,  and  by  which  he  was  moved  to  this 
exploration." 

And  Ascension  to  the  same  effect :  "  Here  is 
the  head  and  end  of  the  kingdom  and  Tierra 
Firme  of  California,  and  the  beginning  and  en- 
trance of  the  strait  of  Anian.  If  on  that  occasion 
there  had  been  on  the  ship  even  fourteen  soldiers  in 
health,  doubtless  we  should  have  ventured  to  explore 
and  pass  through  this  strait  of  Anian,  since  all  had 
good  intentions  to  do  it."  It  does  not  matter  here 
what  river  Aguilar  saw,  or  whether  he  saw  any. 
There  was  but  little  doubt  that  he  had  reached  the 
entrance  of  the  strait;  and  there  are  indications  that 
Padre  Ascension  verbally  and  in  various  minor 
memorials  gave  much  freer  vent  to  his  conjectural 
theories  than  in  the  writings  that  are  extant  in  print. 
Vizcaino's  map  has  no  bearing  on  the  Northern 
Mystery,  showing  only  a  short  'coast  which  leads  to 
Cape  Blanco,'  extending  north-eastward  from  Cape 
Mendocino. 

The  viceroy  in  1602,  writing  to  the  king,  expressed 
his  opinion  that  there  was  very  little  prospect  of  find- 
ing mighty  kingdoms  in  the  north,  deeming  it  likely 
that  towns  already  found  were  types  of  those  that 
would  come  to  light;  yet  he  attached  considerable 
importance  to  further  exploration  with  a  view  to  find- 
ing the  strait  and  settling  all  disputed  questions  re- 
specting northern  geography;  and  he  thought  Oiiate 

^* Ascension,  Jielacion,  0u8  et  seq. 


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APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTHWEST. 


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in  a  position  to  solve  the  mystery  at  a  minimum  of 
expense." 

Ouate  had  occupied  New  Mexico,  which  he  wished 
to  utihze  merely  as  a  base  of  operations  for  more 
brilliant  conquests.  He  wa.^  grievously  disappointed 
that  his  ambitious  schemes  did  not  meet  with  royal  and 
viceregal  approbation.  He  had  but  little  fondness  for 
petty  exploration ;  yet  he  undertook  several  in  the  hope 
of  finding  something  to  advance  his  greater  projects. 
One  he  directed  toward  Quivira,  without  results;  and 
another  down  the  Colorado  to  its  mouth. 

It  was  in  1G04  that  Onate  made  his  trip  from  New 
Mexico  to  Zufti.  to  Moqui,  and  thence  across  the 
modern  Arizona  to  the  Colorado  by  way  of  the  Santa 
Marfa,  and  thence  down  to  the  gulf  He  had  no  idea 
of  any  connection  between  his  Rio  Colorado — really 
the  Chiquito — which  was  said  to  run  one  hundred 
leagues  through  pine  forests  to  California  and  the 
sea,  and  the  real  Colorado,  which  farther  down  he 
called  Buena  Esperanza  or  Rio  del  Tizon.  From  the 
Amacava,  or  Mojave,  Indians  who  came  down  the 
Colorado  to  meet  him  at  the  mouth  of  the  Santa 
INIaria,  Onate  heard  of  Lake  Copalla,  fourteen  days 
north-west,  where  the  Indians  had  golden  ornaments 
and  spoke  Aztec — or  at  least  they  spoke  so  much  like 
a  native  Mexican  of  the  company  that  the  visitors 
asked  if  he  came  not  from  Copalla.  It  is  not  impos- 
sible that  the  Mojaves  had  vague  notions  of  Great 
Salt  Lake ;  all  the  rest  was  imaginary. 

Farther  down  the  Colorado,  to  inquiries  for  the  sea 
the  natives  **  all  replied  by  making  signs  from  the 
west,  north-west,  north,  north-east,  and  east,  and  said 
that  thus  the  sea  made  the  circle,  and  very  near,  since 
they  said  that  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  it  was 
not  more  than  four  days,  and  that  the  gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia is  not  closed  up,  but  a  branch  of  the  sea  which 


!    , ' 


*'  Nuevo  Mexico,  Discurso  y  Prop.  The  viceroy  Monterey  seems  to  have  a  cor- 
rect idea  of  Coronado's  explorations ;  but  ho  speaks  of  Quivira  as  being  on  the 
South  Sea,  according  to  current  maps,  and  near  Cape  Mendocino  and  Anian. 


THE  ISLAND  Zl!JOGABA. 


n 


I : 


corresponds  to  the  North  S.ea  and  coast  of  Florida," 
thus  clearly  indicating  not  only  the  existence  of  a 
strait,  but  that  the  gulf  was  either  a  part  of,  or  at 
least  led  to,  that  strait.  These  Indians  also  confirmed 
what  had  been  learned  before  of  Copalla  and  its  gold. 
Silver  and  coral  were  likewise  familiar  to  them,  and 
were  to  be  obtained  not  far  off. 

More  wonderful  still,  the  natives  told  of  an  island 
called  Zinogaba,  rich  in  pearls.  It  was  one  day's  voy- 
age out  in  the  sea,  and  reached  in  boats  rigged  with 
sails,  all  of  which  they  pictured  on  the  sand.  And 
the  island  was  ruled  by  Cinacacohola,  a  giantess,  who 
had  a  sister  of  immense  size,  but  no  male  of  her  race 
with  whom  to  mate.  Another  mysterious  circum- 
stance was  that  all  the  inhabitants  were  bald.  Ofiate's 
observations  at  the  head  of  the  gulf,  where  he  found 
a  splendid  harbor,  did  not  disprove  the  statement  of 
the  natives  that  the  gulf  extended  northward  behind 
a  sierra  to  where  the  sea  made  a  turn  toward  Florida. 

It  was  well  that  Don  Juan  heard  of  wonders  in 
this  region;  for  when  on  his  way  to  New  Mexico  a 
few  years  before,  the  venerable  Padre  Diego  de  Mer- 
cado  had  said  to  him  at  Tula:  "By  the  life  of  Friar 
Diego  there  are  great  riches  in  the  remote  parts  of 
New  Mexico;  but  by  the  life  of  Friar  Diego  the 
present  settlers  will  not  possess  them.  It  is  not  for 
them  that  God  holds  that  wealth  in  reserve;"  and  so 
it  proved.  Still  more  to  the  point,  the  venerable  and 
famous  Santa  Madre  de  Maria  de  Jesus,  abbess  of 
Santa  Clara  de  Agreda,  had  said,  "It  is  very  probable 
that  in  the  exploration  of  New  Mexico  there  will  be 
found  a  kingdom  called  Tidam,  four  hundred  leagues 
from  Mexico  westward,  or  north-west,  between  New 
Mexico  and  Quivira;  and  if  by  chance  there  be  an  error, 
cosmography  will  aid  the  taking  notice  of  other  king- 
doms, of  the  Chillescas,  or  of  the  Guismanes,  or  the 
Aburcos,  which  touch  on  that  of  Tidam."" 

'•iSo/mecow,  Relaciones,  30-8,  47-55;  Niel,  Apuntamienfos,  81-6.    Cardona 
and  Casauate  heard  from  captains  Marquez  and  Vaca  that  they  had  struck  the 


:i; 


-i^':   \ 


'T!":''      'I 

If' 


1  ir    i 

:i|r| 

la-     i 


ill 


'i 


'n  APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTHWEST. 

John  Smith  when  captured  and  saved  by  Pocahontaa 
in  1607  was  exploring  the  Chickahominy  River  for  a 
passage  to  the  South  Sea." 

In  1G09  Lorenzo  Ferrer  Maldonado  in  Spain  made 
the  claim  that  twenty-one  years  before,  in  1588,  ho 
had  sailed  through  the  strait  of  Anian  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Why  he  waited  so  long  has 
never  been  explained.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  Maldonado  was  a  real  personage,  or  that  he 
wrote  the  document  in  which  the  claim  is  made. 
Seventeen  years  later  he  published  a  cosmographical 
work,  in  which,  however,  he  neither  claimed  to  have 
discovered  the  strait  nor  gave  a  description  agreeing  at 
all  with  that  in  the  earlier  document."  A  reputable 
Spanish  writer,  Garcia  de  Silva  y  Figueroa,  who  took 
deep  interest  in  the  north-western  problem,  met  Mal- 
donado in  Madrid  in  1G09.  He  was  said  to  have  been 
brought  up  in  Flanders  and  the  Hanseatic  cities, 
claimed  to  have  sailed  through  the  strait,  and  was 
trying  to  interest  certain  government  ministers  in  his 
project.  Being  questioned,  he  said  the  entrance  of  the 
strait  was  in  latitude  78°,  the  outlet  in  latitude  75°, 
and  that  he  had  sailed  through  it  in  thirty  days  in 
November  and  December.  On  hearing  his  story, 
observing  his  manner,  and  examining  some  of  liis 
pretended  sketches  of  Anian,  Silva  deemed  him  an 

River  Tizon  in  36°  30' ;  that  the  famous  port  was  in  35° ;  that  the  giant  queen 
was  wont  to  mix  powdered  pearl  in  her  drink ;  and  tliat  south  of  tho  Tizon 
was  a  larger  river,  tho  Rio  del  Coral.  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Gol.  Doc,  ix. 
24,  32-3.  According  to  Dobbs'  Account,  104-5,  Tribaldus  wrote  to  Ilakluyt 
in  1605  that  Ouato  ii»  1002  discovei'ud  the  great  Northern  River,  and  went 
from  it  to  the  'famous  lake  of  Conibas' — see  Wytiliet's  and  Low's  maps — 
'where  he  pretended  ho  saw  a  City  of  vast  Exter.t,  seven  Leagiies  long,  and 
two  wide,  the  Houses  separated  from  each  other,  and  iincly  built  and  orna- 
mented with  fine  Gardens.  Ho  said  tho  numerous  Inhabitants  hatl  all  retired 
at  his  Approach,  and  fortified  themselves  in  the  Market-place  or  great  Square. ' 
In  Vcytia,  Hist.  Ant.  Mcj.,  i.  140,  the  giant  queen  is  called  Cifiacacohota,  and 
the  island  Cino^uahua,  which  may  be  the  correct  forms,  as  Salmeron's  typo- 
graphy is  very  doubtful. 

*'  Geonje  llaiicroJYs  Hist.  U.  S.,  i.  129.  The  map  in  Je.fferj/s'  Great  Prob., 
83,  said  to  bo  taken  from  the  Ist  edition  of  Torquemcula,  1008,  is  the  same  as 
that  already  mentioned  under  date  of  1001  from  Ilerrera. 

""  Maldonado;  Imayen  del  Mundo,  Alcald,  1G26. 


LORENZO  FERRER  MALDONADO. 


03 


embustcro,  utterly  unworthy  of  credit."  For  the  dis- 
covery of  the  strait  was  only  one  of  his  wonderful 
secrets  which  he  was  disposed  to  exchange  for  money. 
He  had  mastered  many  of  the  problems  of  alchemy; 
and  he  had  discovered  the  art  of  making  a  magnetic 
needle  not  subject  to  variation.  For  the  disclosure 
of  this  last  invention  in  one  of  his  petitions  to  the 
king  he  asked,  among  other  rewards,  to  be  freed  from 
a  criminal  prosecution  in  Granada;  for  it  appears  that 
he  had  been  convicted  of  an  attempt  to  sell  his  skill 
as  a  forger  of  old  documents  to  a  man  involved  in 
weighty  lawsuits.'"*  After  a  few  years  his  true  char- 
acter as  an  unprincipled  and  visionary  adventurer  bo- 
came  known,  and  he  left  Madrid,  to  be  heard  of  in 
person  no  more. 

One  of  his  memorials,  however,  came  to  light  in 
1775,  and,  in  possession  of  the  duque  del  Infantado, 
was  copied  by  Muiioz  in  1781."  It  was  not  a  narra- 
tive of  the  pretended  voyage,  but  on  the  advantages 
of  a  new  expedition,  in  which  the  said  voyage  was 
incidentally  described.  Its  contents  were  first  printed 
by  Malo  de  Luque,in  1788 ;"  and  Maldonado's  veracity 
was  defended  by  M.  Buache,  the  French  geographer, 
in  a  paper  read  before  the  Academy  of  Sciences  in 

^*Silva  y  Figueroa,  Cormntarios,  as  quoted  by  Navarrete. 

*'' Navarrete,  Via'jfs  Ap6c.,  71-101.  This  is  by  far  the  most  important 
authority  on  this  topic;  and,  indeed,  on  the  general  subject  of  which  it  treats. 
The  full  title  is:  Exa'^xn  hisiorico-critico  de  tos  Viages  y  Deacuhrimientos  Aji6c- 
rifos  del  CapiUtv.  Lorenzo  Ferrer  Mcddonado,  de  Juan  deFuca,  y  del  Almirante 
UartolomS  de  Fonte.  Memoria  comenzada  por  D.  Martin  Femandi  z  de  Na- 
varrete, y  arreglmla  y  concluida  por  D.  Eustaquio  Fernandez  de  Navarr<te. 
Ailo  de  1848,  in  Col.  Doe.  In6d.  Hist.  xv.  7-363.  This  work  contains  much 
material  on  actual"  as  well  as  apocryphal  voyages,  including  treatises  on 
Malaspina's  and  other  expeditions,  not  found  elsewhere  in  print.  It  is  an 
elaboration  of  the  elder  Navarrete's  introduction  to  the  voyage  of  the  Sutil 
y  Mexicana.  Notwithstanding  its  great  importance  I  do  not  fmd  that  any 
late  writer  on  these  topics  has  cited  this  work. 

^^ Maldonado,  lielacion  del  deaaibrimiento  del  Estreclvo  de  Anian,  que  Men  yo, 
el  capitan  Lorencio  Ferrer  Maldonado,  el  aflo  1588,  en  la  cual  estd  la  drden  de  la 
navegacion  y  la  dl'^pusicion  del  sUio  y  el  mode  de/ortalecerlo,  y  asi  mismo  las 
vt'didades  desta  navegacion,  ?/  los  daiios,  que  de  no  Itacerla,  se  aiguen,  in  Pacheco 
and  Cardenas,  Col.  Doc.,  v.  420-47.  The  document  is  not  dated,  but  in  it  the 
author  speaks  of  '  el  afio  pasado  de  160S,'  and  of  'cste  auo  de  IGOO.'  This 
document  was  seen  by  Nicolao  Antonio,  Bib.  Hisp.  Nova  (ed.  1788),  ii.  3, 
before  1G72,  and  from  this  source  is  cited  by  Pinelo  in  1738.  EpitoTne,  ii.  608. 

**  Ilisl,  eatablecimierUos  ultra  marinos,  iv.  24. 


,J  J 


^f 


.-'    '  i 


u 


Kill. 


if 


>  V 


M  APOCRTTHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTHWEST. 

1790.  The  document  was  adversely  criticised  before 
1800  by  Malaspina,  the  navigator,  and  Ciriaco  Cc- 
vallos;^  also  by  Navarreto  in  1802,"  and  Humboldt 
and  others.  In  1811  Carlo  Amoretti,  the  librarian  of 
the  Ambrosian  Library  of  Milan,  found  in  its  collec- 
tion another  original,  or  a  contemporaneous  copy,  of 
]\Ialdonado's  memorial,  which  he  published  with  the 
original  maps,  and  with  an  elaborate  argument  to  prove 
that  the  voyage  was  authentic.**  Notwithstanding 
the  ingenuity  of  Amoretti's  special  pleading,  his  views 
have  not  been  generally  accepted,  and  the  voyage  is 
still  regarded  as  apocryphal.** 

" Malatpina,  Disertarion sibre  la legitimidad <le  la nuveoarion  hfcha  m  1588 
por  Ferrer  Maltlonado,  etc.,  in  Col.  Doc.  Inid.,  xv.  22S-30.  Written  before 
1800,  but  not  printed  until  1849.  The  refutation  of  D.  Ciriaca  Covallos  is 
stated  in  an  editorial  note  to  have  been  printed  in  Isla  do  Leon,  17t)8. 

^^Sutity  Alex.,  I'iage,  Introd.,  xlix.-lii. 

^^Amorelti,  Viaijijio  del  Mare  Atlantieo  at  Pacifico,  etc.  Milan,  1811.  I 
have  used  the  following  French  edition :  A  morel ti.  Voyage  de  1 1  mer  Allan- 
ti'iue  a  I'ocianPaciJi'iue  par  le  nord-ouest  daua  Ici  vier  i/laciale  par  la  Capliaine 
Laurent  Ferrer  Ma/doiiado  I'au  mdlxxxviii.  Traduit  d'un  maimscrit  Enpagiiol 
et  auivi  d'un  diacours  qui  en  dcmonlre  Vautheiitkitdet  la  virai'M.  Piaiiiance, 
1812.  Sm.  4to;  three  pi.,  containing  twelve  mapa.  The  Voyage  ia  on  pp. 
1-19,  and  the  Disi'oura  on  pp.  21-84. 

'"  The  authorities  I  have  cited,  partiri.ib.t!y  Na  varrete  and  Amoretti,  con- 
tain substantially  all  that  need  be  mid  on  t  iit "  suLject.  To  Navarreto'a  work 
are  attached,  pp.  231-Gl,  as  Appendix  X-).  3,  i-ome  extracts  from  the  Oaceta  de 
Madrid,  February  13,  1812,  and  the  7?;'.,  /7  cu  Britdnica,  Noa.  431, 457-8,  con- 
taining criticisms  on  Amoretti's  work,  na./ccially  by  Baron  Lindenau.  The 
latter  published  a  book  on  the  subject.  Lindenau,  Die  OlaubwiirdiykeU,  etc. 
Gotha,  1812.  Malto-Brun,  Anmilea  dea  Vo;/.,  xix.  390-0,  in  reviewing  the 
works  of  Amoretti  and  Luidenau,  approves  the  conclusions  of  the  latter  that 
Maldonado's  story  wa.s  fiction.  But  Lindenau  thinks  that  Maldonado  visited 
Hudson  Bay,  imagining  the  rest,  and  Malte-Brun  thinks  it  possible  that  ho  liad 
vague  traditions  from  somebody  who  had  actually  penetrated  the  frozen  ocean. 
Li  Id.,  xxi.  393-4,  the  French  editor  notices  a  newspaper  reply  of  Amoretti  to 
Lindenau  as  follows :  '  Si  Maldonado  a  mal  calculd  les  latitudes  ct  Ics  longitudes 
de  mani^ro  h  fairo  iMisser  son  vaisseau  par-dessua  le  continent,  c'est,  scion  M. 
Amoretti,  une  petite  erreur  pardonnabfe  ii  un  marin  du  seizi6me  siucle.  Si  ce 
marin  a  (Svidemment  copi6  do  cartes  ont^rieures  ^  son  voyage,  avec  tontes  les 
fautes,  c'est  une  preuve  de  la  rdalit^  de  son  voyage.  Si,  par  malheur,  sa  de- 
scription physique  des  lieux  qu'il  pr6tend  avoir  vus  est  contraii«  &  tout  co 
qu'en  disent  les  navigateurs  modemes,  c'est  parco  qu'apparcmmcnt  un  tremble- 
ment  de  ttrre  en  a  chanrj^  I'Clait — Tout  cela  est,  comme  on  voit,  totalcmcnt 
stranger  h  la  gdographie  critique  de  noa  jours;  une  semblable  mani^re 
d'argumenter  n'admet  et  n'exige  aucune  rcSponse.'  In  Nouvtllea  An.  dea  Voy., 
xi.  8-28,Lapie  defends  Maldonado's  voyage,  making  wild  work  with  northern 
geography,  as  will  be  apparent  from  his  map,  which  I  shall  have  occasion  to 
reproduce.  The  Quarterly  Heview,  xvi.  144-53,  of  1S17  shows  the  Amoretti 
document — really  tho  only  one  existing  on  the  subject,  or  a  copy  of  the  only 
one — to  be  an  absurdly  inaccurate  forgery ;  but  ai:  the  same  time  has  no  doubt 
that  Maldonado's  narrative,  as  seen  by  Antonio,  etc.,  was  a  genuine  account 
of  an  actual  voyage  to  the  PaciQc  via  Capo  Horn  and  up  to  Cook  Inlet,  wtuch 


MALDONADO'S  STORY. 


05 


Maldonado's  story  was  briefly  as  follows:  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1588,  having  come  from  Spain  or  Portugal, 
guided  by  the  notes  of  a  Portuguese  pilot  named  Joiio 
Martinez,  who  it  seems  had  made  the  voyage  before, 
he  entered  the  strait  of  Labrador  in  latitude  00°. 
His  course  after  this  entrance  was  80  leagiies  n.  w. 
up  to  latitude  G4°;  thence  n.  120  leagues  to  latitude 
72°;  N.  w.  90  leagues  to  nearly  latitude  75°,  where 
the  strait  ends,  being  from  20  to  40  leagues  wide, 
with  numerous  ports,  and  its  banks  inhabited  to  73°. 
Emerging  into  the  Polar  Sea  at  the  beginning  of 
March,  he  found  the  weather  cold  and  stormy.  Water 
froze  on  the  ship  and  rigging;  but  ice  was  not  en- 
countered in  any  more  troublesome  form.  The  route 
was  now  w.  ^  s.  w.  for  350  leagues  to  71°,  where  on 
the  return  high  land  was  found,  and  supposed  to  be  a 
part  of  New  Spain;  thence  he  sailed  w.  s.  w.  440 
leagues  more,  to  the  strait  of  Anian,  in  00°.  He  re- 
mained in  this  region  during  the  months  of  April, 
May,  and  part  of  June,  during  which  time  he  passed 
through  the  strait — fifteen  leagues  long,  with  six  turns, 
less  than  one  eighth  of  a  league  wide  at  the  north 
entrance  and  over  one  fourth  of  a  league  at  the  south ; 
coasted  America  for  more  than  100  leagues  s.  w.  to 
55°;  thence  sailed  w.  for  four  days,  or  120  leagues,  to 
a  high  mountainous  coast;  and  returned  north-westerly 
to  and  through  the  strait.  While  in  a  grand  port  at 
the  southern  entrance  a  vessel  of  eight  hundred  tons 
approached  laden  with  china  goods.  The  men  were 
probably  Muscovites,  or  Hanseatics,  and  made  them- 


'!!      >1 


l.t!.  ^ 


was  mistaken  for  the  strait  of  Anian!  The  N".  Am.  Review,  xlviii.  122,  of 
1S30  adopts  the  Quarter/t/'s  view,  so  far  as  the  authenticity  of  Maldonado's 
voyage  is  concerned.  Malt(  IJnin,  Prdcis  Gedg.,  vi.  302-3,  repeats  his  views  as 
already  cited.  Greenhow,  JJuit.  Or.  and  Col. ,  79-83,  pronounces  the  story  a 
fiction,  but  deems  it  not  improbable,  as  in  the  Quarterl;/,  that  some  unknown 
voyage  made  up  the  Pacific  coast  to  Cook  Inlet  may  have  served  as  a  founda- 
tion. In  Ihimey's  Dkcov.  South  Sea,  v.  107-73,  is  a  translation  of  the  im- 
portant parts  of  the  narrative,  with  remarks  thereon  and  references  to  various 
authorities.  The  document  is  regarded  as  a  forgery  by  some  Plemming, 
who  attributed  the  voyage  to  Maldonado.  Barroi^a  Chron.  Hist.  Von.,  li'18, 
1848,  contains  an  Enghsh  translation  of  Maldonado's  relation  with  the  maps. 
Twiss,  //(«t  Or.,  G4-G,  gives  a  rcsum6  from  various  authorities. 


t                t 

1 
t 

''''' 


96 


APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NOPvTHWEST. 


r      ■  f 


selves  understood  in  Latin,  but  were  suspicious  and  not 
inclined  to  be  communicative     They  came  from  a 

fjreat  city  called  Robr,  Roba,  or  some  such  name,  be- 
onging  to  the  king  of  Tartary.    Maldonado  returned 


Maldonado's  Strait  of  Anian,  1609. 

by  the  same  route  in  June  and  July,  and  not  only  was 
not  impeded  by  ice,  but  found  it — the  sun  never  setting 
at  all — hotter  than  in  the  hottest  parts  of  Spain. 


^1^: 


iSi: 


MARKED  DISCREPANCIES. 


w 


.  The  country  round  the  strait  of  Anian  is  described 
in  much  detail.  I  annex  the  only  one  of  the  five 
sketches  which  has  any  interest.  It  may  be  compared 
with  the  map  of  Urbano  Monti,  already  given.  It 
will  be  noticed  how  carefully  the  sites  for  needed 
fortifications  are  pointed  out.  I  am  obliged  to  give 
to  this  and  the  other  fictitious  voyages  more  space 
than  they  merit;  but  my  limits  by  no  mcahs  permit 
me  to  give  even  a  resume  of  Maldonado's  long  de- 
scriptions; still  less  of  the  arguments  that  have 
been  founded  thereon.  These  arguments  consist  on 
the  one  side  of  resemblances,  and  on  the  other  of 
discrepancies  pointed  out  between  the  navigator's  de- 
scriptions and  the  facts  reported  by  later  visitors  to 
Bering  Strait  down  to  the  time  the  argument  was 
made.  At  present  the  resemblances  may  be  said  to 
consist  solely  in  the  fact  that  the  Polar  Sea  actually 
affords  an  intcroceanic  passage  by  way  of  Bering 
Strait.  The  most  startling  discrepancies  are  that 
Maldonado's  strait,  as  described  and  pictured,  bears 
not  the  slightest  liliuness  in  length,  width,  and  general 
features  to  the  renllty;  that  it  is  located  some  three 
hundred  miles  ^oo  far  south;  that  Alaska's  mild  tem- 
perature, with  Its  corresponding  fruits  and  animals,  has 
m  later  times  disappeared;  that  Maldonado's  distances 
make  the  longitude  of  the  strait  some  G0°  too  far 
east — just  as  did  liie  maps  of  his  time ;  that  through- 
out the  voyage  his  distances  and  latitudes  do  not 
•  gree;  and  finally  that  oppressive  heat  and  absence  of 
ice  have  not  in  later  times  been  noted  as  a  leading 
characteristic  of  the  waters  above  70°.  I  give  hero 
the  map  of  M.  le  Chevalier  Lapie,  18:^1,  which  will 
also  be  referred  to  later  to  illustrate  another  voyage, 
to  show  his  theory  of  Maldonado's  ro.ite.  The  real 
strait  of  Anian,  or  Bering,  leads,  into  the  frozen  ocean 
north  of  Kiteguon,  which  is  a  wostorii  prolongation 
of  Greenland;  while  ]\ialdcriado's  strait  was  not  Anian 
at  all,  but  a  passage  leadiiig  from  Norton  Sound  into 
a  polar  sea  south  of  Kitogucn  and  connected  in  the 

Hut.  N.  W.  CoAsr,  Vol.  I.    7 


ll~ 


I 


«9 


APOCRYPHAL  VOYAGES  TO  THE  NORTHWEST. 


east  with  the  straits  of  Davis  and  Hudson  I     The 
route  in  the  west  is  shown  by  a  dotted  Hne. 

The  reader  has  no  need  of  arguments  in  this  mat- 
ter. Starting  with  a  strong  presumption,  arising  from 
the  nature  of  the  pretended  discovery  and  from  the 


Lapie's  Map,  1821. 


spirit  of  the  times,  that  Maldonado's  claiir  k.  false, 
ho  will  be  led  from  presumption  to  conviction  wht;r4 
the  time  that  elapsed  between  the  voyag  j  and  tho 
narrative  is  noted,  and  particularly  when  he  learns 
the  man's  reputation  as  liar  and  forger.     On  reading 


% 


s. 


A  MOST  BUNGLING  FALDEHOOD. 


vV 


the  narrative  he  will  not  be  likely  to  change  his 
opinion,  if  he  compares  Maldonado's  pleasure  trip 
over  sunny  seas  with  the  efforts  of  later  navigators 
in  the  same  waters.  And  finally,  on  recalling  some 
of  the  maps  that  have  been  reproduced  in  these 
pages,  which — or  others  of  similar  nature — Maldo- 
nado  doubtless  saw,  he  will  conclude  that  an  ingen- 
ious liar  might  have  told  a  much  more  plausible  story, 
and  will  be  surprised  that  intelligent  men  should  ever 
have  defended  the  authenticity  of  such  a  voyage. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  necessity  to  suppose,  as 
some  have  done,  that  the  emhustero  visited  Hudson 
Bay,  or  made  a  voyage  in  the  Pacific,  or  heard  of 
Japanese  navigations.  His  story  was  a  lie  pure  and 
simple,  manufactured  in  Spain  from  his  imagination, 
and  not  plausible  enough  to  deceive  even  men  who 
on  that  topic  were  willing  to  be  deceived. 


V»^-  t        til 


I        'i| 


S  ; 

(  .   ■ 


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4 

I 

1 

m 

'^ll  1 

f 

i 

hi 

CHAPTER   IV. 

THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY— CONCLUSION. 
1610-1800. 

Spanish  Junta — GABciA  de  Silva — A  New  Phase — Calitornia  oncb 
MORE  AN  Island — Cardona — Dutch  Map — Brioos'  Treatise — Sal- 
MERON — Delgado's  Voyage — De  Laet — ^Winnepeos,  or  Men  op  the 
Sea — Nicolet — Botello  and  Casanate  on  Northern  Geooraphv — 
D'AviTY — AcLB — Melouer — An  Exact  Description — Ogilby — Mar- 
quette, Hennepin,  and  La  Salle— Peche — Teouayo — Paredes — Dam- 
pier — LuYT— La  Hontan — Kino  and  Mange — Island  or  Peninsula? — 
Maps  of  Hacke,  Heylyn,  and  Harris — Bartholomew  de  Fonte's 
Fictitious  Letter — De  l'Isle  and  Buache — BiBLiocRAPHY  of  a 
Hoax — Rogers — Velarde — Niel — Uoarte's  Voyage — California  a 
Peninsula  again — Shelvocke — Coxe — Dobbs — Sedelmaik — Vetan- 
cuRT — Ellis— New  Mouth  for  the  Colorado— Venegas — Jefferys— 
Enoei., — Carver — End  of  the  Mystery. 

During  these  early  years  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury so  much  alarm  was  felt  in  Spain  lest  South  Sea 
supremacy  should  be  lost  through  the  discovery  of  a 
strait  that  a  junta  was  formed  by  the  ministers  of 
the  court  of  Felipe  III.  with  a  view  to  prevent  further 
search  for  the  passage  by  the  north-west,  or  north- 
east, and  to  send  an  embassy  to  England  to  urge  the 
matter.  It  would  be  interesting  to  study  the  discus- 
sions of  this  junta;  but  the  records  are  not  extant, 
nor  do  we  know  how  the  embassy  was  received.  It 
appears,  however,  that  Garcia  do  Silva,  and  probably 
others,  opposed  all  restrictive  measures;  urging  that 
exploration  should  be  encouraged,  and  expressing  a 
belief  that  the  finding  of  a  strait  in  the  far  north 
would  in  no  way  injure  Spain,  since  it  would  not  open 
a  quicker  or  safer  route  to  the  Pacific,  on  account  c'' 

(100) 


SPANISH  INACTION. 


101 


the  difficulties  and  danger  attending  the  navigation 
of  the  polar  seas.  It  is  evident  that  the  prevalence 
of  this  opinion  among  those  highest  in  authoiity  and 
those  best  qualified  to  judge  in  the  matter  was  one 
of  the  chief  causes  for  the  official  inaction  of  the 
next  century  and  a  half  There  was  no  end  of  vague 
projects  urged  upon  the  government  by  private  ad- 
venturers, oftener  in  America  than  in  Spain;  but 
actual  results  were  confined  for  the  most  part  to  the 
pearl  coast  of  the  Californian  gulf.  In  the  highest 
Spanish  official  circles  the  Northern  Mystery  had 
well  nigh  lost  its  charm.^ 

Since,  however,  the  work  of  actual  exploration  was 
confined  to  the  gulf,  a  large  portion  of  the  Mystery 
was  transferred  to  that  region,  and  had  its  home  there 
for  many  years,  so  far  as  Spanish  views  were  con- 
cerned. Since  1 540  for  nearly  a  century  the  Californian 
peninsula  and  gulf  had  been  described  and  mapped  in 
very  nearly  their  true  positions  and  proportions;  but 
all  this  was  now  to  be  changed.  Lok  in  158-,  for 
no  reason  that  can  be  known,  had  almost  separated 
the  peninsula  from  the  main  at  a  point  in  about  lati- 
tude 45°,  where  he  turned  the  coast  abruptly  eastward. 
Then  Padre  Ascension,  in  connection  with  the  voy- 
age of  Vizcaino  in  1603,  had  also  given  currency  to 
the  eastward  trend,  and  seems,  in  conversation  and 
written  memorials,  to  have  favored  the  idea  that 
Aguilar's  river  was  not  only  the  entrance  to  the  Anian 
Strait,  but  might  also  be  connected  with  the  gulf 
Next  Ouate,  in  1604,  from  observations  and  from  In- 
dian reports  at  the  mouth  of  the  Colorado,  concluded 

^Xavarrete,  Viagen  A'pde.,  204-5;  Id.,  in  Sutll  y  Slex.,  Viage,  Ixviii.-ix. ; 
SUva,  Comfiitarios,  1618,  which  seems  not  to  have  been  printed  until  1782,  ia 
H'at.  dri  Oran  Tamorlan.  Mafjin,  Hist.  Univ.  dea  hides,  IGll,  contains  the 
Wytfliet- Ptolemy  maps  that  have  ah-eady  been  noticed  and  repro<luced  from 
the  originals  of  1597.  Magin's  work  is  in  the  Mercantile  Library  of  San 
Francisco,  where  is  also  a  1028  edition  of  Lintchoten,  Voyage,  with  a  map  of 
tlie  northern  countries,  showing  no  new  features. 

'  At  any  rate  he  clearly  announced  this  view  of  the  subject  in  1620,  Ascen- 
eion,  Relarion,  543-4,  urging  the  oci^upatign  of  California  as  a  step  toward  the 
conquest  of  Anion,  Quivira,  etc. 


11 


r"- 


102 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY— CONCLUSION. 


that  the  gulf  waters  extended  northward  and  east' 
ward  to  the  Atlantic,  thus  confirming  Ascension's 
theory.  And  finally,  in  or  about  1617,  Nicolds  de 
Cardona,  who  had  talked  with  some  of  Onate's  officers, 
and  who  in  1615  had  himself  navigated  the  gulf-  -be- 
lieving himself  to  have  reached  34°,  noting  deep  open 
water  stretching  far  before  him,  and  understanding 
from  Onato's  men  that  the  mouth  of  the  Tizon  was 
in  35° — boldly  declared  his  belief  that  California  was 
an  island,  and  spoke  of  the  main  as  the  Contra  Costa 
de  Florida.^  Cardona  even  fancied  the  gulf  to  be  the 
strait  of  Anian  itself,  the  noi-thern  outlet  being  per- 
haps a  mere  branch;  and  he  had  personally  heard 
from  the  natives  confirmation  of  the  old  tales  about 
Quivira  and  the  great  lake  towns.  These  rumors  were 
convenient  incentives  for  voyages  which  might  afford 
opportunities  for  pearl-fishing. 

The  idea  of  California  as  an  island  once  conceived, 
it  soon  became  deep-rooted  and  popular.  The  next 
thing  in  order  was  for  some  adventurous  Fuca  or 
Maldonado  to  sail  round  it;  and  this  seems  to  have 
been  done  in  1620.  I  have  not  been  able  to  trace  this 
story,  however,  to  a  definite  origin.  The  real  source 
of  the  new  geographical  idea  as  related  in  my  text 
has  not  been  known  to  modern  writers.*    From  this 

•  Cardona,  lielacion  del  deacubrimiento  del  lieino  de  la  California  ;  and  similar 
views  in  a  document  written  some  years  later.  Cardona,  Memorial  sohre  ma 
de>icubrimiento8  en  la  California;  both  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Col.  Do:., 
ix.  30-57.  These  are  memorials  urging  the  importance  of  renewed  efforts. 
Tlie  author  begins :  '  California  is  .a  far  extended  kingdom  of  which  the  end 
is  only  known  by  geographical  conjectures  and  demonstrative  notices,  whicli 
make  it  an  island  stretching  from  n.w.  to  s.  e.,  fonning  a  mediteiTanean  sea 
adjacent  to. .  .the  incognita  contracosta  de  la  Florida.'  In  44",  according  to 
Vizcaino  and  Ascension,  the  coast  makes  a  turn  to  the  east,  'y  hasta  hoy  no 
se  sabe  4  dondo  vA  6,  parar.'  Ancient  and  modern  writers  have  closed  the  sea 
in  28",  but  this  seems  an  error.  '  Luego  la  California  es  isla  muy  grande ; 
lue  este  seno  6  brazo  de  mar  es  el  estreclio  quo  llaman  de  Atiian. '      '  The 


ndians  both  of  California  and  of  the  Florida  main  cave  mo  many  reports 
of  a  very  great  lake  with  many  towns,  with  a  king  who  wears  a  crown;  and 
from  the  lake  much  gold  is  taken — and  there  are  many  cities  with  towers, 
one  of  them  called  Quivira;  bearded  men;  horses,' etc.  'California  is  one  of 
the  richest  lands  in  the  world,  with  silver,  gold,  pearls,'  etc. 

♦According  to  Ogilby'nAmer.,  38Q-90,  Jleylyn'a  Cosmography,  9G8,and  some 
other  works,  some  advtiturcrs  on  the  coast  in  l(i"20  accidentally  fell  upon 
ft  strait,  through  which  they  were  carried  by  the  force  of  the  current  into  the 


CALIFORNIA  AN  ISLAND. 


103 


time  many,  but  not  all,  mapped  and  described  Cali- 
fornia as  an  island,  extending  to  Cape  Blanco,  in  lat- 
itude 44°.  But  from  the  same  period  map-makers 
began  to  neglect  the  extreme  north,  to  forget  for  the 
most  part  the  details  introduced  so  freely  by  Wytfliet, 
Low,  and  others,  and  to  leave  all  north  of  the  great 
island  a  blank.  I  reproduce  a  map  published  by  Pur- 
chas  in  1G25,  which  is  essentially  the  same  as  a  Dutch 
map  of  1024."  It  will  be  noticed  that  there  are  many 
radical  changes  besides  that  of  changing  the  peninsula 
into  an  island;  and  chiefly  that  the  New  Mexican 
names  from  Coronado  no  longer  appear  on  the  Cali- 
fornian  coast,  but  only  such  as  are  found  in  the  narra- 
tives of  actual  voyagers.  The  name  New  Mexico 
appears  for  the  first  time,  and  on  a  Rio  del  Norte, 
though  the  river  still  flows  from  the  great  lake  and 
into  western  waters.  Traces  are  seen  of  Drake's  voy- 
age, though  New  Albion  does  not  yet  appear;  and  of 
Onate's  river  discoveries.  Astablan  should  bo  Aztat- 
lan;  but  Rey  Coromedo,  Laqueo  de  Oro,  and  Rio 

gulf  of  California,  thus  breaking  up  the  peninsular  theory.  According  to  an 
inscription  on  a  map  of  1025  in  Purchas,  noticed  later,  Cahfomia  was  ]irovcd 
an  island  by  a  Spanish  chart  taken  by  tho  Dutch.  This  is  credited  to  Jant«o- 
nius,  Monde  Maritime,  by  Do  I'lsle,  in  Voyagtis  aii  Nord,  lieciieil,  iii.  27--3, 
who  also  relates  tliat  his  son  was  told  by  Froger  that  he  had  seen  a  pilot  who 
assured  him  he  had  sailed  round  California.  Grcenhow,  L'lst.  Or.  and  Cut., 
94,  says  it  was  on  the  strength  of  a  statement  made  by  the  captain  of  a  Manila 
ship  in  IG'20  that  Aguilar's  river  was  tliought  to  be  an  entrance  to  tho  gulf. 
Also  Twiax'  Or.  QvenHon,  03. 

^Purchas,  His Pit{jrime.%  iii.  852-3;  West-lmHsche  Spierjhel,  05.  The  Dutch 
map  is  on  Mcrcator's  projection,  dififers  somewhat  in  longitudes,  and  lias 
vaguely  outlined  in  the  north  between  50"  and  CO"  a  strait  leadmg  north  into 
vacuity.  Purchas'  map  is  attached  to  A  Treatiye  of  the  Korth-weat  jmnsar/c, 
by  Master  Briggs,  who  mentions  among  tlie  'excellent  prerogatives 'of  Vir- 
ginia its  position  'in  respect  of  tho  South  Sea,  which  lyeth  on  tho  West  and 
North-west  side  of  Virninia,  on  the  otlier  side  of  the  Mountaines  beyond  onr 
Falls,  and  openeth  a  free  and  faire  passage  to. .  .China.'  For  by  following 
up  the  rivers  n.  w.  from  Henrico  City  doubtless  tho  mountains  may  be 
reached  which  send  rivers  into  Hudson  Bay.  And  Button's  bay  is  nearly  as 
far  west  as  the  Cape  of  California.  Apparently  Brigga'  '  faire  passage'  from 
Virginia  was  by  way  of  Hudson  Bay !  He  mentions  the  rriap  copied  from  one 
brought  out  of  Holland,  perhaps  the  Spieghel,  and  he  thinks  the  old  rumors 
')f  great  continental  stretches,  of  Quivira,  etc.,  'arc  cunningly  sict  dowiie  by 
Biime  vpon  set  purpose  to  put  vs  out  of  the  right  way.'  He  says  tliat  Mercator 
was  'abused  by  a  jilap  sent  vnto  him,  of  four  Eitripi  meeting  about  the  North 
Polo ;  which  now  .are  found  to  bee  all  turned  into  a  mayne  Icie  8ea ;'  and 
that  Gali  lias  destroyed  the  old  illusion  that  Cape  Mendocino  was  MOO  leagues 
from  the  Capo  of  California. 


'M    \  ' 


'i!i 


104 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY— COITCLUSION. 


Anguchi  are  unexplained  names.  Nothing  is  sliown 
in  the  far  north-west;  though  in  the  Dutch  original  a 
strait  is  vaguely  outlined.  It  is  noticeable  that  Pur- 
chas  has  another  map — that  of  Hondius,  introduced 


Dutch  Map,  1C24-5. 


in  place  of  Herrera's — which  makes  California  a  penin- 
sula, and  is  in  fact  substantially  the  same  as  those  of 
Ortelius  and  Mercator,  except  that  the  New  Mei. 'jan 


salmuPwON's  .^tory. 


109 


towns  Cicuic,  Tiguox,  and  Quivira  no  longer  appear 
on  the  coast,  or  anywhere  else.  Quivira  the  province 
is  however  retained.  The  strait  runs  north  from  Cape 
Fortuna,  in  latitude  55°.* 

In  1626  Padre  Zarate  Salmeron  spoke  concerning 
the  Northern  Mystery  in  connection  with  his  history 
of  New  Mexico.  Pie  tells  how  two  Spanish  fishing- 
vessels  at  Newfoundland  were  carried  by  a  gale  into 
the  strait,  one  being  driven  into  a  river  far  southward 
to  a  great  walled  city,  where  the  crew's  adventures 
are  given  in  some  detail.  During  the  return  most 
of  them  perished  from  cold,  but  the  vessel  reached 
Florida,  and  one  of  the  men  came  to  Mexico  in  time 
to  tell  his  story  befjre  dying.''  Salmeron  has  no 
doubt  that  this  was  the  city  Coronado  saw,  that 
Aguilar  would  have  seen  had  he  entered  tlie  river, 
and  "the  same  that  Anian  saw,  and  discovered,  and 
reported  to  his  Majesty"  I  The  proper  way  to  explore 
Quivira  was  either  by  land  from  New  Mexico  or  by 
water  from  Florida.  The  padre's  idea  was  that  the 
St  Lawrence  extended  to  a  point  very  near  New 
Mexico;  but  he  was  sure  there  existed  no  strait  be- 
tween the  latter  and  Florida.  The  St  Lawrence  is 
also  called  Strait  of  the  Three  Brothers,  and  was 
thought  to  extend  from  ocean  to  ocean.  He  made 
many  inquiries  among  the  natives  about  the  lake  of 
Copalla,  whence  came  the  ancient  Aztecs,  and  he  had 
no  doubt  of  its  existence.  It  might  be  rei.  -hed  from 
New  Mexico  by  way  of  the  Rio  Chama  and  the  Navajo 
country,  thence  following  a  great  river  through  a  level 
and  fertile  country;  or  by  way  of  Moqui,  up  the  Rio 
Buena  Esperanza.* 

•  PurcTias,  His  Pi'grimes,  iv.  857.  The  general  map  on  the  frontispiece  of 
vol.  i.  also  makes  California  a  peninsula. 

'  Padre  Velarde,  Dencrip.  Ilist.,  352,  in  1710  had  a  narrative  of  what  was 
perhaps  the  same  voyage.  Ho  makes  Miguel  Deigado  commander  of  the  two 
vessels  and  the  date  IGOl.  The  vessel  went  w.  and  then  s.  from  Newfound- 
laud  for  300  leagues  before  reaching  the  river.  All  arrived  sick  at  Habana, 
and  most  of  them  died.  Velarde  thinks  this  was  probably  not  Anian,  but 
another  strait. 

*  Salmeron,  Belaciones,  21-4,  ^-9,  47-9. 


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THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY— CONCLUSION. 


In  Joannes  do  Laot's  map  of  1G33  all  above  Capo 
Mendocino,  in  43°,  is  left  blank.  California  is  a  penin- 
sula, with  the  gulf  extending  to  35°,  with  a  large  island 
at  its  head,  but  there  is  no  attempt  to  delineate  the 
rivers.  Nova  Albion  is  in  40°,  at  Cape  Fortunas, 
while  at  Cape  San  Martin,  in  37°,  is  Seyo,  a  name  of 
unexplained  origin.  These,  with  California  and  Novo 
Mexico,  arc  the  only  inland  names.  In  his  text  Laet 
explains  that  California  is  the  vaguely  known  region 
stretching  north-west  to  the  possible  strait  of  Anian, 
but  whether  it  was  island  or  peninsula  ho  was  not 
quite  certain.  Quivira  is  described  from  Gomara  and 
Herrera;  and  Laet  notes  from  Tribaldus  that  Onate 
reached  Lake  Conibas,  with  its  grand  buildings.' 

Meanwhile  in  Canada  the  French  were  hearing 
many  rumors  of  the  western  nation  of  Winnipegs,  or 
'  Men  of  the  Sea,'  with  whom  were  wont  to  trade  not 
only  the  Canadian  Indians  but  also  certain  hairless 
and  beardless  people  who  came  in  large  canoes  upon 
the  'great  water.'  There  was  much  reason  to  sup- 
pose these  latter,  really  the  Sioux,  to  be  Chinese  or 
Japanese.  And  in  1G34-5  Jean  Nicolct  was  sent  by 
Champlain  to  visit  the  people  of  Ouinipeg,  and  per- 
haps to  reach  the  great  water.  He  had  no  difficulty 
in  penetrating  to  the  home  of  the  tribe  beyond  Lake 
Michigan,  on  Green  Bay  and  Fox  River;  and  he  went 
even  farther,  to  a  point  where,  hearing  of  the  'great 
water,'  the  Wisconsin  flowing  into  the  Mississippi,  lie 
believed  himself  to  be  within  three  days  of  the  sea.^" 

If  the  gulf  was  part  of  the  famous  passage  to 
the  Atlantic,  it  was  obviously  important  that  Spain 
should  know  it;  and  indeed  some  action  was  taken  on 
the  matter  in  Mexico,  in  consequence  of  which  a 
somewhat  elaborate  report  was  made  in  1G36  by 
Alonso  Botello  y  Serrano  and  Pedro  Porter  y  Casa- 
nate,  the  substance  being  repeated  by  the  latter  in 

*  Laet,  Novus  Orbis,  291,  302-6. 

"See  niitlerficlV-'*  Hist.  Binron.  of  the  Northwest,  Cincinnati,  1881,  p.  37 
et  seq.,  and  07  et  seq.,  with  references  to  original  Jesuit  relations. 


D'AVITY,  LE  MONDE. 


107 


a  later  document."  The  purport  of  this  report  was, 
that  respecting  northern  geography  nothing  was  ex- 
tant and  accessible  but  vague  and  contradictory  state- 
ments, conveying  no  actual  information;  that  it  was 
of  the  greatest  miportance  for  the  interests  of  both 
God  and  the  king  that  the  truth  should  be  learned 
by  exploration,  especially  in  the  matter  of  a  not  im- 
probable interoceanic  communication  by  the  gulf." 
Yet  no  immediate  steps  were  taken  in  consequcnco 
of  this  investigation. 

One  of  the  maps  in  Pierre  D'Avity's  grand  work  of 
1637  was  decidedly  behind  its  time;  for  it  not  only 
made  California  a  peninsula,  but  placed  Quivira  on 
the  coast,  and  retained  the  old  western  trend  of  the 

^^Dotello  y  Serrano  and  Porter  y  Caaanate,  Dedaracinn  que  hicii-ron  en  17 
de  set.,  163G — tie  las  convciiienc'as  que  se  aetjuirau.  de  deacuhrir  conio  se  comu- 
nica  por  la  California  el  mar  del  anr  con  el  del  N.  In  Col.  Dor.  Incd  ,  xv. 
215-27,  with  a  list  of  boolis  and  documeuta  consulted,  sonioof  ■which  latter  nve 
na  longer  extant.  Casanat',  Memorial  del  Almirante  al  Itey,  recomendanlo 
una  nueva  Eapedicion  d  la  California,  in  Pacheco  and  Cardenas,  Cot.  Doc,  ix. 
19-20. 

'■''  In  past  reports,  'grande  incertidumbre,  poca  fijez,  contradicciones  do 
tinos  d  otroa  sin  fundarse  los  mas,  ui  ajustarso  A  las  circunstancias.'  '  V/o 
find  opinions  to  bo  various,  and  definitions  diverse  respecting  this  discovery. 
Somo  make  California  an  island,  others  mainland ;  some  put  a  strait  of  Aiiiau, 
others  do  not ;  one  mr.rks  out  a  passage  to  Spain  by  way  of  Florida,  putting  a 
strait  in  California  i;i  40";  another  indicates  Jacal,  with  its  strait  an(l  the  new 
northern  sea  assuruig  the  navigation  to  Spain.  Others  doubt  this,  saying  that 
these  straits  lead  up  to  so  high  a  latitude  tliat  the  passage  is  impossible,  by 
reason  of  cold.  Some  sny  this  ennenada  (the  guU?)  runs  N.  w.,  others  N. 
others  N.  E. ,  and  somo  that  it  ends  in  three  rivers  flowing  down  from  lofty 
fiierras.  Many  put  Cape  Mendocino  in  40',  or  42";  and  one  modem  scientitic 
author  puts  ono  Capo  Jlendocino  in  49"  and  another  in  50°;  otliers,  knowing 
nothing  of  latitudes,  describe  vast  reaches  of  territory  from  east  to  west  not 
visited . . .  Wo  find  no  uniform  course,  no  certain  distance,  no  true  latitude, 
sounding  to  undeceive,  nor  perspective  to  enlighten.'  The  finding  of  the 
passage  will  facilitate  military  and  commercial  connnunication  with  Spain; 
and  in  the  opinion  of  diflfercnt  persons  it  will  alTord  a  means  of  succoring  New 
Mexico,  reveal  the  dwelling-place  of  white  and  clothed  men,  lead  to  the  dis- 
covery of  La  rjrun  Quivira,  the  townis  of  the  crowned  king,  island  of  the 
giantess,  lake  of  gold,  rivers  Tizon  and  Coral.  By  it  the  foe  may  be  harassed 
on  both  seas  and  forced  to  abandon  Jacal,  and  prevented  from  attacking  Cali- 
fornia and  drawing  aid  from  Floi'ida.  '  If  there  is  a  strait,  wlio  can  doubt  tliat 
the  foe  knows  it?  The  Conde  del  Valle  says  a  Dutch  vessel  entered  the  strait 
of  Anian,  and  that  the  enemy  is  advancing  from  Jacal  day  by  day. '  A  priest 
saw  seven  ships  in  the  gulf;  Iturbl  and  Cardona  hatl  their  vessels  captured; 
Drako  reached  Mendocino;  Cavendish  took  the  Santa  Anna;  it  is  said  that 
vessels  leave  the  Atlantic  coast  ballasted  with  silver  ore ;  it  was  swoni  in  Gua- 
dalajara tliat  the  French  were  in  search  of  the  strait,  and  had  a  plan  of  it ;  one 
man  thought  their  leader  waa  a  Dutch  pilot.  Casanate  in  his  memorial  repeats 
most  of  the  same  matters.  He  also  notes  that  Captfi  in  Martin  do  Viday  going 
north  from  Sinaloa  found  a  walled  city  with  good  streets,  large  buildings,  etc. 


■ 

t 

:  ■  r  •  • 
i  ■ 

'  i   I]  . 
'   ?   ' 

1 
i 

\ 
1 
1 

l:') 


108 


THE  NORTIIEIIN  MYSTERY-CONCLUSION'. 


I     5 


I    i 


seaboard  to  Capo  Mendocino,  with  most  of  the  old 
names,  A  novel  arrangement  of  the  lakes  in  New 
Mexico  will  be  noticed.  I  append  a  reduced  copy, 
omitting  most  of  the  names.  In  his  text  D'Avity 
names  Berg  as  the  northernmost  province  of  America, 
and  declares  that  the  coasts  of  Quivira  are  "bien  peu 
connus,"  being  somewhat  out  of  the  line  of  ordinary 
navigation." 


XC. Mendocino 


Z^ 


D'Avity's  Map,  1G37. 

About  the  middle  of  the  century,  according  to 
Padre  Tello,  a  Flemish  man  named  Acle  sold  at 
Compostela,  Jalisco,  a  piece  of  cloth  which  he  said 
he  had  bought  forty  days  before  in  London.  But 
this  discoverer  of  Anian  shot  a  Spaniard  and  fled, 
carrying  his  secret  with  iiim.  It  was  in  16G0  that 
the  Portuguese  Melguer  is  vaguely  reported  +0  have 
sailed  from  Japan  to  Lisbon  through  the  strait  of 
Anian  and  the  frozen  sea." 

Governor  Diego  de.  Peiialosa  made  a  trip  from 

"Z>'^rJ<.'/,  Le  Monde,  Paris,  1637,  general  map  of  the  world.  In  /(/., 
DfKcrtptioii  Generale  ile  VAmiviquf,  which  ia  pt.  ii,  of  the  preceding,  the 
map  of  America  is  much  improved ;  the  coast  trend  is  N.  w. ;  Quivira  and 
New  Albion  are  omitted;  the  old  lake  with  its  seven  cities  ia  restored;  and  the 
lake  from  which  the  St  Lawrence  flows  is  moved  some  2000  miles  eastward. 
A  great  island  of  Paxaros  lies  off  the  coast,  in  about  34°;  Totonteac,  Cibola, 
and  California  arc  the  provinces  named;  and  the  coast  names  are  as  in  many 
earlier  maps. 

^^ Mota  Padilla,  Hist,  N.  Oalicia,  74;  Amorelti,  Voy,  Maldonado,  39,  75. 


peSalosa's  expedition. 


100 


New  Mexico  in  1GG2,  of  which  Padre  Freytas  wrote 
the  diary,  and  in  which  he  claimed  to  have  reached 
the  original  Quivira,  far  to  the  north-east  of  Santa 
Fd,  A  memorial  seeking  license  for  northern  con- 
quest was  sent  to  the  king  with  the  narrative,  which 
was  therefore  filled  with  every  imaginary  wonder  of 
the  Northern  Mystery  that  might  favor  his  enter- 
prise. Most  of  his  statements  were  false,  even  if  the 
whole  account  was  not  pure  fiction.  The  hole  region 
waa  a  veritahle  paradise,  abounding  in  all  desirable 

groducts ;  and  the  city  of  Quivira  was  of  great  extent, 
everal  thousand  houses  of  from  two  to  four  stories 
were  counted  in  the  two  leagues  of  streets  traversed; 
and  a  party  sent  to  explore  could  not  reach  the  end 
of  the  town.  The  natives  told  also  of  provinces 
beyond,  of  Thegliayo,  the  province  of  the  Ahijados, 
and  others,  so  rich  that  ordinary  dishes  were  made 
of  silver  and  gold — to  obtain  which  wealth  the  En- 

flish,  French,  and  Dutch  were  straining  every  nerve, 
t  behooved  Spain  to  act  promptly.  All  the  men 
from  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  America  who  had 
visited  this  land  were  waiting  impatiently  for  Don 
Diego  to  be  made  duke,  marquis,  and  count,  with  com- 
mand over  the  new  dominion.  It  was  on  the  sea,  not 
more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  from  Santa 
Fd  on  the  west,  north,  and  east;  and  ships  might  visit 
it  freely.  Zaldibar's  visit  to  the  west  in  1G18  is 
mentioned  in  confirmation,  though  he  did  not  dare  to 
penetrate  to  the  marvels  reported  to  him,  by  reason 
of  terrible  giants  to  be  passed;  at  which  cowardice 
Padre  Ldzaro  protested,  as  did  nature,  finding  ex- 
pression in  an  earthquake.* 


13 


^^Freytas,  Relacion  del  dcscuhrimiento  del  pais  y  dudad  de  Qv.ivira,  Echo 
por  D.  Diego  Diotdaio  de.  Peilaloxa,  in  Shea's  Exped.  of  Peilnlosa.  '  En  el 
comun  sentir  todo  lo  que  haata  oy  estii  conqiiistado  y  poblado  debaxo  del 
nombre  do  America  es  sombra  en  comparacion  de  lo  quo  contieno  csta,  nucva 
parte  del  mundo  nuevo  anienazada  de  conijuistar  p<.)r  los  Franceses  que  con- 
tiuan  con  ella,  y  de  los  Yngleses  y  Olandeses  que  tanto  la  desean,  nunque  no 
lo  consiguirau  los  vuos  ni  Xoa  otros,  porque  ignoran  el  Arte  de  con(iui8t'ir.'  I 
have  more  to  say  of  Pcualosa's  expedition  and  career  elsewhere.  Nothing 
but  a  full  reproduction  would  do  justice  to  the  absurdities  of  the  uanalive. 


lit 


li 


:"  HI 


Mi 


: 


no 


THE  NORTHSUN  mystery-coxclusion. 


I 


An  'exact  description'  of  America  was  published 
in  1G55.  The  author  admits  that  the  question  of  a 
separation  or  non-separation  from  Asia  is  too  deep  for 
him.  The  prevalent  opinion  seems  to  be  that  America 
ia  an  island,  separated  from  Anian,  a  province  of  Tar- 
tary,  by  the  strait  of  that  name.  Noting  the  old 
reports  about  its  having  been  navigated,  the  writer 
says:  "But  of  what  credit  these  testimonies  shall  be 
thought,  for  ought  I  know,  the  Reader  must  judge. 
I  onely  report  them  as  I  fmde  them ...  I  fear  the 
Proverb  may  somewhat  prevail  upon  the  English  in 


OOELBT  a  MaP,   1671. 

this  point.  Quod  volumus  facile  credimiis.''  Strait  or 
no  strait,  however,  California  'in  its  largest  sense'  in- 
cludes all  the  north-west  region,  and  is  divided  into 
four  provinces:  Quivira,  in  the  extreme  north — to 
the  strait,  if  there  be  one,  or  else  to  Tartary — with 
Acuco,  Tiguex,  and  Cicuic,  ea  its  chief  towns ;  Cibola, 
lying  between  Quivira  and  Nueva  Galicia;  California 
proper,  that  is,  the  southern  part  of  the  island  below 


il 


MAHQUETTE  AND  LA  SALLE. 


Ill 


■'.      I 


38°;  and  New  Albion,  that  part  of  the  island  above 
38°  up  to  Cape  Blanco.  The  people  of  Cathay  and 
China  "doe  trade  with  the  Maritime  parts  and  People 
of  Quivira."  The  great  lake  of  Totonteac  is  the  most 
noteworthy  feature.'"  i  copy  the  northern  portion  of 
Ogilby's  map  of  1G71,  which  is  in  most  respects  iden- 
tical with  that  of  1G25  from  Purchas.  The  proper 
location  of  Quivira  in  the  north-east,  and  the  small 
extent  of  land  between  Hudson  Bay  and  thp  Pacific 
are  points  that  attract  attention." 

Pere  Marquette,  passing  down  the  Mississippi  in 
1G73,  noted  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  and  wrote, 
"through  this  I  hope  to  reach  the  gulf  of  California, 
and  theace  the  East  Indies;"  for  the  Indians  spoke  of 
a  meadow  five  or  six  days  up  the  river,  whence  a 
stream  ran  westward.  "If  God  gives  me  health  I  do 
not  despair  of  one  day  making  the  discovery."  And 
La  Salle  adopted  the  idea  that  the  South  Sea  might 
be  reached  by  ascending  one  of  the  great  rivers; 
though  the  size  of  those  rivers  must  have  shown  the 
probable  distance  to  the  Pacific  to  be  much  greater 
than  had  been  supposed."  It  was  a  few  years  later 
that  Thomas  Peche  sailed  from  the  Philippines  north- 
ward, and  one  hundred  and  twenty  leagues  into  the 
strait  of  Anian,  but  was  forced  to  return  down  the 
American  coast.  Presumably  there  was  not  the 
slightest  foundation  for  the  story.'' 

About  1686,  the  attention  of  Spain  having  been 
called  anew  to  reports  of  northern  wealth,  and  the 

^^ America,  an  Exact  Description,  London,  1(>55,  pp.  89-92,  291-303.  Jansz, 
or  Bla«u,  Amfrica,  qvce  est  Geor/raphicB  lHaviatiw  Pars  Qvinla  (vol.  xi.  of  his 
Atlas  Major),  AmRtclaedami,  10(52,  gives  to  California  tlio  same  broad  extent. 

"  Of/ilby's  America,  London,  1071,  general  map,  text,  208  et  Bcq.,  where  is 
tlie  usual  arrangement  of  the  provinces  of  Quivira,  Cibola,  CalifoT  la,  and  New 
Albion;  but  the  author  seems  to  bo  in  much  doubt  about  tlieii  lolativo  posi- 
tions. In  the  sc'.'tliem  portions  of  the  map,  not  copied,  the  region  east  oi  the 
Rio  del  Norte  is  called  N.  Mexico;  and  Ti^uas,  Socorro,  find  other  names  are 
given  along  the  river;  while  farther  east  is  N.  Granada,  with  the  tovms  of 
Zuny,  Moqui,  etc.  See  also  Moiilanus,  Nifuvje  IVeercld,  204  et  seq.;  Id.,  Un- 
biikunte  Ntue  Welt,  231  etseq.;  all  three  works  being  in  substance  the  same. 

^^Sparh'  Life  of  Marquette;  N.  Amer.  Keview,  January  1839,  89.  In 
1080-2  P6re  Hennepin  went  up  the  Mississippi  to  the  falls  of  St  Anthony, 
while  La  Salle  himself  went  down  that  river  to  the  gulf. 

^^ijeixas  y  Lovera,  Theatro  Naval,  cited  in  Jejff'erys'  Great  Proh,,  18-19.     ' 


,    ... 

■  i 

'■'{'■■. 


ns 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY-CONCLUSION. 


king  having  issued  a  cedula  on  the  subject  in  1G78, 
Padre  Alonso  de  Paredes,  v/ho  had  been  a  mis'-'  ary 
in  New  Mexico,  wrote  a  report  on  the  subject .  .  cal- 
culated to  excite  enthusiasm.  Quivira  he  placed 
somewhere  in  Texas,  though  it  might  extend  far  north- 
Vr'ard.  There  was  no  evidence  of  gold  or  great  cities 
there.  Of  Teguayo,  or  Tehuayo,  a  famous  name  now 
that  had  perhaps  been  current  for  a  half  century, 
nothing  was  known  be}  "»nd  Indian  reports  that  it  was 
a  populous  kingdom  containing  a  great  lake.'^  In 
1G86  also  the  English  corsair  Swan  was  on  the  coast. 
His  chronicler,  Dampier,  could  not  satisfy  himself 
whether  Cahfornia  was  an  island  or  a  peninsula;  nor 
did  he  think  the  Spaniards  desired  to  have  the  lake 
of  California  explored,  lest  foreigners  should  reach 
New  Mexico,  as  Spaniards  had  escaped  from  New 
Mexico  by  that  way  at  the  late  insurrection.'^* 

Baron  la  Hontan  made  his  famous  imaginary 
journey  to  the  far  west  in  1688.  He  ascended  Long 
lliver,  a  tributary  of  the  Mississippi,  for  some  eighty 
Jays,  passing  natives  more  civilized  than  any  at  the 
east.  He  did  not  reach  the  head  of  the  river,  which 
was  said  to  lead  to  a  great  salt  lake,  with  populous 

'"Parerfes,  ITtilea  y  Curiosas  Noticiaa  del  Nutvo-Mexico,  Cibola  y  otraa 
nadones  covfinantes.  La  antigua  tradicion  de  Copala,  etc.,  211-25.  llo  Bays 
tbat  Padre  Itenavides  in  his  memorial  of  1030  had  spoken  of  the  reported  gold 
and  silver  of  Teguayo  and  Quivira,  and  ex-Govcnior  I'cualosa  had  made  a 
proposition  to  discover  and  conquer  those  provinces,  calling  Teguayo  Tatago. 
Paredes  says  that  Teguayo  is  180  leagues  N.  of  the  Yuta  country,  which  is  CO 
leagues  N.  of  Santa  V&.  The  strait  of  Anian  is  in  70",  the  gulf  of  the  sumo 
name  being  n.  e.  in  the  region  of  Labrador.  Quivira  is  s.  e.  ^  e.,  toward  the 
bay  of  Espiritu  Santo.     See  also  Frcytax,  Iklacion. 

"  Dampier^s  New  V^oyaije,  i.  2G4,  272.  One  map  seems  disposed  to  make 
California  a  peninsula,  as  indeed  ho  says  the  latest  Spanish  charts  represent 
it.  His  general  map,  i.  frontispiece,  mokes  California  an  island,  and  is  for  the 
most  part  like  the  Ogilby  map,  savo  that  the  north  end  of  tho  island  has  three 
prongs,  separated  by  small  bays.  The  source  of  the  St  Lawrence  is  left  open 
in  a  way  to  suggest  a  sea  or  paasago  to  the  sea.  Lut  a  novelty  ia  a  vague 
coast  etretclmig  between  40"  and  50"  from  near  tho  end  of  California  v.'cst^^•ard, 
named  Compagnies  Land,  nnil  separated  from  Asia  just  above  Japan  l)y  a 
strait  of  Uri'js.  This  was  published  in  IGDa.  In  Lni/I,  Introdxicth  ail  Ceo- 
yraii/iium,  Gi)2,  704,  are  two  mapsof  1002,  which  from  Uicir  reacmblance  to  the 
others  need  not  be  copied ;  but  there  are  some  peculiar  features.  On  the  N. 
end  of  the  islund  ai'o  two  bays  and  points  with  the  names  Tdaaijo  r  r.d  U.  de 
Ei'liete ;  while  on  the  main  opposite,  in  43°,  is  a  long  square  projection  called 
Aijnbfla  de  C'ato,  with  a  group  of  islands  in  tho  strait  between.  (.See  Aa's 
map  uf  1707i  which  is  similar  in  these  respects.)    In  the  interior  round  the 


KIXO  AND  S.VLVATILr.RA. 


lis 


cities  and  large  vessels.  His  story  was  pure  fiction  in 
all  that  related  to  Long  River  and  the  far  west.'^^ 

In  the  last  decade  of  the  century  Padre  Kino 
began  his  labors  in  Pimeria  Alta.  Though  his  chief 
object  was  the  salvation  of  souls,  both  he  and  Captain 
Mange  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  Northern  Mystery. 
In  their  trip  to  the  Gila  and  Colorado  in  1G99  they 
heard  of  a  woman — perhaps  the  famous  Maria  de 
Jesus  de  Agreda,  who  was  said  to  have  travelled 
miraculously  in  these  parts — who  long  ago  had 
preached  to  them,  and  when  shot  had  several  times 
risen  from  the  dead;  they  heard  of  white  men  who 
sometimes  came  to  trade;  but  received  no  confirma- 
tion of  Onate's  island  of  the  giantess.  Kino  was 
inclined  to  disbelieve  the  theory  that  California  was 
an  island,  and  in  1700  from  a  hill  near  the  head 
of  the  gulf  he  made  some  observations  whicli 
strengthened  his  opinion,  though  they  by  no  means 
settled  the  question,  as  has  been  erroneously  claimed. 
In  March  1701  padres  Kino  and  Salvatierra  stood 
with  Mange  on  the  mainland  shore  of  the  upper  gulf, 
in  31°  or  32°,  as  they  thought,  and  held  an  amigahle 
disputa  on  the  geographical  problem.  To  the  padres 
it  seemed  that  the  shores  united  some  thirty-six 
leagues  farther  north,  in  accordance  with  their  mis- 
sionary desires;  but  Mange  deemed  appearances  at 
such  a  distance  deceitful,  and  from  the  currents  chose 
to  believe  still  in  an  estrecho.  Later  in  the  year  Kino 
crossed  the  Colorado,  and  was  still  convinced  that  all 
was  tierrafirmef  though  he  did  not  go  far  enough  to 
prove  it. 

great  lake  are  the  new  map  names  Apaches,  Xila,  Taos,  etc.  Tlie  other  map 
omits  the  features  cited  about  the  end  of  the  island,  but  introduces  others 
equally  novel.  California  is  not  only  separated  from  the  main  by  a.  strait,  but 
by  another  strait  on  tho  west  from  the  Terra  de  Jenxo;  and  north  of  California, 


in  50°,  wliother  on  dry  land  or  in^open  sea  is  not  apparent,  are  Coniba^  and 

'  _  "         ~       ""  "  idsonBayi 

In  Ilnrkc's  Col.  Urhjinal  Voywjeaoi  1099  is  a  map  of  tho  usual  type,  which  has 


,  Cibola!  There  is  an  opening  from  Port  Nelson  of  Hudson  Bay  into  an  Icy  Sea. 


tho  Meschasipi  R.  (Mississippi  River)  very  accurately  located,  but  exagger- 
ated in  length.  Between  this  river  and  tho  strait  of  Anian,  just  above  50  ,  is 
the  niune  Mcadoios. 

^^  La  lloutan,  Nouveaux  Voyaqes,  1702.    I  have  not  ser    -^h^  work,  and  in 
current  ristimis  there  is  not  the  slightest  resemblance  one  U)  another. 
Hmt.  N.  W.  Ooabt,  VoIj.  I.    8 


i 


I    i. 


'  '  I 


I  ,      ! 


114 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY— CONCLUSION. 


h,f 


f ':!t 


In  his  map  of  this  period  he  made  California  a 
peninsula  on  the  strength  of  his  convictions.  This 
map,  a  very  accurate  one  of  all  these  regions,  too 
accurate  for  the  present  subject,  may  be  seen  in  an- 
other part  of  this  work.  It  was  not  published  at  the 
time,  and  was  seen  by  but  few  cosmographers.^ 


Harris'  Map,  1705. 

^Maiifje,  Hist.  Pimeria.  290,  301-2;  324,  331-3,  337;  Apo»mko»  AfaitM, 
282-5,  200-5,  308-9;  Salvatierra,  in  California,  Estah.  y  Profj.,  127-9,  i52-3; 
Veneijas,  NoticianCcU.,  ii. 75-0, 94- IOC;  Alegre/llist.  Comp.de  Jcsus,m.  117-18, 
124-3,  134-5;  Lorkmau'H  Trav.  JenvHn,  i.  350,  395;  Map  iu  Lettres  Edi/.,  v, 
29.     ISee  also  my  //««<.  Norihtm  .Tex.  SlcUe6y  i. 


rmi 


L.I 


BARTHOLOMEW  DE  FONTE. 


119 


The  map  published  with  TIaches  Collection  of  Voy- 
ages in  1699  was  reproduced  by  Heylyn  in  1701  and 
by  Harris  in  1705."  These  have  nameless  streams 
flowing  into  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  which  may  be  the 
Rio  Bravo  del  Norte,  with  its  mouth  now  trans- 
ferred to  the  proper  side  of  the  continent.  Heylyn's 
text  is  similar  to  that  of  the  'exact  description'  of 
IG55  already  noted.  He  is  sure  that  California  u 
an  island,  and  explains  how  some  have  been  led  into 
the  error  of  regarding  it  as  a  peninsula  in  the  past; 
and  he  also  adds  that  Quivira  is  by  some  placed  far  iu 
the  interior,  by  the  'back  of  Virginia.'  Harris  has 
another  map,  which  I  reproduce  in  part.  It  shows  La 
Hontan's  fictitious  discoveries;  northern  California  a^ 
in  several  earlier  maps  mentioned  but  not  copied ;  and 
Santa  Fd,  on  the  Brave  River,  or  Rio  Bravo  del  Norte, 
flowing  into  the  right 
gulf,  but  still  out  of 
the  famous  lake.  The 
accompanying  frag- 
ment from  Pieter 
vander  Aa  of  1707 
explains  itself  so  far 
as  any  explanation  is 
practicable.  ^'^  ^^^'  ^^o?. 

Padre  Kino  in  1706  looked  for  the  last  time  on 
the  gulf  -»vaters  and  mouth  of  the  Colorado,  again 
convincing  himself,  but  failing  to  convince  his  com- 
panions, among  whom  was  Padre  Niel,  that  the  gulf 
there  ended." 

In  a  London  periodical.  Monthly  Miscellany,  or 
Memoirs  for  the  CuHous,  in  April  and  June  1708, 
appeared  what  purported  to  be  a  letter  of  Admiral 
Bartholomew  de  Fonte,  describing  a  voyage  made  by 

**rffjlhjn'fi  Co/i»»o,7rty)Ay,frontiapiece  and  pp.9G0-8;  Harris, NavhjnnlhiviA. ; 
also  iu  Fuiiueirn  Voyage,  1707.  These  maps  show  also  a  strait  of  Uiita  on  the 
Asiatic  shores,  separating  the  main  from  an  eastern  land,  which,  however,  does 
not  extend  eastward  to  America,  as  in  Dampier's  map. 

'*-'AiK>sl6Ucoa  A/anes,  3-23-();  Kiel,  Apuntamicnlua,  78.  The  latter  puts  tho 
visit  in  1705,  aad  say  a  that  as  there  was  no  proof,  'quedd  la  cosa  en  opiuiou.' 


flHl 


'l  ■ 

1            : 

t,  :  . 

i 

I'i 

■ 

)  ■  ' 

t 

■■I 

•     ! 

.1:1 .. 

-n 

!     ;  ■ 
!■  's'l 


116 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY— CONCLUSION. 


i  !?. 


him  in  1640.  It  was  partly  in  the  first  and  partly 
in  the  third  person;  no  reference  was  made  by  the 
editors  to  any  original  from  which  it  might  have 
been  translated;  but  they  mentioned  an  accompany- 
ing chart,  not  published  and  never  heard  of  again.  It 
was  doubtless  a  deliberate  hoax,  prepared  at  the  time 
by  some  one  who  had  a  superficial  acquaintance  with 
Spanish -American  affairs;  but,  for  the  discussions  to 
which  it  gave  rise,  the  story  must  be  noticed  here, 
and  is  in  substance  as  follows : 

Fonte  sailed  from  the  '  Calo'  of  Lima  April  3, 1640, 
with  four  vessels,  under  orders  from  Spain  and  the 
viceroys,  issued  because  of  information  that  Boston 
navigators  had  been  seeking  the  northern  passage. 
Diego  Penalosa  was  vice-admiral  of  the  fleet;  and 
the  other  two  commanders  were  Pedro  de  Bonardas, 
or  Barnarda,  and  Felipe  de  Ronquillo.  They  touched 
at  various  points,  and  took  a  master  and  six  mariners 
at  Conipostela.  On  this  master's  opinion  that  Cali- 
fornia was  an  island,  Penalosa,  son  of  the  sister  of 
Don  Luis  de  Haro,  resolved  to  learn  the  truth,  and 
his  vessel  left  the  fleet  on  the  10th  of  May.  Fonte 
with  three  ships  went  on  and  by  June  14th  reached 
the  river  Reyes,  in  latitude  53°.  He  sailed  about  tvvo 
hundred  and  sixty  leagues  in  crooked  channels  among 
the  islands  of  the  Archipelagus  de  St  Lazarus;  and 
on  June  2  2d  sent  Captain  Barnarda  up  a  fair  river, 
Barnarda  sailed  n.,  n.  n.  e.,  and  n.  w.,  to  a  great  lake 
full  of  islands,  named  Lake  Valasco.  Here  he  left  his 
ship  between  the  island  Barnarda  and  the  peninsula 
Conihasset,  and  in  three  Indian  boats  sailed  140 
leagues  w.  and  436  leagues  e.  n.  e.,  to  latitude  77". 
Meanwhile  Fonte  sailed  up  the  river  Reyes  north- 
eastward to  a  town  of  Conossct,  on  the  south  side  of 
Lake  Belle,  where  some  Jesuit  missionaries  with  him 
had  been  for  two  years.  In  the  same  region  there  was 
a  river  de  Haro.  At  Conosset  the  admiral  received 
t,  letter  from  Barnarda,  dated  June  27th,  having 
entered  Lake  Belle  June  22d  with  his  two  ships.   July 


FRUITS  OF  PEflALOSA'S  STORY. 


117 


1st  he  sailed,  perhaps  in  boats,  down  the  river  Par- 
mentiers,  passing  eight  falls,  until,  July  Gth,  he  reached 
lake  Fonte,  which  was  GO  by  160  leagues,  and  well 
supplied  with  islands.  Then  he  sailed,  July  14-17, 
eastward  through  a  lake  called  Estrecho  de  Ronquillo 
to  an  Indian  town,  where  he  heard  of  a  large  shij), 
which  on  sailing  to  it  he  found  to  be  a  Boston  shij). 
Captain  Shapley,  owned  by  Seimor  Gibbons,  major- 
general  of  Maltechusets.  Instead  of  capturing  this 
craft  as  a  prize  Fonte  generously  made  presents  to 
officers  and  men,  and  bought  Shapley's  fine  charts  and 
journals.  Then  he  returned,  August  6-1 6,  to  Conosset, 
where  on  the  20th  he  received  another  letter  of  Au- 
gust 1 1th  from  Barnarda.  That  officer  had  gone  so  far 
as  to  prove  that  there  was  no  passage  by  Davis  Strait. 
He  had  reached  79°,  and  one  of  his  men  had  been  led 
by  the  natives  to  the  head  of  Davis  Strait,  which 
terminated  in  a  fresh-water  lake  in  80°,  beyond  which 
were  high  mountains  and  ice.  By  a  third  letter 
Barnarda  announced  his  arrival  at  Minhanset  and  the 
port  of  Arena,  on  the  river  Reyes,  August  29th;  and 
thither  Fonte  with  great  stores  of  salt  provisions  and 
one  hundred  hogsheads  of  maize  returned  Ix  ti  Lake 
Belle  September  2-5.  From  this  point  the  lleet  sailed 
homeward,  having  proved  that  there  was  no  north- 
west passage. 

Absurd  as  all  this  appears  related  en  resume,  it  is 
still  more  so  in  the  details,  many  of  which  are  unin- 
telligible. The  story  was  founded  probably,  if  it  had 
any  foundation,  on  something  in  one  of  Penalosa's 
absurd  memorials.  No  such  voyage  was  ever  made, 
even  if  such  a  man  as  Fonte  ever  lived ;^''  no  such 

'®  Antonio  UUoa  in  a  letter  to  Navarrete  in  1792,  Navarrete,  Viagei  Apdc, 
'i'>4-7,  says  that  in  1736  he  met,  between  I'anam.i,  and  Guayaquil,  an  old  pilot, 
Juun  Manuel  Morel,  who  showed  him,  among  other  old  diaries,  one  of  a  voy- 
age itivle  by  Admiral  Bartolom6  de  la  Fiiente,  who  was  despatched  by  the 
viceroy  of  Peru  in  consequence  of  a  report  that  a  Spanish  vessel  had  found 
north  of  California  a  great  bay  stretching  eastward,  and  had  met  in  it  a  for- 
eign ship.  Fuente  found  no  such  bay  and  returned.  UUoa  took  a  copy  of 
the  diary  and  lost  it.  He  afterward  told  the  story  in  London,  and  also  cor- 
responded with  M.  de  I'lsle.  Some  of  Peflalosa's  exploits  are  mentioned  ou 
p.  109  of  this  chapter. 


J;    .) 


•ii,> 


118 


THE  N0RTHI:RN  MYSTEHY— COirCLUSION. 


complicated  net-work  of  channels  cuts  up  the  northern 
])arts  of  America.  Yet  the  authenticity  of  the  voy- 
age was  seriously  defended  until  the  region  in  ques- 
tion became  so  fully  explored  as  to  make  further 
defence  absurd.  The  argument  was,  in  substance, 
that  through  an  unknown  country  channels  may  ex- 
tontl  in  any  direction;  inherent  contradictions  in  the 
narrative,  so  far  as  the  unknown  parts  are  concerned, 
may  be  accounted  for  on  the  theory  of  the  translator's 
blunders;  and  like  blunders  of  translator  and  navi- 
gator must  account  for  discrepancies  between  Fonte's 
discoveries  and  those  of  later  explorers;  that  is,  the 
interior  was  safe,  and  Fonte's  entrance  on  the  coast 
Mas  moved  from  time  to  time  so  as  not  to  come  in 
conllict  with  advancing  exploration.  The  arguments 
are  not  worth  repetition,  even  if  I  had  space  for  them. 
The  map  of  De  I'lsle  and  Buache,  pronounced  by 
]3urney  "  as  adventurous  a  piece  of  geography  as 
was  ever  published,"  will  be  given  in  substance  later. 
I  append  here  a  brief  bibliographic  notice  of  such 
writings  on  the  subject  as  are  before  me." 


'•'^  The  original  is  in  Monthly  Miscellany,  or  Memoirs  for  the  Curious,  Loucion, 
ITOS.  Arthur  Dobbs,  Account  of  th<'  Countries  adjoining  to  HudKOn'i  Bny, 
l-S-.^O,  reprinted  the  letter  in  1744,  and  found  in  it  an  '  Air  of  Truth'  wliich 
left  no  doubt  of  a  N.w.  passage,  though  probably  not  well  translated,  copied, 
or  piinted.  The  fact  of  there  being  a  Siiaplcy  family  in  Boston  'conlinna 
i::s  being  an  authentick  Journal.'  De  I'lsle's  memoirs  and  the  map  made  by 
him  and  Buache  were  presented  to  the  French  Academy  in  IToOand  1752, 
being  printed  in  the  latter  year.  De  Vhle,  Exjilicallou  de  li  Carte,  Paris,  1732, 
Buache,  Considerations  i/eoijrapkiqucs,  Paris,  1753.  They  included  Russian 
and  Japanese  discoveries.  A  rival  geographer,  M.  Vaugondy,  Observations 
critiques  sur  Irs  nourtHes  ddrouvi'rtis  de  V Admiral  De  la  I'ueiite,  Paris,  1753, 
took  upon  himself  to  refute  De  I'lsle's  arguments  at  the  time.  These  memoirs, 
translated  into  Spanish  and  supplemented  by  long  editorial  comments  in 
which  Padre  Buriel  exposed  the  fictitious  character  of  the  narrative,  were 
printed,  1757,  in  Venenas,  Xoticias  de  C<il.,  iii.  29G-436.  In  1768  the  author 
of  Jvlf'frys'  Great  Probability  of  a  Northwfat  Passai/e  devoted  nine  pages  to 
Fonte's  letter  and  120  pages  to  'observations'  in  defence  of  its  authenticity. 
The  M'ork  also  contains  a  map  of  Fonte's  discoveries.  Forster,  ///.t«.  I'oy., 
London,  1786,  pp.  453-5,  deemed  neither  the  letter  nor  the  defence  just 
referred  to  worthy  of  serious  rcfuJBtion.  Clavigero,  Storia  delhi  Cal.,  i.  103, 
also  declared  it  a  hoax  in  1708.  But  Fleurieu  in  1 797,  Marchnnd,  foyiii/e, 
in  trod.,  xxi.-xlii.,  could  not  realize  the  force  of  Forster's  argument,  and  was 
himself  disposed  to  believe  in  Fonte's  voyage,  or  at  least  that  he  actually 
reached  the  archipelago  and  entrance  of  a  great  river.  This  author  and  many 
others  are  unduly  influenced  by  the  absurd  idea  that  Spain  made  secret 
explorations  and  kept  the  results  a  profound  mystery.    Navarrete  in  1802, 


■fe't 


SPANISH  VIEWS, 


"? 


A  Spanish  description  of  America  in  1710  describes 
tlie  strait  as  discovered  by  Hudson  and  Frobisher; 
Quivira  as  called  New  Albion,  in  latitude  40',  by 
Drake;  and  Anian  as  reaching  the  Arctic  circle,  and 
even  to  Berg,  the  most  northern  kingdom  of  all;  but 
admits  that  these  coasts  are  not  well  known.'"  Captain 
Woodes  Rogers,  after  his  cruise  in  1709-10,  inclined 
to  the  belief  that  California  was  joined  to  the  main, 
notwithstanding  the  reports  of  its  circumnavigation, 
for  he  saw  Spaniards  who  had  sailed  up  the  gulf  to 
42°  where  they  found  shoal  water.  "But  the  Span- 
iards having  more  Territories  in  this  Part  of  the 
World  than  they  know  how  to  manage,  they  are  not 
curious  of  further  Discoveries."  The  map  in  Rogers' 
work,  however,  is  one  of  the  usual  type,  making  Cali- 
fornia an  island.'^  The  French  geographer  De  I'lsle 
discussed  the  question  in  1715,  reaching  the  conclusion 
that  there  were  no  means  of  deciding  between  island 
and  peninsula,  and  announcing  that  therefore  he  had 
in  his  own  maps  left  the  coast  line  broken  at  Mendo- 
cino and  the  Vermilion  Sea.* 


r,i!- 


Sutil  y  Mtx.f  Viage,  btxvi.-vii.,  declared  the  voyage  apocryphal,  and  in  his 
ViaiifnApdc,  134--iGi,  gave  his  views  atgreater  lengtn ;  yet  he  made  public  the 
letter  of  Ulloa  alreaJdy  noticed,  the  only  document  that  has  ever  appeared 
to  even  suggest  a  remote  possibility  that  Fonte's  story  was  founded  on  fact. 
Bumcy,  C/iron.  Ilv<t.  y'ln/.,  184-05,  1813,  does  not  undertake  to  defend  the 
narrative,  wliich  he  prints  in  full,  but  is  inclined  to  look  at  it  with  some 
indulgence  and  to  consider  the  arguments  in  its  favor  worthy  of  some  credit. 
Laliarpe,  Alrciji  des  Voyages,  xvi.  30-^44,  also  was  disposed  to  credit  the  story 
as  not  altogether  a  fiction  in  181G.  The  Chevalier  Lapie  in  1821,  Nouvelles 
An.  (lea  Voy.,  xi.  28-5G,  in  turn  became  the  champion  of  Fonte's  cause.  He 
makes  the  route  of  Fonte  extend  by  channels,  rivers — including  a  part  of  the 
Mackenzie— and  lakes,  from  the  Pacific  coast,  in  about  58°,  to  Chesterfield 
Inlet  of  Hudson  Bay.  Bamarda  entered  in  the  same  latitude  by  the  Linn 
cliamiel,  or  Rio  Haro,  went  north  into  Lake  Valasco,  part  of  the  Polar  Sea, 
then  eastward  in  tlu^i.  zzo,  nearly  to  Baffin  Bay  and  back,  and  finally  up  into 
the  Icy  Ocean  and  eastward  nearly  to  80°.     The  north-western  portions  of 

Barnarda's  route,  according  to  this  author,  are  sLwwn  by on  his  map. 

And  finally  in  1839  the  North  Ameriean  Review,  Ixviii.  129-32,  was  pennitted 
by  its  conscience  to  gratify  its  Americanism  to  the  extent  of  hinting  that 
there  was  at  least  room  for  argument  in  Fonte's  favor. 

''^America,  Descripcion,  MS.,  73,  128-!),  with  reference  to  a  treatise  called 
Noid  ad  caui-um  trauntus  Siqtra  Americam  in  Chinam  Ducturi. 

'^*Ro<jers'  Ctniisivg  Voy.  Round  the  World,  312-13.  The  map  has  alsotheCom- 
pany's  land  separated  by  a  strait  from  Asia,  but  not  extending  far  eastward. 

^'^Lettre  de  M.  De  Vide  touchant  la  Calif oniie,  in  Voyages  au  Nord,  Recueil, 
iii.  2G8-71.    This  writer  seems  to  have  had  no  clear  idea  of  the  earliest  ex- 


m 


MMMM 


120 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY— CONCLUSION. 


Padre  Luis  Volarde,  a  rector  missionary  of  northern 
Sonora,  wrote  his  views  of  northern  geography  about 
171G,  and  very  accurately  so  far  as  the  known  regions 
were  concerned.  Of  the  Colorado  he  says:  "We 
know  not  in  what  latitude  it  rises;  some  say  in  the 
sierra  of  the  Gran  Teguayo;  others  in  the  Gran 
Quivira — kingdoms  which  many  geographers  locate  in 
this  northern  America  Inc6gnita,  and  about  which 
many  confused  rumors  are  current  in  New  Mexico; 
and  others  near  the  seven  caves  or  cities  from  which 
came  the  Mexican  nation."  To  the  question  of  island 
or  peninsula  Velarde  gave  much  attention,  placing 
himself  squarely  on  the  record  with  Padre  Campos, 
his  associate,  as  a  partisan  of  the  island  theory,  in 
spite  of  Kino's  belief  to  the  contrary.  The  two  had 
lately  returned  from  the  gulf  coast,  where  they  had 
satisfied  themselves  that  Kino's  observations  could  not 
have  been  conclusive;  both  had  repeatedly  questioned 
the  Pimas  and  Yumas,  who  insisted  that  there  was  a 
strait,  and  reported  the  washing-ashore  on  the  gulf 
coast  of  many  articles  that  must  have  come  by  the 
strait.  Padre  Velarde  was  well  acquainted  with  cur- 
rent theories  on  the  Northern  Mystery;  had  before  him 
narratives  of  real  and  pretended  expeditions ;  and  had 
seen  some  old  Dutch  maps;  but  he  was  not  certain 
whether  the  strait  joined  the  Pacific  above  40°,  or 
turned  eastward  to  Newfoundland  or  Florida;  nor  did 
he  vouch  for  all  Pima  tales,  as  that  of  a  country  where  - 
men  had  only  one  foot  and  women  two,  though  even 
this  were  not  in  philosophy  impossible.  "Lo  cierto 
es  que  hay  mucho  incdgnito  per  esta  America  Sep- 
tentrional."^^ 

plorations,  and  A  the  prevalent  belief  from  1540  to  1610  that  California  was 
a  peninsula.  He  says  the  earliest  maps  made  it  an  island ;  but  no  such  maps 
are  extant.  He  says  the  Spaniards  of  late  think  it  an  island,  but  that  others 
do  not  accept  that  theory,  which  is  not  true.  Indeed,  though  no  fault  can  bo 
found  witli  his  conclusions,  they  were  bunglingly  founded  on  a  very  fe-w  of 
the  authorities  then  existing. 

^^  Velarde,  BeHcripcion  Hist.,  347,  350-7,  388-9,  with  a  map  originally, 
which  is  not  extant.  The  author  refuses  to  credit  Drake  with  having  sailed 
round  California,  linding  a  lake  of  gold,  a  walled  city,  .ind  a  crowned  kuigl 
but  thinks  another  English  pilot  may  have  ascended  tlie  strait  to  38°.     Ue 


#! 


SIGNIFICANT  INCIDENTS. 


121 


A  series  of  brief  detached  items  is  all  that  our 
topic  presents  for  several  decades,  items  the  enforced 
grouping  of  which  would  serve  no  good  purpose,  and 
which  I  proceed  to  catalogue  in  chronological  order. 
Knight  and  Barlow,  sent  to  find  the  strait  in  1719, 
were  lost  on  Hudson  Bay;  but  in  England  it  was  for 
years  thought  probable  they  had  been  successful  and 
gone  through  to  the  South  Sea.^  Charlevoix  is  cited 
as  having  met  in  China  in  1720  a  Huron  woman 
whom  he  had  known  in  Canada.  She  had  been  car- 
ried thither  by  land  from  tribe  to  tribe.^^  In  1721 
a  Californian  padre,  Ugarte,  in  a  Californian- built 
vessel,  the  Triunfo  de  la  Ctniz,  but  with  an  English 
pilot,  sailed  to  the  head  of  the  gulf,  and  again  proved, 
as  Alarcon  and  UUoa  had  done  nearly  two  centuries 
before,  to  his  own  satisfaction  and  that  of  his  associates 
that  Kino  had  been  right  in  declaring  California  a 
peninsula,  notwithstanding  the  contrary  opinion  of 
Mange,  Niel,  Campos,  Velarde,  and  the  rest.^  Not 
all  the  vvorld  at  once  accepted  this  solution  of  the 
enigma;  but  a  peninsula  appeared  on  the  best  maps 
from  this  time;  and  even  the  great  De  I'lsle  so  made 
up  his  mind.*^ 

Captain  Shelvocke,  who  in  1721-2  found  no  end  of 
gold   dust  in  California,  had   no  means  of  deciding 

notes  the  blunder  on  many  maps  of  making  the  Rio  del  Norte  empty  into 
the  gulf  of  California.  In  1715  tne  Marqu6s  do  tian  Miguel  de  Aguayo  sought 
license  to  explore  Gran  Quivira,  which  was  a  month's  journey  from  some  place 
in  Texas,  lying  on  the  slope  of  a  hill  that  was  bathed  by  a  lake.  This  had  boea 
learned  from  one  Jose  Urrutia,  who  had  lived  in  Texas.  Doc.  IJist.  Texas,  M.S. , 
155-9.  In  1718  or  thereabout  Padre  Juan  Amando  Niel  wrote  his  Apunta- 
mieiilos,  pp.  78,  80-1,  87, 1 1 1,  on  the  earlier  work  of  Padre  Salmeron,  which  he 
reproduces.  On  the  Mystery,  however,  lie  is  quite  as  much  in  the  dark  as 
his  predecessor,  whom  he  blames  unjustly  for  not  having  cleared  up  some  of 
its  darkest  points.  Niel  identifies  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Carmelo  with  Drake 
Bay,  and  places  it  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Colorado  River,  in  41°!  Ho 
regards  California  as  an  island,  having  made  personal  observations  on  the 
suDJect  with  Padre  Kino  in  1705-C.  Regarding  the  Quivirans  and  Aijaos 
as  dwelling  in  the  region  north  of  Texas,  he  locates  the  famous  kingdom 
of  Tindan  still  farther  north,  in  50",  and  the  lake  of  Copala  in  the  same 
latitude  west  of  Tindan. 

^'^Heame'a  Journey,  xxviii. 

33  Carver's  Travels,  192-3. 

"  See  Annals  of  Baja  California,  in  an  earlier  volume  of  this  series, 

3^  Twiss,  Oregon  Quest.,  04,  cites  a  map  of  De  I'lsle  of  1722  with  the 
peninsula. 


A 


(.     ! 


I  '  I 


r 
ft' 


182 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY-CONCLUSION. 


1     ! 


between  island  and  peninsula,  either  from  his  own 
observations  or  those  of  others,  Englishmen  having 
no  "time  nor  power  to  go  about  the  discovery  of  it, ' 
and  the  Spaniards  having  grown  "  indolent  and  incu- 
rious." His  map,  however,  is  one  of  the  old  type, 
similar  to  that  of  Dampier  and  Rogers,  showing  an 
island.  Sheivocke  also  believed  "that  America  and 
Asia  are  joined  by  a  tract  of  land  to  the  northward."* 
It  was  In  1722  that  Daniel  Coxe  let  loose  his  powerful 
imagination  on  north-western  geography.  Referring 
to  several  otherwise  unknown  expeditions  from  New 
England  to  New  Mexico  and  up  the  Missc  uri,  he  de- 
scribes the  northern  branches  of  that  river  as  "inter- 
woven with  other  branches  which  have  a  contrary 
course,  proceeding  to  the  west,  and  empty  themselves 
into  a  vast  lake,  whose  waters  by  another  great  river 
disembogue  into  the  South  Sea.  The  Indians  affirm 
they  see  great  ships  sailing  in  that  lake,  twenty  t'  mes 
bigger  than  their  canoes."  The  Missouri  "hath  a 
course  of  500  miles,  navigable  to  its  heads  Oi  springs, 
and  which  proceeds  from  a  ridge  of  hills  somewhat 
north  of  New  Mexico,  passable  by  horse,  foot,  or  wagon 
in  less  than  half  a  day,"  to  the  rivers  running  into 
the  great  lake.  Besides  there  was  Hontan's  Lonir 
River,  or  the  Meschaouay,  which  comes  from  the  sa 
hills.  Moreover,  Coxe  had  a  journal  written  b 
man  "admirably  well  skilled  in  geography,"  and  wi 
had  been  so  lucky  as  to  know  one  Captain  Coxton, 
a  privateer.  Coxton  while  waiting  to  plunder  the 
Manila  galleon  had  used  his  spare  time  for  exploration, 
and  had  in  44°  found  a  great  river  leading  to  a  great 
lake,  with  a  very  convenient  island,  where  he  remained 
several  months.  The  nation  he  called  Thoya,  but 
the  Spaniards  called  it  Thoyago  or  Tejago,  doubtless 
Teguayo.  The  people  welcomed  the  privateer  as  a 
foe  of  the  Spaniards,  whom  they  had  often  repulsed 
in  battle.  I  have  no  space  for  Coxton's  wonderful 
geography  of  the  Asiatic   coasts  and  islands;    but 

''Shdvocke'a  Voyage,  399-400.   London,  1726. 


ROYAL  MEXDACITY. 


Itt 


merely  note  that  "there  are  upon  the  coast  between 
^Vuiorica  and  Japan  divers  very  large  and  sate  liar- 
bars."  Coxe  himself,  it  seems,  claimed  to  have  found, 
by  goinuf  up  the  great  river  Oclioquiton,  or  Alabama, 
"  a  great  sea  c^  fresh  water,  several  thousand  miles 
in  circumference, '  whence  ran  the  river  by  which  the 


DoB^is'  Map,  1744. 

Englisli  subsequently  reached  the  lake.  Coxe  has 
not  been  fairly  tresited.  His  rank  as  a  liar  should 
be  near  that  of  Fuca,  Maldonado,  and  the  unknown 
author  of  Fonte's  letter.^ 

•'Coa;e'«  Description  of  the  English  province  qf  Carolana,  London,  1722; 


liJii 


124 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY-CONCLUSION. 


Mota  Padilla  in  1742  speaks  of  California  as  sup- 

f)osed  to  be  an  island.^  In  1744  Arthur  Dobbs  pub- 
ished  his  views  on  a  north-west  passage  in  a  work 
whose  title,  as  appended  in  a  note,  sufficiently  explains 
its  purport.^  Dobbs  was  less  visionary  than  some 
earlier  advocates  of  his  cause,  but  was  disposed  to 
credit  the  tale  of  Fonte's  discoveries.     "All  nature 


1 

1 

I 

fWa ''  1  '■ 

1^1  \ 

I 

tWE*" 

~  J 

\m  i 

i; 

nss  j.  'f 

m-  • 

i 

« 

m 

60° 


iM 


VtlFORNIA 


Russian  Chart,  1741. 

also  reprinted  in  French's  Hist.  Col.  Loumann,  ii.  C,10-3,  25? -6.  See  also 
Dohhs'  Account,  140,  15,3,  1(56;  and  North  Amer.  liexnew,  Ix/iii.  103-4.  It 
is  to  be  noted,  ho-iVevcr,  that  French's  copy  does  not  agree  vith  that  quoted 
by  the  lieriew,  since  tlio  former  says  nothing  at  all  of  Coxe's  own  discoveries 
In  Nohlot,  Gdosj.  Univ.,  Paris,  17'io,  v.  fiOvJ,  California  is  described  aa  doubt- 
less an  island ;  at  which  opinion  at  that  date  surprise  is  expressed  in  Lock- 
7nan's  Trav.  Jesuit.'*,  i.  .S48--9.  Campbell,  Sjmn.  Am.,  83,  notes  a  Dutcli  map 
of  1739  in  whici  California  is  represented  as  a  peninsula. 

^^Motn  Padilla,  Hist.  N.  Galicia.  177,  .301. 

^ Dobbs,  All,  Account  of  the  Couidri  ■  adjoining  to  Ilwhon's  Ha;/. .  .with  (in 
abstract  cf  Cajit.  Middleton's  Journal,  <i  '■  Ob.tcrvations  upon  It  'i  lielwvior. . .  A 
letter  from  liortholGview  de  Fonte  . .  li.  -bslr-'rl  o/nll  the  Discoverien . . .  The 
whole  intended  to  show  tht  (/real  "'roiiu,'  y  of  a  Aorlh-wcat  Passwje,  so  lomj 
di'tiired,  etc.  London,  '744.  Th-'  sa!  le  auLhor's  Remarka  u^/on  Middleton's  De- 
fence, liOndcn,  1744,  is  of  ''ke  nui^Oi ',  with  a  map. 


-TTTrr 


f -i 


SUBLIME  FAITH. 


125 


<      '^:     \ 


cries  aloud  there  is  a  passage,  and  we  are  sure  there 
is  one  from  Hudson's  Bay  to  Japan,"  he  writes;  but 
founds  his  zealous  faith  not  so  much  on  the  old  cos- 
mo'^raphical  theories  as  on  the  reports  of  northern 
Indians,  the  discoveries  of  French,  English,  and 
Spanish  travellers,  and  the  tides  in  and  about  Hudson 
Bay.  I  give  a  reduction  of  Dobbs'  map,  which  was 
largely  founded  on  reports  of  a  Canadian  Indian 
named  Joseph  La  Frfince,  though  it  also  contains 
Baron  La  Hontan's  pretended  discoveries.*"  The 
author  firmly  believed  that  Middleton  and  others 
had  by  ignorance  or  negligence  missed  the  strait;  or, 
more  likely,  having  lo.  d  it,  had  been  induced  to 
conceal  their  discovery  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany. 

The  provincial  in  his  memorial  of  1745  to  the  king 
of  Spain  suggested  new  explorations  to  settle  the 
question  of  island  or  peninsula."  Father  Sedelmair 
in  1746  also  wrote  of  the  matter  as  being  still  in 
doubt  among  the  missionaries,  but  the  mystery  could 
be  solved  with  others — those  of  Quivira  and  Tepe- 
guaya,  and  of  the  white  men  who  came  south  to 
trade — by  founding  missions  on  the  Gila  and  Colo- 
rado." But  in  1746  Father  Consag  made  his  trip  up 
the  gulf  waters  in  boats,  and  once  more  settled  the 
vexed  question,  and  declared  California  a  peninsula, 
whereupon  Sedelmair,  rejoicing  in  this  discovery,  ex- 
claimed: "May  God  grant  that  it  be,  as  it  probably 

♦"Dobbs,  44-5,  was  told  by  FriMice  of  an  old  Indian  in  the  region  of 
Nobon  River,  who  fifteen  years  ago  had  cone  to  the  west  coast  to  light  his 
enomiob,  the  Tete  Plats.  France's  travels  were  in  17o9-4l.'.  Dobbs,  10!), 
mentions  a  land  eastward  of  Japan,  in  40°,  shown  on  several  charts,  and 
coasted  by  Gama  in  a  voyage  from  America  to  China.  This  reported  dis- 
covery, as  wo  shnll  see,  was  the  cause  of  great  trouljle  to  the  Uussiau  ex- 
plorers in  1741,  w'lo  were  guided  by  De  I'lsle's  chart.  This  same  chart, 
which  I  have  copied  from  the  original  in  the  llussian  archives,  sjiows  the 
coast  above  California  ixa  in  the  adjoined  sketch.  Dobbs  also  cites  tlie  l''rench 
writer  Jijrt'mie:  'The  savages  say.  that  after  travelling  some  Mouths  to  the 
W.  s.  w.  [on  a  strait  from  Hudson  Bay]  they  came  to  the  Sea,  upon  which 
they  saw  great  Vessels,  with  men  who  had  Beards  and  Caps,  who  gather  Gold 
on  the  Shore  (p.  19). 

<'  Vam/as,  Not.  Cal.,  ii.  539. 

*'^ Sedelmair,  lielacion,  855- -8.  '  ■ 


:J        1 


m 


' ; : : ! 


('•■   !- 


;!:R 


I         ! 


.1    !•■ 
(    I- 


120 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY-CONCLUSION. 


M 


will,  for  the  conversion  of  the  whole  continent  as 
far  as  Japan,  Yerdo,  or  Tartaryl"*'  and  Villa  Seiiory 
Sanchez,  giving  in  1748  the  first  printed  account  of 
Consag'f>  trip,  and  declaring  the  southern  part  of  the 
mystery  at  an  end,  turned  his  attention  farther  north, 
and  by  a  process  of  reasoning  satisfactory  to  himself 
showed  that  the  American  coast  just  above  44°  turned 
westward  to  the  strait  of  Uriz,  by  which  it  was  sepa- 
rated from  the  Asiatic  land  of  Hezo,  and  through 
which  the  Dutch  had  sailed  on  various  occasions. 
What  had  been  mistaken  for  the  strait  of  Anian  in 
past  years  was  really  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  of 
San  Antonio  flowing  from  the  north  and  into  the  c:ea 
just  above  Cape  Mendocino,  where  the  coast  turns 
westward.  This  was  certainly  a  novel  theory,  or 
rather  a  very  old  one  revived.** 

In  1748  Henry  Ellis  published  his  narrative  of  the 
voyage  of  the  Dohhs  Galley  and  California  to  Hud- 
son Bay;  and  he  joined  to  it  an  historical  account  of 
previous  attempts  to  find  the  north-west  passage,  and 
a  statement  of  the  agreements  on  which  the  existence 
of  such  a  passage  was  founded.  The  work  was  more 
complete  than  any  earlier  one  on  the  subject;  and  the 
author,  though  somewhat  too  indulgent  to  the  trav- 
ellers whose  tales  favored  his  theories,  did  not  com- 
mit himself  very  fully  to  belief  in  the  old  fictions. 
Yet  he  was  much  impressed  by  the  story  of  a  Portu- 
guese in  London  who  had  met  a  Dutchman  who, 
having  been  driven  to  the  coast  of  California,  had 
found  that  country  to  be  either  an  island  or  peninsula, 
according  as  the  tide  was  high  or  low.  Moreover, 
the  coast  above  California  trended  north-east,  a  very 
strong  argument  in  favor  of  a  passage.  Ellis  did  not 
know  of  the  Russian  discoveries."    In  1749  another 

"Sedclmair'i  letterof  March  20, 1747,  in  Z>oc.//M^Jjrpa;.,serioiii.pt.iv.841-'2. 

**  Villa  tSeflor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro  Americano,  ii.  272-94. 

"Ellis,  Vvijage  to  Hudson's  Bay,  I74O-7.  London,  1748.  Map  and  plates ; 
also  translations  and  reprintii  in  later  years.  The  same  author  publisheil 
in  17o0  Comiderationi'  on  the  Oreat  Adrantcu/es  which  vmvld  aritie  of  tlu! 
North-trent  Pa>iage.  See  also  Vsneyas,  Not.  Vol.,  iii.  237-87,  for  a,r6sumi  of 
Ellia'  work. 


RUSSIAN  DISCOVERIES. 


127 


work  on  the  same  topic  was  published,  the  argument 
being  founded  mainly  on  observations  of  the  tidal 
currents." 


Before  1750  the  Russians  had  made  from  the  north- 
west important  American  discoveries,  which  mate- 
rially circumscribed  the  Northern  Mystery  in  that 
direction.  They  had  discovered  the  real  strait,  and 
had  proved  the  existence  of  a  large  body  of  land  east 
of  northern  Asia,  which  had  been  visited  at  scvcml 
different  points.  But  between  these  points,  and  south 
of  the  southernmost,  there  was  still  room  for  many 
intcroceanic  passages.  Accordingly  in  1750-3  Do  I'lalo 
and  Buache  took  up  the  pretended  discoveries  of 
Fonte,  presenting  such  facts  and  rumors  as  could  be 
made  to  sustain  their  theory  as  already  noted,  and 
concocting  a  map,  which  I  append,  and  the  absurdi- 
ties of  which  are  sufficiently  apparent  without  expla- 
nation." 

Still  had  California  a  foothold  for  cosmographical 
mystery;  for  in  1751  Captain  Salvador  in  a  report  to 
the  king  stated  that  the  Colorado  River  before  reacli- 
ing  the  gulf  sent  off  a  branch  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
which  branch  was  in  reality  the  Rio  de  Filipinos  or 
Rio  Carmelo.  Padre  Niel  had  made  the  Colorado 
empty  into  the  strait  opposite  the  Carmelo,  so  that, 
now  there  was  no  strait,  Salvador's  theory  was  not 
without  its  plausibility.  This,  with  its  subsequent 
dGvelopment  of  1774,  when  Captain  Anza  wrote  from 
the  Gila  of  a  report  of  the  natives  that  a  branch  of 

^^Pfosons  to  shew,  that  there  is  a  great  Prohahtlity  of  a  Naviqahle  Pasaaije  to 
the  IVentem  Ainerican  Ocean,  through  lludaon's  Strei'jhta  and  Cheslerjldd  Inlet. 
London,  1749. 

*'  De  I' hie.  Explication  de  la  Carte,  Paris,  n,>2.  I  take  a  copy  from  that 
published  in  1701  by  Jcfferys  in  Miiller^x  I  oy.  Asia  to  Aiiicr.  It  is  also  in 
Mitrchaiitl,  ^'01/.,  pi.  iii.  It  will  bo  noticed  that  California  is  correctly  \nu\ 
down,  and  that  the  Russian  discovery  of  Chirikof,  in  which  tlie  author's 
brother  participated,  is  shown,  but  not  that  of  Bering,  in  tiio  same  expedi- 
tion. Coats,  (/coij.  Htuhon  Bay,  .S7,  17")1,  says:  'ThcHe  Miscota  Indiana  tell 
us  some  visionary  storeys  of  ships  and  men  of  a  different  make  and  coniplectiou 
freijuenting  there  shores  [  Winipeggon  Lake],  for  thoy  arc  positive  this  lake  is 
open  to  westward ;  and  do  attempt  to  describe  their  (gilded  Iweks,  and  sail.?, 
and  other  matters,  both  tedious  and  tiresome,  without  we  had  better  grounds.' 


\V{.Y 


',;i! 


I;       I .   I  '  i 


t 


188 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY-CONCLUSION. 


De  l'Isle'8  Map,  1752. 


tl 


P 

tl 


J< 


EARLS'  SAILING  DIRECTIONS. 


129 


the  Colorado  ran  westward  a.nd  northward,  making  the 
f.uggestion  that  that  b^^anch  might  terminate  in  San 
Francisco  Bay,  seems  to  have  been  the  last  phase  of 
the  theory  that  California  was  an  island;  though 
those  were  not  wanting  in  even  later  times  who  from 
pure  negligence  repeated  the  old  representations  in 
their  text  and  maps.** 

In  1757  the  great  work  of  Venegas  on  California 
was  published  by  Padre  Burriel,  a  most  intelligent 
editor,  who  devoted  one  of  the  three  volumes  to 
appendices  on  voyages  of  exploration  and  on  the  geog- 
raphy of  the  far  north.  In  one  sense  Burriel  was  the 
first  writer — if  we  except  Cabrera  Bueno,  who  had 
published  accurate  sailing  directions  of  the  coast  from 
Cape  Mendocino  southward*" — to  take  common-sense 
views  on  the  subject,  to  reject  the  apocryphal  voyages 
as  wholly  unworthy  of  credit,  to  restrict  northern 
geography  to  actual  discoveries,  and  to  correctly 
map,  in  print,  the  peninsula  and  the  regions  of  the 
Colorado  and  Gila  as  far  as  known.'"'  Ho  gives,  how- 
ever, a  general  map,  showing  the  northern  geographic 
myths,  as  in  De  I'lsle  for  the  most  part,  but  sur- 
rounds those  parts  with  a  dotted  line,  and  closes  his 
work  as  follows:  "Well  then,  some  one  says,  what 
seas,  coasts,  rivers,  lakes,  provinces,  nations,  peoples, 
are  there  in  North  America  beyond  California,  Capo 
Blanco,  Rio  de  Aguilar,  Bio  Colorado,  Moqui,  and 

"Salvador,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iii.  pt.  iv.  661-6.  He  urges  this 
new  route  as  the  best  for  the  occupation  of  California.  Arch.  CaL,  MS.,  Prov. 
iSt.  Pa/t.,  iii.  190-1;  Arrkivita,  C'r6iiic(t,'io2-S.  InChuixhiWa  Col.  Voy.,  viii. 
603,  is  a  map  of  17o5  by  II.  Moll,  making  California  an  island.  Homes,  Our 
Knowledge  of  Cat.  and  thf.  Xortlnix-il  Coast  one  hundred  years  since,  Albany, 
1870,  p.  4,  says:  'Many  maps  in  the  New  Yoik  State  Library,  of  as  late  date 
aa  1741,  represent  it  as  an  island,  aa  those  of  Overton,  Tillemon,  De  Fer,  and 
others,  and  they  extend  California  up  to  latitude  45",  including  New  All)ion. 
Giustiniani's  Atlas  of  1755  makes  California  an  island  reaching  to  latitude  47". 
Kngel  in  1764  tries  to  prove  that  it  is  not  true  that  California,  owing  to  the 
winds  and  tides,  ia  sometimes  a  peninsula  and  at  other  times  an  island. '  The 
New  York  Sun  in  1876  spoke  of  a  geography  published  in  London  in  1849 
ui  which  California  is  described  and  mapped  as  an  island. 

**  Cabrera  liiieno,  NKvenacion  Especvlaiiva.    Manila,  1734. 

^^Venegas,  Nolirins  de  la  Cni.,  Madrid,  1757;  vol.  iii.  is  devoted  to  geog- 
raphy and  a  rp*"  tution  of  earlier  fictions ;  map  at  end.    Regert's  Nm-hrichten, 
177'2,  also  dill  i.  ,eh  to  circulate  accurate  ideas  of  California  geography. 
Hist.  N.  W.  Coast,  VuL.  I.    9 


i.?;:,r[ 


!■  ;■'!  1 


130 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY— CONCLUSION. 


i 


'i  J 


New  Mexico  towards  the  north  for  50  degrees?  Ex- 
cept what  has  been  learned  on  our  Atlantic  side,  and 
the  little  made  known  by  Russian  voyages  in  the 
South  Sea,  I  readily  reply  in  a  word,  wliich  causes 
me  no  shame  nor  ought  to  any  good  man,  Ignore, 
Nescio,  Yo  no  lo  sd." 


•  GAM*aU 


t). 


,30 


(2U       '^0?ii 

;        t Nanicg.prgfixed  witli_anyn'\tjn  the^orj^iml   -^-^ 


'^^ 


^ 


Japanese  Map,  1761. 

With  Muller's  narrative  of  the  Russian  discoveries 
Thomas  Jefferys,  geographer  to  his  British  majesty, 
published  in  1761,  besides  De  I'lsle's  map  which  I 
have  already  given,  two  general  maps,  in  which  a  con- 


CARVER'S  SPECULATIONS. 


131 


^^^5ts#l 


Jefferys'  Map,  17C8. 


11 


"lMi;:i 


■fc,  ■    f 


'    |K 


^:  i^ 


/ 


132 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY-CONCLUSION. 


jil 

h 


rr 


tinuous  coast  is  shown  up  to  the  far  north,  with  indi- 
cations of  Aguilar's  entrance,  Fuca's  entrance,  and 
tlie  "  pretended  entrance"  of  Fonte.  One  of  the  maps 
shows  a  River  of  the  West  flowing  from  Lake  Wini- 
pigon  into  the  Pacific  at  Aguilar's  entrance,  in  45°, 
wliile  a  possible  river  runs  farther  south  to  Pro  de 
Anno  nuevo;  but  in  the  other  the  great  river  is 
called  St  Charles,  or  Assiniboels,  terminating  at  the 
mountains  of  Bright  Stones ;  while'  the  southern  river 
is  called  River  of  the  West,  being  doubtfully  con- 
nected through  Pike's  lake  and  Manton's  river  with 
the  Missouri.  The  lower  course  of  these  streams 
into  the  Pacific  is  not  shown  except  as  on  the  other 
map.  The  main  coast. above  50°  is  "supposed  to  be 
the  Fou-Sang  of  the  Chinese."  A  fourth  map  in  this 
work  is  one  that  purports  to  be  of  Japanese  origin, 
which  I  copy." 

In  1768  the  same  JcfFerys  published  and  furnished 
maps  for  another  work,  written  perhaps  by  Theodore 
Swaine  Drage,  and  devoted  to  the  defence  of  Fonte's 
voyage  by  an  enthusiastic  believer  in  the  north-west 
passage.  I  reproduce  the  general  map,  which  not 
only  shows  De  I'lsle's  ideas  of  Fonte's  discoveries  as 
modified  by  the  royal  geographer,  but  also  contains 
the  general  features  of  Jefferys'  earlier  maps,  as  already 
described.  The  western  portions  not  shown  on  my 
copy  are  the  Russian  discoveries,  of  which  details  are 
given  in  another  volume.  It  will  be  seen  that  in  1768 
it  was  easier  to  find  the  interoceanic  passage  than  to 
miss  it;  but  earthquakes  or  something  have  since 
changed  the  face  of  nature  in  that  region.®'' 

It  was  in  1766-8  that  J.  Carver,  the  American 
traveller,  made  his  visit  to  the  upper  Mississippi  and 

^'^Muller's  Vonagea  from  Asia  to  America. . .  Translated  from  the  High  Lht'ih 
of  <S'.  Muller.  London,  1701.  Long  the  standard  authority  on  the  Russiuii 
discoveries.  The  map  ia  '  taken  from  a  Japanese  map  of  the  world  brougiit 
over  by  Kempfer  and  late  in  the  Musuaum  of  Sr  Haua  Sloane. ' 

^'Jfffcryu'  The  Oreiit  Probitlnlily  of  a  North  Wi-at  Passage;  deduced  from 
Observations  on  the  letter  of  Admiral  ])e  Fonte.  London,  1768.  On  this  map, 
as  on  Jefferys'  earlier  ones,  arc  maiked  the  'Mountains  of  Bright  Stones 
mentioned  in  the  map  of  the  Indian  Ochagach. ' 


f: 


FACT  SUCCEEDING  FANCY. 


188 


the  St  Pierre;  and  in  his  book,  pubhshed  ten  years 
later,  he  joined  to  his  adventures  an  account  of  far 
western  geography,  purporting  to  be  founded  on 
statements  of  the  Indians  to  the  author,  but  which 
might  with  his  map  have  been  compiled  from  earlier 
traditions,  texts,  and  maps,  as  the  reader  will  per- 
ceive.    Nor  does  the  map  agree  altogether  with  the 


Carver's  Map,  1778. 

narrative.  Carver's  great  achievement,  however,  was 
the  invention  of  a  new  name  for  the  mythic  'river  of 
the  west.'  He  called  it  the  Oregon.  The  name 
sounded  well,  was  adopted  by  the  poet  Bryant  in  his 
immortal  Thanatopsis,  and  became  permanent.®^ 

**  Carver's  Travels  through  the  Interior  Parts  of  North- America  in  the  years 
17G0,  1767,  and  17 OS.  London,  1778.  See  especially  ix.  70-7,  1 1 7-22,' 542. 
He  names  '  the  River  Oregon  [elsewhere  called  Oregon],  or  the  River  of  the 


1       i 


134 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY-CONCLUSION. 


!l'   i 


y-i 


We  have  now  reached  the  period  when  actual 
exploration  came  to  the  aid  of  conjecture;  and  here, 
since  it  is  not  my  present  purpose  either  to  speak  of 
Alaskan  discoveries  or  to  follow  the  search  for  the 
north-west  passage  in  Arctic  waters,  the  topic  of  the 
Northern  Mystery  may  properly  be  dropped.  The 
only  connection  between  the  mystery  and  the  voy- 
ages of  the  succeeding  period,  to  be  noticed  in  the  next 
chapter,  is  that  the  former  was  gradually  broken  up  by 
the  latter;  that  the  navigators  were  constantly  seek- 
ing for  the  old  mythic  channels  and  failing  to  find 
them."  Indeed,  to  the  Spaniards  this  search  was  the 
only  important  feature  of  their  explorations.  They  had 
no  desire  for  territorial  possessions  in  the  far  north; 
long  ago  they  had  given  up  the  hope  of  finding  rich 
kingdoms  there;  but  if,  as  was  believed  by  many, 
there  was  a  strait,  it  was  of  course  important  for 
Spain  to  control  the  Pacific  entrance;  and  if  there 
was  no  strait,  there  might  be  a  great  river  giving 
access  by  water  to  the  regions  of.  New  Mexico.  This 
was  the  last  phase  of  the  mystery  in  Spanish  eyes; 
and  on  its  clearing  up  they  promptly  retired,  leaving 
the  north  to  English,  Americans,  and  Russians.  The 
nature  of  the  coast,  with  its  complicated  net-work  of 
islands  and  channels,  rendered  it  necessary  to  explore 
every  nook  and  corner  before  it  could  be  absolutely 

West,  that  falls  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  at  the  straits  of  Annian'  as  one  of 
the  four  great  rivers  which,  rising  within  a  few  leagues  of  eacli  other,  flow 
respectively  into  Hudson  Bay,  Atlantic  Ocean,  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  Indians  spoke  of  a  great  lake,  larger  than  Superior,  n.  w.  of 
Winnepeek,  which  Carver  thinks  to  be  '  the  Archipelago  or  broken  waters  that 
form  the  communication  between  Hudson's  Bay  and  the  northern  parts  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean. '  The  great  range  of  mountains  reached  47°  or  48°;  that  part 
of  the  range  west  of  the  St  Piene  was  called  the  Shining  Mountains,  being 
covered  with  large  crystals,  and  doubtless  rich  in  gold  and  silver;  while  some 
of  the  nations  farther  west  '  have  gold  so  plenty  among  them  that  they  make 
their  most  common  "utensils  of  it' — supposed  to  be  Mexican  tribes  that 
escaped  northward  at  the  conquest.  '  To  the  west  of  these  mountains,  when 
explored  by  future  Columbuses  or  Raleighs,  may  be  found  other  lakes,  rivers, 
and  countries,  full  fraught  with  all  the  necessaries  or  luxuries  of  life ;  and 
where  future  generations  may  find  an  asylum.'  See  Ilifit.  Oregon,  this  series. 
**  The  last  actual  voyage  through  the  mythic  strait  was  perhaps  that  of 
Baron  Uhlefeld,  in  1773,  who  made  it  on  a  Danish  government  vessel,  the 
Northern  Crown,  according  to  a  Danish  periodical  cited  by  Navarrete, 
ViagesApdc,  177. 


"  'I 


CERTAIN  SUMMARIES. 


Its 


Janvier's  Map,  1782, 


I 


\1 

W 


fji"  ■)•■ 


I  -  ■ 


''■  ii 


um^ 


186 


THE  NORTHERN  MYSTERY— CONCLUSION. 


certain  that  no  inland  passage  existed;  therefore 
there  was  room  for  doubt  and  discussion  not  only 
until  1800,  but  throughout  the  next  quarter  century, 
during  which  period  appeared  many  of  the  works  cited 
in  this  chapter.  The  general  summaries  of  Forster 
and  Fleurieu  appeared  before  1800;  later  ones  were 
those  of  Navarrete  in  1802  and  1849,  of  Amorctti  in 
1811,ofBurneyinl813,of  Lapio  in  1821,  of  the  iVoW/i 
American  Review  in  1839,  and  of  Greenhow  and  Twiss 
in  1846.  Many  maps  might  yd  bo  cited  to  illustrate 
how  slow  were  geographers  to  take  full  advantage  of 
now  discoveries;  but  no  new  theories  were  evolved, 
and  errors  were  either  the  result  of  negligence  or 
were  of  local  signification  only.  I  present  Janvier's 
map,  published  m  Paris  in  1782.  It  is  somewhat  re- 
markable, as  another  writer  has  said  in  substance," 
that  in  California,  Nevada,  Arizona,  and  Utah,  the 
very  regions  in  which  the  wonderful  riches  of  Cibola, 
Quivira,  Teguayo,  and  the  'great  lake'  were  anciently* 
located  by  blundering  conjecture  and  groundless  false- 
hood, should  have  been  actually  found  in  later  times 
the  greatest  mineral  wealth  of  North  America. 


'■ 


**  Taylor'8  First  Voy,  to  Cal.  by  Cabrillo,  pretaoe. 


f"  T 


CHAPTER  V. 

DISCOVERv  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 
1543-1775. 

BabtolohA  Fkrrelo — Did  not  Pass  the  Forty-second  Parallel — Fran- 
cis Drake — His  Voyage— Different  Versions — The  Famous  Voy- 
age—  The  World  Encompassed  —  Fletcher's  Falsehoods  —  Tub 
Limit  cannot  be  Fixed — Drake  possibly  Reached  Latitude  Forty- 
three — And  was  the  Discoverer  of  Oregon — G/ii.ij  Voyacse  not 

EXTENDING  TO  NORTHERN  WATERS — SEBASTIAN  VlZO/  INO  AND  MaRTIN 

Aguilar — Point  St  George,  in  41°  45',  the  Northern  Limit — Re- 
vival OF  Exploration  under  CArlos  III. — Expedition  of  Juan 
Perez  to  Latitude  Fifty-five — Instructions  and  Results— Namks 
Applied— intercourse  nvith  Indians — Discovery  of  Nootka— The 
Whole  CoAbT  Discovered — Second  Exploration  under  Bruno 
Hei^eta  to  the  Forty-ninth  Parallel — First  Landing  in  Oregon — 
Seven  Spaniards  Killed  by  Indians — Discovery  of  the  Columbia — 
Voyage  of  Bodega  y  Cuadra,  after  parting  from  Heceta,  to  tub 
Futy-eightu  Parallel. 

We  now  come  to  the  actual  exploration  of  the 
Pacific  coast  above  latitude  forty-two.  The  first  epoch 
of  that  exploration  extends  chronologically  down  to 
1774,  and  includes  four  expeditions  only:  those  of 
Ferrelo  in  1543,  of  Drake  in  1579,  of  Gah  in  1584, 
and  of  Vizcaino  and  Aguilar  in  1603.  These  are  the 
only  voyages,  if  we  except  the  apocryphal  one  of 
Juan  de  Fuca  in  1596,  in  which  European  navigators 
reached,  or  claimed  to  reach,  with  any  degree  of 
plausibility,  the  Oregon  Territory.  All  of  them  be- 
long more  closely  to  the  annals  of  the  south  than  of 
the  north,  and  have  therefore  been  fully  described  in 
earlier  volumes  of  this  series. 

Bartolomd  Ferrelo,  the  successor  of  Juan  Rodri- 
guez Cabrillo,  commanding  two  small  vessels,  the  San 

(137J 


H, 


V.  I'-; 


i 

t 


188 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


Salvador  and  Victoria,  despatched  by  the  Spanish 
government  to  explore  as  far  northward  as  possible, 
being  the  first  European  craft  to  sail  on  Califoruian 
waters,  left  Cape  Pinos,  in  latitude  39°  as  he  be- 
lieved, February  25,  1543.  For  three  days  he  ran 
north-westward,  one  night's  sailing  meanwhile  being 
southward,  with  a  strong  south-west  wind,  until  on 
the  28th  he  was  in  latitude  43°.  During  one  night  he 
kept  on  north-westward,  but  on  March  1st  was  struck 
by  a  gale  and  driven  nortli-eastward  toward  the  land 
and  destruction.  Before  the  vessels  struck,  however, 
there  came  a  storm  with  rain,  which  drove  them  back 
and  saved  them.  The  highest  latitude  as  estimated 
by  Ferrelo  was  44°.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  land 
was  seen  above  a  point  some  twenty  leagues  from 
CajK)  Pinos;  but  at  the  northern  limit  birds  and  float- 
ing wood  indicated  the  nearness  of  land,  hidden  by  the 
fog;  and  fartlier  south,  between  latitude  41°  and  43°, 
indications  of  a  large  river  were  seen  or  imagined. 
On  the  return  Cape  Pinos  was  sighted  on  March  3d. 
The  northern  cruise  had  lasted  six  days.^ 

The  narrative  supplying  no  description  oi'  land- 
marks in  the  north,  Fcrrelo's  northern  limit  must  be 
determined  by  his  latitude  and  by  his  sailing  from 
Point  Pinos.  Taking  his  liighest  observation  in  43°, 
deducting  an  excess  of  from  1°  30'  to  2°  noted  iu  all 
his  latitudes  on  the  Californian  coast,  and  accepting 
his  own  estimate  of  progress  after  the  observation  of 
February  28th,  N>e  have  42°  or  42°  30'  as  the  highest 
point  reached.  The  result  of  the  other  test  depends 
mainly  on  the  identity  of  Pinos.     If  that  point  was 

*  Tho  source  of  all  real  information  about  this  voyage  is  the  Cabrillo,  Ce- 
ladon, or  original  diary,  probably  WTitten  by  Juan  I'aez,  and  printed  in 
Pachcco  and  CunL'iia-ii,  Col.  Due,  xiv.  105-91,  and  in  Florida,  Col.  Doc, 
IT.VSO.  Other  works  that  Tiiay  bo  consulted  on  the  subject,  containing 
comments  and  slight  variations,  uro:  Jlerrera,  doc.  Aai.  lib.  v.  cap.  iii.-iv. ; 
Vciicga-i,  Xut.  Cal.,  i.  181-:i;  Laet,  Konis  Orbis,  .300-7;  Xavarretc,  in  Snlil  y 
Mexkana,  Viaoc,  xxix.-xxxvi.;  Id.,  Viagrs  Apdc,  'd'2-4;  Taylor's  First  Voyage 
lo  the  Coast  of  Cal.  .  .by  Cabrillo;  /iuriicy'ii  Chron.  IJi.it.,  i.  2'20-5;  ixnd  Evana 
and  lleiLihaw,  Translation  and  Nole.-i,  in  U.  S.  Geoij.  Surv.,  Whei'ler,  vii  arch., 
pp.  'Jn.'i-3i4.  There  are  plenty  of  further  refereuoes,  but  they  lead  t  v.-..  addi« 
tional  information. 


DRAKE  S  VOYAGE. 


139 


as  high  as  Point  Arena  of  the  present  maps,  as  has 
been  claimed  by  some,  then  perhr,,;">s  latitude  42'  is 
not  too  high  for  Ferrelo's  position  -.<  March  1st;  but 
if  Pinos  was  the  point  still  so  called  at  Monterey,  as 
the  evidence  most  convincingly  indicates,  then  it  is 
tolerably  certain  that  no  higher  latitude  than  that  of 
Cape  Mendocino  was  attained.  To  present  the  argu- 
ments would  be  to  repeat  needlessly  my  account  of 
the  voyage  to  California,  t*^  which  I  refer  the  reader.'* 
At  the  most  Ferrelo,  without  seeing  land,  passed  some 
thirty  miles  beyond  the  present  Oregon  boundary; 
but  it  is  almost  certain  that  he  did  not  enter  Oregon 
waters;  and  it  is  my  opinion,  as  expressed  in  a  former 
volume  of  this  series,  that  he  did  not  pass  Cape  Men- 
docino. 

Francis  Drake's  claims  to  be  considered  the  dis- 
coverer of  Oregon  are  in  some  respects  better  than 
those  of  the  Levantine  pilot,  though  not  beyond  the 
reach  of  doubt.  The  English  corsair,  having  entered 
the  Pacific  i>y  way  of  Magellan  Strait,  and  having 
well-nigh  loaded  his  vessel,  the  Golden  Hind,  with 
Spanish  plunder  on  the  coasts  of  South  and  Central 
America,  set  sail  from  Guatulco,  on  the  coast  of 
Oajaca,  in  15°  40',  on  April  16,  1579.  His  purpose 
was  to  find  if  possible  a  northern  passage  by  which 
he  might  return  to  England,  thus  avoiding  not  only 
the  long  and  stormy  southern  route,  but  also  possible 
risky  encounters  with  the  Spaniards  he  had  robb«  d. 
His  course  lay  far  out  into  the  ocean  nortli-wostward 
until  early  in  June,  when  he  approached  the  land 
somewhere  between  42'  and  4  S°,  according  to  his  own 
observations  or  estimates.  He  even  anchored  in  a  bad 
harbor;  but  on  account  of  rough  weather,  and  particu- 
larly of  excessive  cold,  very  grossly  exaggerated  in 
the  narrative,  decided  to  abandon  the  search  for  a 
strait  and  to  return  southward,  which  he  did,  following 
the  coast  down  to  38",  or  thereabout,  to  a  Californian 


'See  fUnt.  Cal,,  vol.  i.  chap,  iii.,  this  aeries,  where  alsouloug  list  of  refer- 
ences is  given. 


140 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST, 


port  respecting  the  identity  of  which  I  have  had  much 
to  say  elsewhere. 

In  the  first  printed  account,  that  pubhshed  by  Hak- 
luvt  in  1589,  it  was  stated  that  the  northern  hrait  of 
Drake's  voyage  was  latitude  42'',  reached  on  June  5th;' 
and  there  was  an  inscription  to  the  same  effect  on 
Hondius'  map,  made  before  the  end  of  the  century, 
which  I  have  already  reproduced.*  As  early  as  1592 
the  English  annalist  Stow,  as  quoted  by  Twiss,  wrote : 
"He  passed  forth  northward,  till  he  came  to  the  lati- 
tude of  forty-seven,  thinking  to  have  come  that  war 
home,  but  being  constrained  by  ^><^>'  smkI  cold  wii»<w 
to  forsake  his  purpose,  came  backwsMr<d  to  the  li«*E 
ward  the  tenth  of  June  1579,  and  staiy^^d  in  the  lati 
tude  of  thirty-eight,  to  grave  and  trim  his  ship,  until 
the  five  and  twenty  of  July."  Again,  in  1595  John 
Davis  the  navigator  wrote:  "After  Sir  Francis  Drake 
was  entered  into  the  South  Seas,  he  coasted  all  the 
western  shores  of  America  until  he  came  into  the 
septentrional  latitude  (A  forty-eight  degrees,  being  on 
the  back  side  of  Newfoundland."'  Low  in  1598  gave 
the  limio  as  42°,  probably  following  Hakluyt,  as  did 
Camden  in  1615.*  In  an  anonymous  discourse  of  the 
century,  written  perhaps  by  one  of  Droke's  asso- 
ciates, we  read:  "Here  Drake  watered  his  ship  and 
departed,  sayling  northwards  till  he  came  to  48.  gr.  of 
the  septentrionall  latitud,  still  finding  a  very  lardge 
sea  trending  toward  the  north,  but  being  afraid  to 
spend  long  time  in  seeking  for  the  straite,  hee  turned 
backe  agame,  still  keping  along  the  cost  as  nere  land 
as  hee  might,  vntill  hee  came  to  44.  gr.,"  that  is,  Drake 


*HakJuyt'»  Voy.,  London,  1589.  I  have  not  seen  this  edition,  but  take  tli* 
■tiitement  of  Twiss,  Hist.  Or.,  26-57. 

'Seo  map  before  jiiven.  The  dotted  line  shows  Dniko's  route,  and  the 
insori\it,i(iii,  not  copied,  is  opposite  t!ie  r.orthem  termination  of  that  line.  I 
take  ti  0  map  from  the  Hakluyt  Society  reprint  of  Drake's  World  EncomixtK.ied, 
till!  e«li*-.i>r  of  which  work  stateti  that  it  wa.s  originally  attached  to  a  Dutch 
uarrati\f  <>f  the  voyage,  <  (trie  bciichryviiKihe,  «!tc.,  apparently  a  condensed 
translatinu  of  a  document  similar  to  the  World  Eiicom/ia-nHpd. 

^/>niis'  Worl/l's  /{ydrof/.  Dincov.,  as  cited  by  Grccnhow  and  Twiss. 

* Leit\  Mi'fr  oiler  Seehanen  Buck,  48;  Camden,  AnncUes  Rerom  Angli- 
cited  by  Twicr. 


Bj;   ,; 


if  >  * 


DRAKE'S  LYING  PREACHER. 


Bay,  on  the  California  coast.'  In  his  edition  of  IGOO 
Hakluyt  made  a  change  in  the  latitude  and  wrote: 
"Hee  beganne  to  thinke  of  hi.s  best  way  to  the 
Malucos,  and  finding  himselfe  where  hee  now  was 
becalmed,  hee  saw  that  of  necessitie  hee  must  bee 
enforced  to  take  a  Spanish  course,  namely  to  sailo 
somewhat  Northerly  to  get  a  winde."*  Wee  therefore 
set  saile,  and  sayled  600.  leagues  at  the  least  for  a 
good  winde,  and  thus  much  we  sailed  from  the  10. 
of  April,  till  the  .'3.  of  June.  The  5.  day  of  June,  being 
in  4Z.  degrees  towards  the  pole  Arcticke,  wee  found 
tikt  ayre  so  colde,  that  our  men  being  grieuously 
jpittcbed  with  the  same,  complained  of  the  extremitie 
thereof,  and  the  further  we  went,  the  more  the  colde 
increased  upon  us.  Whereupon  we  thought  it  best 
for  that  time  to  seeke  the  land,  and  did  so,  finding  it 
not  mountainous,  but  low  plaine  land,  till  wee  came 
within  38  degrees  towards  the  line."" 

Hakluyt's  account  was  followed  by  Purchas  and  by 
most  other  early  writers,  except  De  Laet,  who  made 
latitude  40°  the  northern  limit.*"  The  author  of  the 
Famous  Voi/age  is  not  known;  but  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  Hakluyt  himself  compiled  it  from  papers  and 
verbal  statements  of  Drake's  companions.  A  new  ac- 
count was  compiled  and  published  in  1028  by  Drake's 
nephew  from  the  notes  of  Francis  Fletcher,  who  ac- 
companied the  corsair  as  chaplain  or  preacher,  and  of 
others." 

I  proceed  to  quote  all  of  this  narrative  relating  to 

M  dMcoiirte  of  Sir  FranHx  Drrik^n  inrn^'f,',  MS.  of  British  Museum,  in 
Hakluyt  Soc.  cd.  of  f^rakr',i  W".'-l  Enntmpojixfd,  183-4. 

"  Here  we  notice  thf  r><uircls  for  a  northern  strait  irj  ignored  altogether. 

*  The  FamoiM  Voijmjf.  q/'  Sit  Francis  Drake,  in  JJakluyt'a  \'oi/.,  iii.  440, 
736-7. 

'"  Laet,  Noviii<  Orbii^,  307.  Oreeniiow  cites  Laet  as  followiiia  Hakluyt. 

^^ Drake,  Tin  World  Enrom)Mi.-<^cd  bij  Sir  Francis  Drake,  licimj  hi-i  next 
Voyc/ie  to  that  to  Nomhre  de  DioM  formerly  imprinted;  Cnrr/uHi)  eot/eeledovt  of 
the  Note^  of  Master  Francix  Flelr.her,  Preacher  in  Ihii  imphymenl,  and  diners 
others  hiifollower.<  in  the  same,  cic.  Loiidon,  16i*8;  also  uds.  ot  "KiS'iaii.l  1(33.'). 
The  latest  ami  liost,  is  that  of  the  Hiikluyt.  Society  of  1S.54,  with  ni){jt  lulices 
and  introduction  by  W.  H  VV.  Vaux.  The  appendices  include  the  Fainout 
Voyaij',  from  H.akhiyt,  nnd  also  Hcveral  MS.  narratives  or  fragmcmts  on  the 
Bubjuct — iu  fact  all  the  eviilcuco  cxiotiug  on  the  voyage. 


p.    ' 


142 


DISCOVERY  OP  THE  NORTIIWCST  COAST, 


the  northern  part,  except  a  portion  of  the  long  dis- 
qui;:ition  on  the  chmate : 

"From  Guatulco  wee  departed  the  day  following, 
viz.,  Aprill  16,  setting  our  course  directly  into  the  sea, 
whereon  wee  say  led  500  leagues  in  longitude,  to  get  a 
winde:  and  betweene  that  and  June  3,  1400  leagues 
in  all,  till  we  came  into  42°  of  North  latitude,  where 
in  the  night  following  we  found  such  alteration  of 
heate,  into  extreame  and  nipping  cold,  that  our  men 
in  generall  did  grieuously  complaine  thereof.  .  .the 
very  roapes  of  our  ship  were  stifTo,  and  the  raine 
which  fell  was  an  vnnatural  congealed  and  frozen  sub- 
stance... It  came  to  that  extremity  in  sayling  but 
2  deg.  further  to  the  Northward  in  our  course,  that 
though  sea-men  lack  not  good  stomaches,  yet  it  seemed 
a  question  to  many  amongst  vs,  whether  their  hands 
should  feed  their  mouthes,  or  rather  keep  themselues 
within  their  couerts .  .  .  Our  meate,  as  soone  as  it  was 
remooued  from  the  fire,  would  presently  in  a  manner  be 
frozen  vp .  .  .  The  land  in  that  part  of  America,  bearing 
further  out  into  the  West  then  woe  before  imagined, 
we  were  neerer  on  it  then  wee  were  aware;  and  yet 
the  neerer  still  wee  came  vnto  it,  the  more  extremitie 
of  cold  did  sease  vpon  vs.  The  5  day  of  lune,  we 
were  forced  by  contrary  windes  to  runne  in  with  the 
shoare,  which  wee  then  iir.st  descried,  and  to  cast  anchor 
in  a  bau  bay,  the  best  roade  wee  could  for  the  present 
meete  with,  where  wee  were  not  witliout  some  danger 
by  reason  of  the  many  extreme  gusts  and  flawes  that 
beate  vpon  vs,  which  if  they  ceased  and  were  still  at 
any  time,  immediately  upon  their  intermission  there 
followed  most  uile,  thicke,  and  stinking  fogges,  against 
which  the  sea  preuailed  nothing,  till  the  gusts  of  winde 
againe  remoued  them,  which  brought  with  them  such 
extremitie  and  violence  when  they  came,  that  there 
was  no  1^  :;alin":  or  resisting  aiifainst  them.  In  this 
place  was  no  abiding  for  vs;  and  to  go  further  North, 
the  extreniity  of  the  coald  .  .  .would  not  permit  vs;  and 
the  windes  directly  bent  against  vs,  hauing  once  gotten 


YE  FALSEST  KNAVE  THAT  LIVETH. 


143 


vs  vnder  sayle  againe,  commanded  vs  to  the  South- 
ward whether  wee  would  or  no.  From  the  height  of 
48  deg.,  in  which  now  wee  were,  to  38°,  we  found  the 
land,  by  coasting  alongst  it,  to  bee  but  low  and  rea- 
sonable plaine;  euery  hill  (whereof  we  saw  many, 
but  none  verie  high),  though  it  were  m  June,  and  the 
sunne  in  his  ncerest  appr*och  vnto  them,  being  coucred 
with  snow .  .  .  Wee  coniecturo,  that  either  there  is  no 
passage  at  all  through  these  Northerne  coasts  (which 
is  most  likely)  or  if  there  be,  that  yet  it  is  vnnauigablc. 
Adde  hereunto,  that  though  wee  searched  the  coast 
diligently,  euen  vnto  the  48  dcg.,yet  found  woe  not 
the  land  to  trend  so  much  as  one  point  in  any  place 
towards  the  East,  but  rather  running  on  continually 
North-west,  as  if  it  went  directly  to  meet  with  Asia." 
I  have  thus  placed  before  the  reader  all  that  is 
Icnown  about  Drake's  northern  voyage.  I  do  not  deem 
it  necessary  to  name  the  many  writers  who  have  re- 
peated and  some  of  whom  have  comraerited  on  all  or 
part  of  tlie  evidence  cited."  Between  the  43°  of  the 
Famous  Voyage  and  the  latitude  48°  of  the  World 
Encompaftsed  there  has  been  much  difference  of  opin- 
ion, especially  during  the  territorial  disputes  between 
England  and  the  United  States,  the  question  of  origi- 
nal discovery  of  the  Oregon  Territory  being  involved. 
I  mav  refer  the  reader  to  Greenhow  and  Twiss  as 
champions  in  the  partisan  discussion.^^  The  process 
of  reasoning,  or  rather  of  special  pleading,  mt)re  in- 
genious than  convincing,  is  to  attack  the  general  cred- 
ibility of  one  narrative,  pointing  out  and  exaggerating 
its  .!v<fect5!i  Jind  discrepancies,  and  to  conceal  and  ex- 
plain siiiftiilav  defects  in  the  other,  naming  also  tlie 
emitjem  writers  who  have  adopted  its  statements, 
As  in  most  discussions,  a  large  space  is  also  devoted 


I  in1- 


**  Sc«  fUM.  Cat.,  i.  chap,  iii.,  this  series,  for  a  full  list  of  autliorities. 

'*Or^enhoie'H0r.a7vl  CaL, 7i-'';  LL,  .l/cmoir.'JOl— 4;  Twhn  Ure'i'm  iJnMtion, 
89-57;  /'/.,  Hiid.  Or.,  '2G-49.  Twiss  in  some  respects  has  decidedly  the  best 
•f  ^km  aMiHMBfk,  chiefly  Voauae  of  his  advantages  in  the  matt(>r  of  hibliog- 
■g^Vv  MM  <M«NK)neu!  ..>diiy  to  expose  his  u))j><'iii'iil's  bluiidcrs,  many  of  hia 
hurelorc  hayiu.:  no  buuriiig  on  tht;  i.|uesU"ii  ut  issue. 


M. 


-KnofKHHiiimiiiimj, 


fiWWWSWKaBWBSS 


H 


144 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


on  both  sides  to  arguments  bearing  on  the  accuracy 
of  the  disputant's  position  on  irrelevant  or  unimpor- 
tant questions.  I  have  nO  space  for  the  examination 
of  each  petty  point;  but  neither  of  the  rival  narra- 
tives has  been  proved  spurious  or  wholly  unreliable, 
or  indeed  free  from  serious  defects. 

From  the  marked  differences  in  statements  of  writers 
who  were  contemporary  with  Drake,  and  whose  good 
faith  in  this  matter  is  not  questioned,  the  reader  will 
perhaps  conclude  with  me  that  Drake's  companions  in 
their  notes  and  verbal  statements  did  not  agree  respect- 
ing the  northern  limit  of  the  voyage;  that  observations 
in  the  north  had  been  few  and  contradictory;  that 
possibly  the  regular  diary,  if  an^'^  had  been  kept,  was 
lost,  and  memory  alone  depended  on ;  and  at  any  rate 
that  che  truth  cannot  be  known  respecting  the  latitude 
of  the  freebooters'  landfall.  But  when  it  comes  to  a 
weighing  of  the  probabilities  between  the  Famous 
Voyage  and  the  World  Encompassed,  that  is  between 
latitudes  43"  and  48°,  the  reader  will  note  several 
weighty  considerations  in  favor  of  the  former.  The 
lowest  latitude  was  that  first  announced.  Richard 
Hakluyt  was  a  compiler  of  great  reputation;  his 
opportunities  in  this  matter  were  of  course  more  than 
ordinary;  and  the  fact  that  he  changed  the  latitude 
from  42°  to  43°  indicates  that  hi.,  attention  was  called 
particularly  to  this  matter.  The  compiler  of  the 
World  Encoinjjo^sed,  on  the  other  hand,  is  unknown  as 
a  writer;  he  is  known  to  have  taken  some  liberties 
with  Fletcher's  notes,"  and  he  was  exposed  to  the 
temptation  at  least  of  accepting  the  highest  latitude 
nanitnl  by  his  authorities,  both  to  magnify  the  im- 
portance of  his  hero's  services  in  searching  for  the 
strait,  and  to  account  for  the  excessive  cold  experi- 
enceil.  And  as  to  Fletcher's  veracity  and  accuracy, 
our  faith  is  not  strengthened  by  the  many  glaring 

**  This  is  the  statement  of  Mr  Vanx,  the  editor  of  the  Hakluyt  Sec. 
edition,  12,  a  portiou  of  f'letcher's  MS.  on  an  earlier  part  of  the  voyage  being 
cxtnnt. 


GALI,  VIZCAINO,  AND  A.TtUILAR. 


145 


, 


absurdities  of  the  narrative,  by  his  deliberate  false- 
hoods respecting  the  Oregon  and  California  climate — 
notably  the  snow-covered  hills  in  June — and  the 
wealth  of  the  country  in  gold  and  silver,  or  by  the 
fact  that  Drake  himself  once  termed  him  "ye  falsest 
knave  that  liveth."  Moreover,  the  advance  of  six 
degrees  of  latitude  in  two  days  against  contrary  winds 
is  not  reassuring,  to  say  nothing  of  the  statement 
that  the  coast  above  latitude  38°  trends  always 
north-west,  without  turning  so  much  as  a  point  to 
the  eastward. 

I  am  therefore  led  to  conclude  that  Drake  was 
probably,  though  not  certainly,  the  first  discoverer  of 
the  western  coast  from  Cape  Mendocino  to  the  region 
of  Cape  Blanco,  including  fifty  or  sixty  miles  of  the 
Oreg'in  coast,  but  that  his  claim  to  discovery  above 
latitude  43°  is  not  supported  by  existing  evidence. 
Two  interesting  questions  might  have  arisen  in  con- 
nection with  this  voyage,  but  never  did,  since  England 
took  no  steps  to  protit  by  Drake's  discovery.  The 
first  is,  what  territorial  rights,  if  any,  do  the  dis- 
coveries of  a  privateer  or  outlaw  confer  upon  his 
nation?  And  the  second,  did  not  Cabrillo's  voyage, 
extending  to  latitude  43°  or  44',  according  to  an  offi- 
cial diary  written  in  good  faith,  give  to  Spain  for  the 
next  two  centuries  and  more  the  same  territorial  rights 
as  if  he  had  really  reached  the  latitude  named,  oven 
though  we  mav  now  be  certain  that  he  did  not  go  so 
far? 

The  third  voyage  of  the  period,  that  of  Francisco 
de  Gali,  require  but  a  brief  notice  here,  since  the 
claim  that  it  extended  to  the  Northwest  Coast  and  to 
latitude  57°  30'  appears  to  have  no  other  foundation 
than  the  misrepresentation  or  blunder  of  a  translator. 
Gali  came  across  from  Asia  in  1584  and  sighted  the 
coast  in  latitude  37°  30'.  His  narrative  exists  only  in 
a  Dutch  translation  by  Linschoten  of  1590,  often  re- 
printed and  retranslated.  A  French  translator  changed 
the  locality  to  latitude  57°  30',  and  the  course  of  sail- 


'V.    'I 


Hwr.  N.  W.  CoMMT,  Vol.  I.    10 


146 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


m 


ing  to  correspond.  Navarrete  repeated  the  error,  as 
did  others  rvilying  ovi  his  authority." 

On  January  3, 1603,  Sebastian  Vizcaino,  in  command 
of  two  Spanish  exploring  vessels,  the  San  Diego  and 
Tres  Reyes,  the  latter  being  commanded  by  Martin 
Aguilar,  sailed  from  Monterey  to  the  north."  Just 
above  Point  Reyes,  on  the  7th,  the  vessels  parted, 
Aguilar  kcf[)ing  on  his  way  and  Vizcaino  turning  back 
to  the  old  San  Francisco.  The  commander  went  on 
also  the  next  day  with  a  light  wind,  and  by  January 
12th  was  within  fourteen  leagues  of  wliat  lie  supposed 
to  be  Cape  Mendocino,  in  latitude  41°  30'.  A  furious 
wind  with  sleet  sprang  up  next  day  from  the  south- 
east, threatening  destruction.  All  but  six  men  were 
down  with  the  scurvy ;  they  dared  not  go  farther ;  and 
the  vessel  was  hove  to  and  awaited  a  favorable  wind 
that  might  carry  her  to  the  south.  In  two  days  she 
drifted  to  Cape  Mendocino;  and  on  the  19th,  when 
the  fog  cleared  away  with  a  change  of  the  wind  to  the 
north-west,  she  was  found  to  be  in  latitude  42",  at  a 
white  cape  near  high  snowy  mountains,  which  from 
the  color  of  the  earth  and  from  the  day  was  named 
Cabo  Blanco  do  San  Sebastian.  Thence  Vizcaino 
with  a  favorable  wind  followed  the  coast  southward 
in  search  of  the  consort. 

Meanwhile  Aguilar,  parting  from  his  commander 
on  January  7th,  was  in  latitude  41°  when  struck  by 
the  south-east  gale.  The  Tres  Reyes  ran  before  the 
wind  to  a  shelter  behind  a  great  cliff  near  Cape  Men- 
docino; and  after  the  wind  had  calmed  somewhat 
"they  continued  their  voyage  close  along  the  land, 
and  on  January  19th  the  pilot  of  the  Fnigata,  An- 
tonio Flores,  found  himself  in  latitude  43°,  where  the 
shore  makes  a  cape,  or  point,  which  was  named  Cabo 
Blanco,  from  which  the  coast  begins  to  run  to  the 
north-west" — or,  as  Padre  Ascension  says,  north- 
east— "and  near   it  was  found  a  very  copious  and 

'*For  details  of  Gali's  voyage  see  Hist.  Col.,  i.  chap,  iii.,  this  series. 
>«  For  Vizcaino's  voyage  on  the  lower  coasts  see  Hist.  Cat.,  i.  chap.  iii. 


THE  COMING  INTERVAL. 


147 


soundable  river,  on  the  banks  of  which  were  very 
large  ashes,  willows,  brambles,  and  other  trees  of 
Castile;  and  wishing  to  enter  it  the  current  would 
not  permit  it."  Then  Aguilar  and  Flores  agreed,  as 
they  had  many  sick,  and  had  already  gone  farther 
than  the  viceroy's  instructions  required,  to  turn  back 
to  Acapulco.  Both  died  on  the  way,  only  Estdvan 
Lopez  and  four  men  surviving  to  relate  their  northern 
discoveries." 

Thus  is  given  in  text  and  note  all  that  is  known  of 
this  voyage  north  of  San  Francisco,  from  all  of  which 
it  appears  that,  as  in  the  earlier  voyages,  there  are 
difficulties  in  fixing  the  limit  reached.  If  we  take 
the  latitudes  as  approximately  correct  we  must  sup- 
pose that  Vizcaino  reached  the  Point  St  George  and 
Aguilar  the  Cape  Blanco  of  modern  maps  just  below 
latitudes  42°  and  43°  respectively.  In  the  narrative 
no  Californian  latitudes  south  of  Mendocino  are  given 


^'' Torquemiula,  Moiianj.  Ind.,  i.  715-2,).  Padro  Ascension,  who  was  on 
Vizcaino's  ship,  received  from  Lopez  an  account  of  wliat  happened  to  the 
other  vessel,  and  was  Torquemada's  autliority,  in  his  Itehtcion,  r).")8,  Kcenis  to 
confound  the  movements  of  th6  two  vessels.  He  says;  'On  tlie  coast  we 
saw  the  port  of  San  Francisco. .  .and  we  arrived  at  Cape  Mendocino,  which  is 
in  42",  the  highest  latitude  which  is  reached  by  the  t'hina  ships.  Here,  it 
being  midwinter,  the  cold  and  rigging  cruel,  and  almost  all  the  men  sick,  the 
sails  were  lowered,  the  C'cpilmia  was  hove  to,  and,  as  she  coidil  not  steer,  the 
currcuts  carried  her  slowly  toward  the  land,  running  to  the  strait  of  Anian, 
which  here  has  its  entrance ;  and  in  eight  days  wc  had  advanced  more  than 
one  degree  of  latitude,  to  4;^,  in  sight  of  a  point  named  San  Sebastian,  near 
which  empties  a  river  named  Santa  Incs.  Here  no  one  landed,  liecauso  all 
were  in  poor  health,  only  six  persons  being  able  to  stand.  The  coast  '  d 
land  turns  to  the  N.  E. ,  and  this  is  the  head  and  end  of  the  mainland  of  Cali- 
fornia.' Then  they  turned  about  and  examined  the  coast  to  the  southward. 
In  a  cddula  of  August  19,  1600,  the  king,  in  alluding  to  Vizcaino's  voyage, 
says:  'All  that  coast  up  to  40'  runs  one  part  with  another  from  s.  k.  to 
K.  w.,  and  for  the  other  two  degrees  up  to  42'  it  runs  almost  due  n.  and  .s.' 
Venegcvt,  Not.  Cat.,  i.  190.  Vizcaino's  map,  as  reproduced  by  Navarrete,  Sutil  y 
Mex.,  Viaije,  Atlas  No.  4,  shows  nothing  above  Cape  Mendocino  but  a  'half 
inch'  of  coast  trending  N.  e.  toward  Cape  Blanco.  Cabrera  Bueno,  in  1734, 
Nave'iaciou  ExjHXvlaf'tra,  302,  who  derived  his  information  mainly  from  Viz- 
caino's exploration,  but  also  to  some  extent,  perhaps,  from  the  observations  of 
the  Manila  ships,  begins  his  sailing  directions  with  a  cape  in  42",  about  eight 
leagues  south  of  which  was  another  point  with  some  white  cliffs,  in  41'' SO', 
called  Cape  Mendocino,  whence  the  coast  runs  s.  e.  to  a  point  in  39"  30', 
and  thence  s.  E.  i  H.  to  Point  Peycs,  in  38°  30'.  Both  latitudes  and  coast 
trend  are  very  faulty,  but  the  central  point  musv  be  Point  Arena,  .30'  too  high, 
like  Point  Reyes;  and  the  northern  points,  ei  |ht  leagues  apart,  must  ap- 
parently be  identified,  if  at  all,  with  the  false  Mendocino  eight  miles  above 
and  the  Point  Gorda  fourteen  miles  below,  the  real  Mendocino. 


ti'A- 


148 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


'1'' 


to  serve  as  a  test;  but  Cabrera  Bueno's  latitudes, 
doubtless  obtained  from  Vizcaino's  log,  show  an  excess 
of  30'  at  Point  Reyes  and  Monterey,  increasing  both 
north  and  south  to  a  full  degree  or  more.  This  test 
would  bring  Aguilar  back  to  Point  St  George  and  Viz- 
caino to  Trinidad.  Again,  there  can  be  little  doubt 
respecting  the  identity  of  Cape  Mendocino,  which  was 
put  in  latitude  41°  30',  so  that  if  we  place  capes  San 
Sebastian  and  Blanco  respectively  half  a  degree  and 
a  degree  and  a  half  beyond  Mendocino  we  still  have 
Trinidad  and  St  George  as  the  points  reached.  If  we 
turn  to  the  description  of  landmarks  we  find  plenty 
of  difficulties,  but  very  little  to  support  either  theory. 
There  is  nowhere  in  the  region  visited  a  large  river 
just  beyond  a  cape."  Ascension's  .statement  that  the 
coast  turned  to  the  north-east  might  be  applied  to 
that  beyond  any  one  of  several  capes  for  a  short  dis- 
tance; but  the  north-western  trend  in  Torquemada's 
narrative  can  apply  only  to  St  George;  and  indeed 
the  small  Smith  Biver  with  its  lagoons  just  above 
that  point  may  quite  plausibly  be  made  to  serve  as 
Aguilar's  river,  since  discoveries  of  a  strait  in  those 
times  were  made  to  rest  on  very  frail  foundations.  In 
view  of  such  slight  evidence  as  exists  I  deem  it  un- 
likely that  Aguilar  passed  the  present  boundary  line 
of  latitude  42". 

Thus  at  the  end  of  what  has  been  termed  the  first 
epoch  of  Oregon  history  we  find  that  Oregon  was  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  an  undiscovered  country. 
There  is  a  strong  probability  that  the  Spaniards  under 
Ferrelo  and  Aguilar  had  not  passed  the  line  of  lati- 
tude 42°;  and  the  probability  that  Drake  had  done  so 
is  not  a  very  convincing  one — that  is,  it  rests  mainly 
•on  the  lack  of  evidence  to  the  contrary.  There  is 
Timch  reason  to  suspect  that  if  Drake's  observations 
of  latitude  had  been  more  frequent,  or  if  Fletcher 


"  Unless  it  be  the  Umpqiia,  where  the  trees  are  said  to  agree  somewhat 
better  with  Aguilar's  description  than  at  other  points ;  but  the  river  is  in  43° 
40',  and  these  voyagers  uniformly  made  their  latitude  too  high. 


REVIVAL  OF  SPANISH  ENTERPlllSE. 


HO 


had  diverted  a  portion  of  liis  zeal  from  the  chinate  to 
the  description  of  landmarks,  evidence  might  not  be 
wanting  that  the  Englishmen  did  not  reach  43°;  while 
if  the  Spaniards  had  abstained  somewhat  from  such 
descriptions  and  observations  it  is  veiy  certain  that 
their  claim  to  have  reached  the  same  or  a  higher 
latitude  could  not  be  successfully  disputed. 

Nothing  was  accomplished  by  Spain  on  the  western 
coast  beyond  the  gulf  of  California  for  one  hundred 
and  sixty-six  years  after  Vizcaino's  return.  During 
this  period  there  was  no  lack  of  exploring  projects 
urged  upon  the  attention  of  the  king,  as  we  have 
seen  in  presenting  another  phase  of  this  topic;  but 
the  government  could  not  be  roused  to  action.  There 
was  no  longer  a  hope,  save  on  the  part  of  certain 
enthusiasts,  of  finding  great  and  rich  kingdoms  in 
the  north;  the  finding  of  a  strait  was  no  longer  de- 
sirable to  Spain.  As  before  observed,  the  fear  that 
it  would  be  found  and  held  by  foreigners  had  been 
somewhat  allayed  in  official  circles;  there  was  in 
many  respects  a  decline  of  Spanish  power  and  energy, 
besides  a  multiplicity  of  more  urgent  matters  than 
the  exploration  of  unknown  coasts.  But  during  the 
roign  of  Carlos  III.,  which  began  in  1759,  there  was 
a  marked  revival  of  enterprise  in  all  directions;  and 
that  monarch  was  not  more  fortunate  in  his  choice  of 
ministers  at  home  than  in  that  of  a  representative  in 
the  New  World,  for  which  position  he  chose  Jose  de 
Galvez  as  visitador  general.  All  the  old  motives 
for  northern  exploration  remained  in  full  force,  the 
extension  of  territory,  the  conversion  of  souls,  the 
occupation  of  ports  for  the  Manila  ships,  the  taking 
possession  of  a  possible  interoceanic  strait,  and  the 
prevention  of  foreign  encroachments;  and  there  was 
an  additional  motive  in  the  reports  of  recent  Russian 
discoveries  in  the  far  north.  Under  the  intelligent 
and  energetic  supervision  of  Galvez,  who  later  became 
minister  of  the  Indies,  the  Californian  coast  from  San 


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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


o^ 


IN 


DISOOVEBT  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


Diego  to  San  Francisco  was  promptly  occupied  in 
1769  and  the  following  years,  as  fully  recorded  else* 
where  in  this  history." 

It  had  been  intended  to  include  in  the  general 
movement  an  examination  of  the  coast  far  above  San 
Fxuncisco;  and  that  examination  was  hastened  by  new 
reports  of  Russian  expeditions,  which  came  by  way 
of  Madrid  from  the  Spanish  minister  in  St  Peters- 
burg." In  1773  an  expedition  was  planned  for  the 
next  year.  The  new  transport  Santiago,  built  ex- 
pressly for  the  Californian  service,  was  deemed  the  best 
vessel  for  the  purpose;  and  to  Juan  Perez,  the  oflScer 
who  in  the  late  expeditions  had  Been  the  first  to  reach 
San  Diego  and  Monterey,  was  given  the  command. 
Laden  with  a  jrear's  supplies  for  the  northern  mis- 
sions, and  havmg  on  board  also  the  returning  presi- 

■•S«e  Hlat.  Cat.,  I  ehaip.  iv.  et  leq. 

*<*ifaureUe,  CompeTuiio  de  Notieiat  adquiridas  en  loa  deacubrimientos  de  la 
COfta  aentetttriotuU  de  la  N.  California,  hecho  par  6rden  del  Ex'^o  Sr.  Virtu 
Conde  ae  Se-Ula-Oigedo  eon  la  prolixidad  potible  (1791).  This  is  the  title  of  a 
MS.  in  the  oolleotion  of  M.  Pinart,  which  contains  copies  of  the  correspond- 
ence on  Russian  discoveries  leading  to  the  expedition  of  Perez.  The  cor- 
respondence en  risumi  is  as  follows:  February  7,  1773,  Conde  de  Lasci, 
Spanish  minister  in  Russia,  to  Marqute  de  Orimaldi :  Has  hoard  that  the 
Russian  Tschericow  in  1 76&-7 1  made  a  voyage  to  America ;  the  result  thought 
to  be  im^riant,  but  kept  a  profound  secret;  will  try  to  unravel  it  April 
II th,  Amaga,  minister  of  navy,  sends  '  ae  preceding  to  viceroy,  with  oraers 
to  investigate.  July  27th,  viceroy's  reply :  Mo  foreign  establishments  below 
Mcmterey ;  aid  needed  to  explore  beyond ;  has  ordered  Juan  Perez  to  form 
a  pUn.  September  25th,  Arriaga  to  viceroy :  Sends  by  king's  order  three 
letters  of  Lasci :  first,  of  March  19th,  has  succeeded  in  getting  from  a  man 
who  has  read  the  secret  archives  an  account  of  the  voyam  of  Cweliacow  and 
Panowbafew  in  1764;  the  new  regions  doubtless  in  California,  and  steps 
should  be  taken ;  second,  of  May  7ui,  Russian  ambition  is  so  vast  that  it  in- 
tends not  only  to  invade  China  but  to  send  an  expedition  against  Japan 
under  an  Englishman;  third,  of  May  11th,  the  famous  HaUer  has  pro- 
posed to  send  a  Russian  squadron  to  the  American  archipelago.  December 
23d,  Aniaga  to  viceroy :  The  king  will  send  officers,  etc.  Jtme  15,  1774,  Id, 
to  Id.,  vim  another  letter  from  Lasci  confirming  ae  others,  and  including  a 
Calendar io  Buso  de  1774,  which  contains  a  mass  of  descriptive  matter  on 
northern  geography,  mostly  quoted  from  Muller  and  btaehlin.  August  25, 
1773,  viceroy  to  C6rdoba,  general  of  the  fleet:  Has  resolved  on  an  expedition 
in  1774.  Mptember  1st,  Cdrdofaa  approves,  but  is  ignorant  of  northern 
waters.  July  18th,  viceroy  orders  Juan  Perez  to  form  a  plan.  September 
1st,  Perez'  plan :  Ho  proposes  to  strike  tlio  coast  in  45°  or  60°,  and  thence  ex- 
plore down  the  coast  with  the  wind.  The  Santia'fO  is  the  best  vessel ;  and 
the  best  time  from  December  to  Februarv.  A  year's  supplies  needed,  and  an 
order  on  the  presidios  for  men  in  case  of  sickness.  September  29th,  viceroy 
approves  plan,  but  Perez  must  go  as  far  as  60*.  Some  other  unimportant 
oorreeponaeuce  about  outfit,  etc.;  also  two  orders  from  Spain  to  the  viceroy 
to  dislodge  the  Randans  if  found. 


11 


THE  MISSIONARY  VOYAOK 


181 


dent,  Padre  Junipero  Serra,  with  another  padre  and 
several  officials  for  California,  the  Santiago  sailed  from 
San  Bias  January  24th,  and  having  touched  at  San 
Diego,  arrived  at  Monterey  on  May  9th." 

The  missionaries  Crespf  and  Pena  were  appointed 
by  President  Serra  to  act  as  chaplains  and  keep  diaries 
of  the  voyage  in  place  of  the  chaplain  Mugdrtegui, 
and  surgeon  Ddvila  took  the  place  of  the  regular 
surgeon.  There  were  eighty-eight  persons  on  board, 
officers  and  men.  On  June  Uth,  after  solemn  public 
prayers  for  the  success  of  the  expedition,  !Perez  set  sail 
from  Monterey.  His  instructions  were  to  make  the 
land  wherever  he  might  deem  it  best,  but  at  least  as 
high  as  latitude  60°,  and  thence  to  follow  the  coast 
southward  as  near  as  possible  without  risk.  No  settle- 
ments were  to  be  made,  but  the  best  places  were  to 
be  noted;  and  the  commander  was  to  take  possession 
of  such  places  for  the  king,  erecting  a  cross  at  each 
and  burying  a  bottle  with  the  proper  documents.  If 
any  foreign  settlement  was  found,  the  formality  of 
taking  possession  must  be  commenced  above  it.  All 
such  establishments  were  to  be  carefully  examined,  but 
not  interfered  with;  neither  to  the  inhabitants  of  such 
places  nor  to  vessels  met  on  the  way  was  the  nature 
of  the  mission  to  be  divulged ;  if  met  below  Monterey, 
Perez  was  to  say  his  business  was  to  carry  supplies; 
if  above,  that  he  had  been  driven  out  of  his  course  by 
the  wind.**  This  voyage  was  well  recorded,  there 
being  no  less  than  four  distinct  diaries  extant.'' 

**  Sea  Hist.  Col.,  L  chap,  x.,  for  an  account  of  the  voyage  up  to  the  depart- 
ure from  Monterey. 

** Perez,  Inatrucciott  que  el  Ex^'  8r.  Virey  did  d  lot  eomandantM  de  bttqnes 
de  exploraciones  €4  de  Die,  1773.  MS.  in  the  Pinort  collection.  There 
are  32  articlea,  wHh  many  routine  details  on  outfit,  diaries,  kind  treatment 
of  natives,  etc.  A  Russian  map  of  'pretended'  discoveries  was  furnished 
Perez.  To  the  InHruceion  vt  appended  a  Fbrmulario  que  ha  de  aervir  de  pauta 
para  extender  Ian  escripturas  de  ponegion  en  lot  descuhrimieiUoe  de  qtie  f»td 
eneargado  Juan  Peret. 

"The  first  is  Grespt,  Diario  de  la  aipedicion  de  mar  que  hizo  la  fraijatn 
Santittgo,  printed  in  Palou,  Noticiat,  i.  624-88 ;  second,  PeAa,  Diario  del  Viwje 
de  Juan  Perez,  MS.,  in  Viagen  cU  Norte  de  Cal. ,  No.  1,  copit^  from  the  Spanish 
archives,  and  not  complete;  third,  Perez,  Relacion  del  Viage  de. .  .pdoto  y 
aff&rezde  la  Real  Armada,  1774,  MS.,  in  Mayer  MSS.,'So.  12;  also  in  ifaureUe, 


"ji: 


152 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


By  reason  of  calms  the  Santiago  was  still  in  sight 
of  Point  Pinos  on  June  15th;  on  the  I7th  they  lost 
sight  of  land;  on  the  24th  were  south  of  the  Santa 
Barbara  Islands;  and  it  was  not  until  the  29th  that 
they  again  passed  the  latitude  of  Monterey.  Then 
with  winds  generally  favorable,  but  constant  fogs,  they 
kept  to  the  northward,  far  from  land;  passed  the  line 
of  latitude  42°  on  July  4-5,  and  decided  on  the  15th  in 
a  junta  of  officers  to  seek  a  port  for  water,  being  then 
in  latitude  51°  42'.  For  the  next  three  days,  having 
followed  the  coast  to  latitude  55°,  Perez  tried  in  vain 
to  round  a  point  in  that  latitude,  beyond  which  the 
coast  turned  to  the  east.  As  this  is  the  first  undoubted 
discovery  of  the  territory  herein  designated  as  the 
Northwest  Coast,  I  give  his  geographical  observa- 
tions from  his  movable  station  off  the  cape  somewhat 
in  full  from  three  of  the  diaries.'"    There  is  some 


Compendio  de  Noticiaa,  159-75;  and  fourth,  Perez,  Tabla  Diaria  que  contiene 
las  latitudes,  longitudes,  varicuriones,  y  vientos  de  cadn  24  horas  en  el  vimje  de 
1774  <i  los  deacubrimientos,  MS.,  in  Maiirelle,  Compendio  179-85.  Seo  also 
brief  accounts  of  this  voyage  in  Navarrete,  Sutil  y  Mex.,  Viwje,  92-3;  Hum- 
holdt,  iHitsai  Pol.,  331-2;  Mofras,  Explor.,  i.  107;  Navarrete,  Via^ies  Apdc, 
53-4;  Greenhorn's  Mem.,  69;  Id.,  Or.  and  Cal.,  114-17;  Twins'  Hist.  Or., 
55-6;  Id.,  Or.  Quest.,  66-7;  Falconer's  Or.  Quest.,  19;  Id.,  Discov.  Miss., 
62;  Bustamante,  in  Cnvo,  Tres  Siglos,  iii.  119;  Palou,  Vida,  160-2;  Forbes' 
Hist.  Gal.,  114-16;  Calvo,  Col.  Trot.,  iii.  338;  Overliind Monthly,  April,  1871, 
p.  299;  Taylor,  in  CcU.  Farmer,  August  7,  1863;  Nicolay's  Oregon  Ter.,  30-2; 
flndlay'a  Director!/,  i.  S49-50;  Poussin,  Question deVOrigon,  38-9;  Id.,  U.S., 
M7;  Famham's  Life  in  Cal.,  263-7;  MacGregor'a  Prog.  Amer.,  i.  535. 

•*  From  the  Tabla  Diaria:  July  19th,  approached  a  pointcalled  Santa  Mar- 
garita, thought  to  be  in  65°.  N.  of  this  point  is  seen  a  capo  called  Santa  Magda- 
lena,  from  which  the  coast  trends  N.  w.  Sixteen  leagues  w.  of  that  cape  is  an 
island  called  Santa  Cristina,  which  is  seven  or  eight  leagues  N.  of  Point  Santa 
Margarita.  Between  tlie  points  Santa  Margarita  and  Santa  Magdalena  is  a  large 
gulf,  from  which  the  current  runs  six  ov  seven  miles  an  hour.  This  is  accurate 
enough  for  Point  Nortli  and  the  southern  extremities  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island 
if  we  transpose  the  sixteen  leagues  and  seven  or  eight  leagues  and  reduce  the 
latitude  to  54°  10*.  Pcfla's  diary,  or  the  fragment  before  me,  does  not  include 
this  part  of  the  voyage.  From  Perez,  lielttcion:  18th,  sighted  land  in  53°  53'; 
tried  to  follow  shore  for  an  anchor&ge,  but  were  soon  prevented  by  rainy  and 
foggy  weather  and  a.  e.  wind;  19th,  turned  e.  m.  e.  toward  a  point  cut 
down  by  the  sea,  called  Santa  Margarita,  estimated  to  be  in  55°.  The  coast 
from  the  poiat  of  discovery  to  SantA  Margarita  runs  half  N.  N.  w.  and  the 
other  half  n.  From  Santa  Margarila  ».  extends  a  hill  (loma)  for  three  leagues, 
that  seems  detached  from  the  main  coast,  but  is  not  an  island ;  and  at  its 
southern  end  half  a  league  out  at  sea  is  a  little  island  one  league  in  circum- 
ference, and  outside  of  it  at  the  same  distance  a  rock  six  or  eight  varas  high, 
and  within  a  gunshot  four  or  five  small  rocks  causing  breakers  visible  from 
afar.    There  are  also  three  small  islands  a  gunshot  from  Point  Santa  Mai;ga- 


PEREZ  VOYAGE. 


163 


confusion,  but  no  more  probably  than  may  be  at- 
tributed to  errors  of  copyists  and  printers.  It  is  clear 
that  this  navigator  struck  the  coast  of  Queen  Char- 
lotte Island,  and  followed  it  up  to  its  northern  point. 
Cape  North,  in  latitude  54°  15',  which  he  called  Point 

rita.  The  coaat  rang  s.  from  Santa  Margarita  to  a  high  snowy  hill,  and  thcnco 
the  land  falls  away  to  a  touguo-shapcd  point,  whence  it  turns  s.  E.  Nortli  of 
Santa  Margarita  the  coast  runs  low  and  wooded  to  tlic  cast  for  ten  leagues  Mritli- 
out  any  beach  that  can  bo  seen ;  and  in  this  space  is  a  low  point  fonned  by  u 
hill,  with  two  rocks,  the  point  forming  apparently  a  sheltered  bight,  but  not 
accessible  on  account  of  tne  strong  current,  the  ships  being  kept  six  or  seven 
leagues  off  the  coast.  Eight  leagues  N.  of  Santa  Margarita  they  saw  a  cane 
called  Santa  Magdalena ;  and  between  the  two  points  is  doubtless  a  large  gulf, 
judging  by  the  strong  current  of  six  or  seven  miles.  It  was  also  seen  that 
seven  leagues  west  of  Cape  Santa  Magdalena  (and  not  sixteen  leagues,  as  in  the 
Tabla,  perhaps  by  a  copyist's  error)  was  an  island  five  or  six  leagues  in  circum- 
ference, called  Santa  Cristina,  and  x.  w.  from  Santa  Margarita  about  seven 
leagues.  July  21st,  observation  taken  in  65°.  All  this  agrees  as  well  with 
the  country  about  Dixon  Strait  as  the  best  modem  maps  agree  with  each 
other,  except  that  the  latitude  is  too  high.  From  Crenpi,  Diario,  July  IStli : 
Land  seen  at  a  distance;  no  observation;  end  of  land  appeared  about  sixteen 
leagues  n.  w.  ^  k. ;  very  smoky;  19th,  land  at  dawn  eight  or  ten  leagues 
distant;  calm;  land  seems  to  end  in  K.  N.  w.,  and  thence  to  turn  n.  w. 
At  noon  observation  in  63°  68';  fresher  wind  in  afternoon;  at  5  p.  M.,  being 
three  leagues  from  shore,  saw  that  the  coast  continues  low  northward  be- 
yond the  cape ;  tacked  to  get  farther  from  shore ;  20th,  in  morning  fog  and 
drizzling  rain,  with  e.  wind  and  heavy  sea,  course  N.  J  N.  e. ;  at  9  a.m.  turned 
N.  E. ;  at  10  were  three  leagues  from  tlie  point,  which  seemed  to  lie  formed  uf 
three  islands;  at  noon  no  observation;  at  3  p.m.  two  leagues  from  the  point, 
the  three  islands  now  appearing  as  one,  and  not  very  far  from  the  coast ;  by 
the  said  point  was  fonned  a  good  bight;  at  4  p.m.  tacked  away  from  sliore; 
2l8t,  fog  and  drizzle ;  at  8  a,  m.  turned  toward  the  point,  named  Santa  Mar- 
garita, m)m  yesterday,  the  day  of  its  discovery;  course  e.  ^  n.;  at  noon  no 
observation ;  one  fourth  league  from  the  point  which  was  coasted  eastward, 
with  a  view  of  reaching  what  seemed  to  be  an  anchorage,  but  they  could  not 
double  the  point,  nor  find  out  if  it  was  an  island  or  a  point  of  the  main,  be- 
caQse  the  current  was  so  strong ;  lay  becalmed  off  the  point  all  the  afternoon. 
T!'>o  point  Santa  Margarita  is  a  medium  hill  (loma),  lofty,  cut  down  to  the  sea, 
covered  with  trees  like  cypresses.  It  is  about  one  league  long,  making  two 
points,  one  to  s.  e.  ^  s.  and  the  other  to  the  s.  E.,  from  which  begins  a 
great  bight  (ensouada).  From  the  point  the  low  land  stretches  eastward  ten 
leagues  or  more,  also  wooded.  In  the  n.  is  seen,  sixteen  leagues  off  (which 
again  shows  a  transposition  in  the  Tabla),  a  very  high  wooded  cape,  named 
Santa  Maria  Magdalena.  From  that  capo  the  high  wooded  coast  runs  e.  and  w. 
OS  far  as  can  bo  seen ;  and  N.  w.  from  that  coast  was  seen  a  small  island,  named 
Santa  Catarina  (not  Santa  Cristina,  as  in  the  other  accounts),  altiiough  tiiey 
were  not  sure  if  it  was  an  island  or  connected  with  the  main.  Capo  Santa  Mag- 
dalena is  K.  of  Point  Santa  Margarita,  and  between  them  there  is  something  like 
a  large  bight,  which  could  not  dc  explored  for  the  strong  current  to  learn  if  it 
was  ennencula,  boUan,  or  eatrecho;  and  if  it  is  only  an  e.itsenala  it  may  l)o  tl>at 
some  great  river  causes  the  current.  Cape  Santa  Maria  Magdalena  is  alxjiit 
ten  leagues  from  Point  Santa  Margarita,  which  is  the  width  of  tlie  mouth  of 
the  bight,  pocket,  strait,  or  gulf.  Cape  Magdalena  extends  into  the  sea 
from  the  east,  and  west  of  the  point  and  very  near  it  is  the  island  of  Santa 
Catarina.  July  22d,  tried  to  douolo  the  Point  Margarita  to  Hnd  an  anchorage 
behind  it,  but  in  vain.    At  noon  latitude  exactly  ^°, 


1:H 


*|J 


i  : 


!i 


154 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWESl'  CO/ST. 


Santa  Margarita,  in  latitude  55°.  The  strong  currents 
running  out  of  the  great  gulf  or  strait,  which  he  did 
not  name,  but  which  is  now  Dixon  Entrance,  pre- 
vented his  rounding  the  point.  In  the  north  he  could 
see  the  present  Prince  of  Wales  Island  and  others 
round  it,  naming  the  nearest  point — Point  Muzon  of 
modern  maps — Cape  Santa  Magdalena,  and  an  island 
farther  west,  now  Forrester  Island,  Santa  Cristina, 
or  as  Crespf  says,  Santa  Catalina.  For  further  details 
I  refer  to  the  note  already  given. 

Though  Perez  did  not  land,  he  had  much  friendly 
intercourse  with  the  natives,  who  came  off  in  canoes, 
singing  and  scattering  feathers  on  the  water  in  token 
of  peace.  They  were  entirely  friendly,  but  only  two 
had  the  courage  to  board  his  ship.  At  one  time 
there  were  twenty-one  canoes  with  over  two  hundred 
natives  about  the  vessel.  They  were  glad  to  barter 
their  dried  fish,  furs,  wooden  boxes,  and  images,  mats 
of  wool  or  hair,  and  other  native  products,  particularly 
for  knives  and  anything  made  of  iron,  but  cared  very 
little  for  beads  and  other  trinkets.  They  had  already 
some  few  articles  of  iron  and  copper.  In  accordance 
with  the  viceroy's  instructions  the  people  were  de- 
scribed as  fully  as  possible  by  Crespl  and  the  others. 

The  impossibility  of  reaching  here  an  anchorage  and 
obtaining  fresh  water,  together  with  the  unfavorable 
weather,  which  prevented  a  close  examination  of  the 
coast  from  point  to  point,  determined  Perez  and 
his  companions  to  abandon  the  effort  to  reach  higher 
latitudes.  On  July  2 2d  the  Santiago  was  headed  south- 
ward. The  coast  was  seen  on  the  23d  and  24th,  a 
range  of  high  snowy  mountains  named  Sierra  de  San 
Crist6bal,  thought  to  extend  from  latitude  54°  40'  to 
53°  8'.**    Until  the  30th  they  had  occasional  glimpses 

'*  Tabla  IHaria;  Pern,  Relacion.  Creupi,  Diario,  055,  Bays  that  from  Santa 
Margarita  the  coast  is  low  for  seven  leagues  south ;  and  from  that  low  coast,  in 
50° 44'  (a  typographical  error),  the  lofty  mc  untains  begin,  wooded,  and  the  peaks 
covered  with  snow.  The  sierra  extends  '.rom  54°  44'  to  53"  8'.  It  is  .30  leagues 
long  from  N.  w.  to  s.  E.  Tha  latitude  on  July  23d  was  5.3°  48' ;  on  the  24th, 
61°  21';  25th,  53°  21';  on  the  2flth,  52°  51'';  27th,  52°  41';  28th,  52°  20';  29th,  5f 
30";  30th,  51°  58';  3l8t,  51°  35';  Augusv  1st,  50°  20';  2d,  49°  24';  3d,  48°  SB*; 


RETURN  OF  THE  SANTIAGO. 


108 


of  the  coast  down  to  about  latitude  52°,  always  off 
Queen  Charlotte;  but  the  fog  and  wind  would  not 
permit  the  close  examination  desired.  Then  for 
five  days  no  land  was  seen,  until  on  the  5th  of  Au- 
gust it  reappeared,  in  48°  50';  and  on  the  7th  in  the_ 
afternoon,  after  many  efforts  and  prayers,  they  ap- 
proached the  coast"  and  anchored  in  49°  30',  calling 
their  anchorage  San  Lorenzo.  The  anchorage  wa.s  a 
'C- shaped  roadstead,  affording  but  slight  protection; 
the  southern  rocky  point,  extending  three  fourths  of  a 
league  north-westward  into  the  sea  and  causing  break- 
ers, was  named  San  Estdvan,  for  the  pilots,  one  of 
whom  was  Estdvan  Martinez,  while  the  northern 
point  was  called  Santa  Clara,  from  the  saint  whose 
novena  was  being  observed." 

San  Lorenzo  has  been  identified  by  modern  writers 
with  Nootka  Sound;  the  latitude  is  the  same;  later 
Spanish  navigators  had  no  doubt  of  the  identity ;  and 
the  description  agrees  as  well  wiUi  this  as  with  any 
other  of  the  numerous  inlets  on  this  part  of  the  coast- 
better,  indeed,  in  respect  of  the  distance  between  the 
two  points  than  with  the  northern  inlet.  It  is,  how- 
ever, impossible  to  speak  positively  about  the  identity 
of  an  inlet  on  a  coast  where  there  are  so  many,  the 
description  being  vague,  and  the  latitude  somewhat 
too  accurate  in  comparison  with  that  of  other  points 
as  given  by  Perez.  San  Lorenzo  may  have  been  Es- 
peranza  Inlet,  north  of  Nootka  Island,"  or  possibly  an 


'M. 


8fi   !;;,:  i 


''•it.: 


4th,  48°  34';  5th,  48°  50*.  These  latitudes  are  chiefly  from  the  Tabla,  but 
there  are  some  slight  variations  in  the  other  records,  especially  in  Crespi,  who 
is  one  day  behiiul  in  the  Ausust  latitudes. 

'"Crespi  still  is  one  day  behind  in  his  diary. 

"  In  Pfm,  Helacion,  Point  Santa  Clara  is  described  as  six  leagues  from  the 
vessel  and  Point  8an  Est^van  two  leagues.  Crespi  makes  the  distonce  between 
the  points  four  or  five  leagues.  The  low  hills  near  the  shore  were  covered  with 
trees ;  one  league  farther  inland  was  a  higher  range,  also  woo<led ;  and  in  the 
north  a  still  higher  range,  with  snow-covei*e<l  pciucs.  The  shelter  seems  only 
from  a  n.  w.  wind.  Pefla  says  the  sierra  in  the  n.  w.  was  also  called  San 
Lorenzo ;  the  name  Point  Estdvan  is  retained  for  its  southern  (loint. 

'"  Especially  if  Point  Est^van  is  the  same  as  Point  Breakers,  as  Greenhow, 
Findlay,  and  others  think.  In  this  case  Point  Santa  (ylara  would  Inj  Woody 
Point ;  otherwise  Point  Macuina  or  Point  Bajo.  See  account  of  Cook's  visit  in 
Jiext  chapter.    There  is  confusion  in  both  narratives.    In  the  Tallu  we  road. 


■^i:^ 


106 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


mlet  south  of  Nootka  Sound."  The  Indians  came 
out  in  their  canoes  to  trade.  Here,  as  farther  north, 
they  were  friendly,  having  also  some  articles  of  iron 
and  copper.  A  boat  was  lowered  on  the  8th**  to 
go  to  the  shore  for  water;  but  a  strong  west  wind 
sprang  up  suddenly,  forcing  them  to  cut  the  cable  and 
put  to  sea,  dragging  the  boat  and  narrowly  escaping 
the  rocky  point. 

Keeping  in  sight  of  the  land  for  seven  days,  but 
unable  to  approach  it  for  the  wind,  fog,  and  rain, 
Perez  ran  down  to  latitude  44°  33',  having  seen  on  the 
10th  or  11th  a  lofty  mountain  covered  with  snow  in 
latitude  48°  7'^  called  Santa  Rosalia,  and  supposed  by 
later  writers  to  have  been  the  present  Mount  Olym- 

{)U8  of  Washington.  On  the  15th  or  IGtii,  being  in 
atitude  42°  37',  they  were  much  troubled  that  the  fog 
prevented  their  search  for  Aguilar's  river  and  Cape 
Blanco,  noting  the  fact  that  the  latitudes  of  the  earlier 
navigators  were  too  high.  Land  again  appeared  on 
the  21st  or  2  2d  for  a  short  time,  when  what  was  re- 
garded as  Cape  Mendocino,  in  about  latitude  40°  8',  was 
seen  in  the  north;  the  Farallones  were  passed  on  the 
26th;  and  on  the  27th  the  Santiago  anchored  at 
Monterey.  The  voyage  to  San  Bias  lasted  from  Oc- 
tober 9th  to  November  3d. 

In  this  expedition  Juan  Perez,  though  he  had  not 
reached  latitude  60°,  as  instructed,  nor  discovered  any 
good  ports,  nor  landed  anywhere  to  take  possession 

*  Este  parage  es  justamente  la  boca  de  Nnca,'  which  is  evidently  MaurcUe's 
interpolation  of  later  date.  The  sonthem  point  at  Nootka  is  still  called 
Est^van  en  some  maps,  Point  Breakers  on  others.  Point  Santa  Clara  must  be 
the  later  Point  Macuina,  or  at  least  cannot  be  Woody  Point,  as  Qreenhow 
states. 

^'  Tho  silver  spoons  found  by  Cook  five  years  later  came  from  a  place  south 
of  Nootka  Sound.  Cook's  Voy.,  ii.  282. 

*"  Ou  the  0th,  according  to  Crespi  and  PeQa.  My  fragment  of  the  latter's 
diary  begins  with  August  0th. 

.  "According  to  tho  Tabla,  on  tho  10th  they  were  in  48"  O*,  and  thought  the 
mountain  to  be  in  48"  5';  the  Relacion  has  it  that  they  saw  it  on  the  11th,  when 
they  were  in  47°  47',  and  thought  it  to  be  in  48°  7'.  Pefla  and  Crespi  say  they 
sawit  on  the  11th,  being  in  48  9".  The  mountain  was  iji  sight  both  days.  PcQa 
notes  that  at  first  it  seemed  a  barranca  blnnca  close  to  uie  shore,  with  high 
broken  snowless  land  above  it ;  but  later  they  saw  that  it  was  some  distance 
inland,  and  that  there  were  other  snowy  mountains. 


REMARKS  OF  PEREZ. 


187 


for  Spain,  nor  found  either  foreign  establishments  or 

Eroof  of  their  non-existence,  had  still  gained  the 
onor  of  having  discovered  practically  the  whole 
Northwest  Coast.  He  had  surveyed  a  large  portion 
of  the  two  great  islands  that  make  up  the  coast  of 
British  Columbia,  giving  the  first  description  of  the 
natives;  he  had  seen  and  described,  though  vaguely 
and  from  a  distance,  nearly  all  of  the  Washington 
coast,  and  a  large  part  of  the  Oregon.  He  had  given 
to  his  nation  whatever  of  credit  and  territorial  claims 
may  be  founded  on  the  mere  act  of  first  discovery. 
To  give  any  degree  of  precedence  in  these  respects 
to  later  navigators  who  were  enabled  to  make  a 
more  detailed  examination  is  as  absurd  as  to  regard 
the  officers  of  the  United  States  coast  survey,  who 
have  done  such  excellent  service  for  geography  and 
commerce,  as  the  discoverers  of  the  Northwest  Coast. 
Whether  Perez  made  the  best  use  of  his  opportunities 
it  is  very  difficult  to  decide.  Maurelle  in  1791  criti- 
cises most  severely  a  commander  who  was  driven 
back  by  thirst  when  he  might  easily  have  carried 
water  for  six  months;  who  complained  of  the  scurvy, 
when  only  one  man  was  lost;  who  could  find  no  an- 
chorage on  a  coast  where  many  good  ports  existed; 
and  who  with  his  associates  could  write  so  many 
diaries  with  so  little  information.*'*  And  Mr  Grepnhow 
says :  "  The  government  of  Spain,  perhaps,  acted  wisely 
in  concealing  the  accounts  of  the  expedition,  which 
reflected  little  honor  on  the  courage  or  the  science 
of  its  navigators."^  It  seems  to  me,  however,  that 
the  criticisms  are  severe,  since  the  diaries  contain 
a  tolerably  good  account  of  all  that  was  learned 
in  the  voyage;  and  Perez,  a  bold  and  experienced 
pilot,  was  a  better  judge  than  I,  possibly  better  than 
the  writers  named,  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
learning  more.  It  should  be  added  that  no  account 
•of  this  voyage  was  given  to  the  world  until  the  ap- 

**MaurelU,  Compendia,  175-7. 
"  Oreenhow'i  Or.  and  CnL,  116. 


J 


l' 


!m' 


I    . 


V, 


\'   (1 


,|-f 


158 


DISCOVERY  OP  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


pearoncc  of  Navarrete's  rSsumS  in  1802,  which  con- 
tained only  a  very  brief  outline  of  the  facts. 

The  second  exploring  expedition  of  the  epoch  fol- 
lowed closely  upon  the  first,  being  despatched  in  1775. 
Naval  officers  had  been  sent  out  from  Spain,  as  prom- 
ised in  correspondence  already  noted,  to  take  charge 
of  the  San  Bias  department  with  its  Californian  and 
exploring  service.  They  accordingly  took  command 
of  the  lour  vessels  sailing  to  the  north  this  year, 
two  bound  for  California  with  mission  and  presidio 
supplies,  the  others  for  the  coasts  further  north. 
Bruno  Heceta,  lieutenant  and  acting  captain,  was 
commander  of  the  expedition,  and  the  vessel  chosen 
for  his  flag-ship  was  the  Santiago  of  the  last  year's 
voyage.  Juan  Perez  went  on  her  oBpiloto,  or  sailing- 
master,  and  second  in  command;  Cri8t6bal  Revilla 
was  his  mate;  and  the  chaplains  were  the  Franciscan 
padres  Campa  and  Sierra,  who  became  missionaries 
m  California.  The  ship  also  carried  a  quantity  of 
supplies  for  Monterey.  The  schooner  Sonora,  alias 
Felicidad,  was  selected  as  the  consort,  commanded  by 
lieutenant  Juan  Francisco  de  Bodega  y  Cuadra,"  with 
Alfdrez  Antonio  Maurelle  as  piloto.  Supplies  for  a 
year's  cruise  were  taken,  and  the  force  of  both  vessels 
numbered  one  hundred  and  six  men.  Heceta's  instruc- 
tions were  the  same  as  had  been  those  of  Perez,  except 
that  latitude  G5°  instead  of  latitude  G0°  was  named  as 
the  northern  limit.  They  sailed  from  San  Bias  on 
March  16th,  the  schooner  towed  by  the  ship;  but  the 
winds  were  not  favorable,  and  it  was  not  until  May 
21st  that  they  reached  the  latitude  of  Monterey, 
where  it  was  decided  in  council  not  to  enter.  They 
finally  drew  near  the  land  in  42°  on  June  7th,  and 
followed  the  coast  southward  until  they  discovered 
the  port  of  Trinidad.  Heceta's  operations  on  the 
Californian  coast,  like  those  of  Ayala  and  Quir(5s  in 

**  Lieutenant  .Tuan  B.  Ayala  was  at  first  put  in  cdnunand,  with  Cuadra  a* 
his  second;  but  he  had  to  Imj  transferred  to  the  San  C'drlos. 


I  II    I 


■'.pi  I 


HECETA  AND  CUADRA. 


100 


the  other  vessels  of  this  year,  hav«  been  already  re- 
corded." 

The  Santiago  and  Sonora  left  Trinidad  on  June  19th 
for  the  north,  keeping  together  until  the  end  of  July." 

Little  progress  was  made  northward  in  the  un- 
favorable and  variable  winds;  but  by  the  end  of  June 
they  were  over  one  hundred  leagues  away  from  the 
coast.  Cuadra  and  Maurelle  were  in  favor  of  going 
still  farther  out,  so  as  to  run  far  to  the  north  when 
the  windn  should  come;  but  Heceta  chose  to  follow 
the  judgment  of  Perez,  as  indeed  his  instructions 
required  him  to  do,  who  represented  the  winds  to  be 
from  a  southern  quarter,  favorable  to  progress  along 
the  coast  northward.  When  the  wind  came,  however, 
it  was  from  the  west  and  north-west,  driving  them 
landward  sooner  than  they  desired.    On  July  9th  they 

*'  Seo  Hist.  Col. ,  i.  chap.  xi. 

'"l/er.elii,  Sefjiinda  Explorarion  di'  la  Costa  Septentrioncd  de  Cal.,  1775,  in 
Mayer's  M.SS.,  No.  I'JJ,  is  a  narrative,  no  author  being  named,  of  the  .S'lnt- 
tiarjo'ti  muveinents  down  to  August  13th,  completed  down  to  August  .10th, 
by  llecela,  Vhiije  de  1775,  MS.,  in  Viai/es  al  Norte,  No.  '2.  The  schuoncr's 
movements  are  of  coureo  included  down  to  t))o  separatiuu.  Ileceta,  JJiurio, 
ia  the  commandur'a  narrative,  substantially  but  not  literally  the  sumo  oa 
the  preceding,  of  wliich  I  have  only  an  extract  relating  to  the  Columbia 
River  region,  given  by  Grcenhow.  Uodcija  y  Ciiadra,  yiar/n  de  1775,  MS., 
in  I'idges  al  Norte,  No.  2.i,  is  a  narrative  by  Cuadra  himself  of  the  Sonora'a 
voyage  from  August  4th  to  November  20th,  after  the  separation.  Maurelle, 
Diano  del  Vkuje  de  In  Sonora,  1775,  MS.,  in  Viages  al  Norte,  No.  .1, 
is  the  second  piloto'n  narrative  of  the  whole  voyage  of  the  schooner 
and  of  the  ship  so  long  aa  they  were  together,  with  reflections,  tables, 
etc.,  at  the  end.  MaurelTr'a  Journal  of  a  Voyage  in  1775,  London,  1781,  pub- 
lished among  Barrington'a  MiscAlanics,  ia  an  English  tnwslation  of  a  nar- 
ratiyo  similar  to  but  not  identical  with  that  last  named.  It  contains  a  map, 
introduced  by  the  publisher  to  illustrate  the  voyage.  Bodega  y  Ciiwlra, 
Comento  de  la  Navegacion,  MS. ,  in  Viage-i  al  Norte,  No.  0,  ia  a  summary  narrative 
by  Cuadra,  covering  the  same  ground  aa  that  of  Maurelle.  Uecela,  Eapedicion 
tnaritima,  in  Palou,  Noticiaa,  li.  210-43,  250-7,  ia  a  narrative  of  the  voyage 
of  both  vesaela,  probably  founded  on  the  chaplains'  diaries,  but  much  con- 
fused in  the  printing.  The  original  charta  of  thia  voyage,  as  of  the  preceding, 
if  any  were  made,  have  never  been  published  and  are  not  known  to  be 
extant.  Such  are  the  original  authorities  on  Ueceta's  expedition.  For 
minor  references  to  works  that  mention  the  voyage,  but  contain  no  additional 
information,  see  the  references  for  Perez'  voyage,  note  23  of  this  chapter, 
and  later  pages  in  each  reference;  also  Fleurieu,  in  Marchand,  Voy.,  i.  Ixvii.- 
Ixxx. ;  Murr,  NachrichUn,  401 ;  Farnham'a  IJiat.  Oregon,  12-13 ;  Dunn' a  Iliat. 
Oregon,  200;  Swan'a  N.  W.  Coaat,  224-0;  llinea'  Or.  Iliat.,  352-4;  FMix 
VOrigon,  62;  Roaai,  Souvenira,  58-0;  Houhaud,  Rfgions  Nouvellen,  11;  Saint- 
Amant,  Voy.,  144;  Slmpaon'a  Narr.,  i.  260;  Northern  Pass.  Summary,  28-0. 
Oreenhow,  pp.  430-3,  gives  a  quotation  from  Heceta's  report,  and  a  long 
quotation  from  Maurelle  is  found  in  U.  8.  Oov.  Doc.,  26th  Gong.,  3ii  Seaa.,  H. 
Rept.  No.  101,  pp.  42-7. 


m 


iu 


:'''A 


Efc3: 


iw 


DISCOVERY  OP  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


recognized  their  proximity  to  the  coast,  supposing 
themselves  to  be  near  the  northern  point  of  Fuca 
Strait,  according  to  the  French  map  of  M.  Bellin,  and 
on  the  11th  sighted  land  in  latituclo  48°  26'.  Search- 
ing southward  in  vain  for  an  inlet  or  port,  the  vessels 
anchored  on  the  13th  in  latitude  47°  23',"  the  schooner 
behind  a  point  and  a  line  of  shoals,  which  proved  a 
very  dangerous  anchorage,  and  the  ship  outside  some 
miles  farther  south. 

The  place  where  the  Spaniards  were  now  anchored 
was  the  Point  Grenville  of  modern  maps,  in  latitude 
47°  20'.  A  barren  i^iiland  farther  north,  which  they 
discovered  and  named  Isla  de  Dolores,  was  Destruc- 
tion Island.  They  had  proved  that  Fuca's  imaginary 
strait  did  not  exist  between  latitudes  47°  and  48°;  and 
their  landfall  had  been  a  few  miles  too  far  south  to 
reveal  the  strait  that  now  bears  Fuca's  name.  To  the 
anchorage,  which  one  diary  at  least  calls  Rada  de 
Bucareli,*  according  to  Navarrete,  or  to  the  point, 
as  Greenhow  says,  t\j  name  of  Mdrtires  was  ap- 
plied, in  consequence  of  the  disaster  to  be  mentioned 
presently.  I  do  not  find  any  record  of  the  name, 
however,  in  the  original  narratives.  On  July  14th 
Europeans  set  foot  tor  the  first  time  on  the  soil  of 
the  Northwest  Coast.  Captain  Heceta,  with  Padre 
Sierra,  Surgeon  Ddvalos,  the  second  piloto,  Cristbbal 
Revilla,  and  a  few  sailors,  landed  in  the  morning  to 
erect  a  cross  and  take  formal  possession,  though  the 
time  did  not  permit  the  celebration  of  mass.  But 
few  Indians  were  present  at  the  ceremony,  and  they 
were  altogether  friendly;  indeed  thev  had  before 
visited  the  ship  in  a  canoe,  carrying  skins  to  barter 
and  inviting  the  Spaniards  to  land. 

*"  This  is  the  latitude  given  in  Heceta,  Eapedieion,  and  ifaurelle,  Diario. 
In  Heceta,  Segunda  Explor. ,  it  is  47°  24',  and  in  Maurelle'»  Journal  47°  21'.  Ie 
the  table  at  tho  end  of  Id.  the  latitudes  by  observation  and  reckoning  respeot 
ively  are  given  as  follows:  July  9th,  47°  37'  and  47°  44';  10th,  47°  35* and 
47°  45';  11th,  48°  26'  and  48°  32';  12th,  47°  S^  and  48°  I'j  13th,  47°  28'  and 
47°  41';  14th,  47°  20'  and  47°  24'.  The  variations  are  no  greater  than  would 
naturally  result  from  the  observations  on  two  vessels. 

*■  So  called  also  in  RevUla-Oigedo,  Infomu,  IS  AbrU,  179S. 


ATTACKED  BY  THE  NATIVES. 


Ifll 


The  schooner,  anchored  a  few  miles  farther  north, 
was  also  visited  this  day  and  the  preceding  by  large 
numbers  of  Indians,  who  were  eoqor  to  trade,  especially 
for  articles  of  iron,  and  who  W'-:  >  very  deinotistra- 
tivo  in  their  assurances  of  fritudship,  urging  the 
strangers  to  visit  their  ranch'^*^a.  \fter  ho  Hucceedetl 
in  removing  the  Sonora  fr>  l  her  Uanp'f  .  ous  position 
among  the  shoals,  Cuadra  resolve  I  to  send  a  i)arty 
ashore  to  obtaiii  wood  and  vatei.  He  trusted  to 
the  friendly  di^os'tion  of  the  natives  and  to  past 
experience  at  Trinidad.  Six  mc,  under  command 
of  the  boatswain  Pedro  Santa  Ana,  were  u,^  ^ordingly 
sent  to  land  in  the  boat.  The  Indians,  some  tiiree 
hundred  in  number,  were  hidden  in  the  woods  near 
the  landing,  and  no  sooner  had  the  Spaniards  left 
the  boat  than  they  rushed  to  attacli  them.  Two 
sprang  into  the  sea  and  were  drowned;  the  rest 
were  immediately  killed  and  torn  in  pieces,  the  boat 
also  being  broken  up  for  the  nails.  Cuadra  could 
afford  no  succor,  having  no  boat,  even  if  he  had  been 
able  to  man  one.  The  savages  even  came  off  in  their 
canoes  and  surrounded  the  schooner,  as  if  to  prevent 
her  departure;  but  one  of  the  canoes  venturmg  too 
near  had  six  of  its  men  killed  by  the  guns  of  the 
Spaniards.  On  rejoining  the  ship,  Cuadra  and  some 
others  desired  to  march  with  thirty  men  against  the 
Indians  to  avenge  the  massacre,  but  a  council  decided 
that  such  an  act  would  be  unwise. 

The  council  alsr  discussed  the  expediency  of  send- 
ing the  Sonora  back  to  Monterey,  on  account  of  her 
small  size — thirty-six  feet  long,  twelve  feet  wide,  and 
eight  feet  deep — the  rough  weather,  and  the  difficulty 
of  keeping  the  vessels  together.  But  Cuadra  and  Mau- 
relle  insisted  on  being  allowed  to  proceed,  urging  that 
they  were  not  likely  to  experience  worse  weather  than 
that  which  they  had  survived;  and  Heceta,  with  the 
assent  of  most  of  the  officers,  decided  in  their  favor. 
Six  men  were  furnished  to  replace  the  seven  lost;  and 
on  the  evening  of  the  14th  the  two  vessels  set  sail. 


Hmt.  N.  W.  Ooabt,  Vol.  I.    11 


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102 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


The  course  was  westward,  and  losing  slightly  in  lati- 
tude, by  the  end  of  the  month  they  were  over  one 
hundred  leagues  from  the  coast.  Meanwhile,  on  the 
19th,  Perez  and  the  surgeon  in  writing  advised  a  re- 
turn southward,  on  account  of  sickness,  contrary  winds, 
and  the  lateness  of  the  season;  but  Cuadra  and 
Maurelle  again  opposed  such  action,  and  the  com- 
mander yielded  again  to  their  advice.  On  the  30th 
a  wind  from  the  north  struck  the  vefisels  and  separated 
them.  Let  us  follow  Heceta  and  the  Santiago:  On 
the  morning  of  July  31st,  in  latitude  46°  42',  the 
schooner  being  no  longer  in  sight,  a  council  was  held 
on  the  ship,  in  which  the  officers  favored  a  return  to 
Monterey,  because  the  scurvy  had  not  left  men  enough 
fit  for  duty  to  manage  the  vessel  in  case  of  a  storm. 
Heceta  yielded  so  far  as  to  turn  his  course  toward  the 
coast,  but  in  doing  this  he  also  sailed  as  far  north  as 
possible,  and  on  August  10th  they  sighted  land,  being 
in  latitude  49°  30',  that  is,  in  the  region  of  Nootka. 
In  the  north-west  was  seen  a  mountain  resembling  the 
peak  of  Teneriife,  in  about  latitude  50°,  and  another 
farther  south  resembling  the  cuchillada  de  Roldan  in 
Valencia.  Next  day  the  master,  mate,  and  surgeon 
renewed  their  warnings,  Perez  claiming  that  showers 
like  those  of  the  past  year  would  surelj  leave  not  a 
man  for  duty,  and  Heceta  determined  to  follow  the 
coast  southward.  On  the  r2th  they  noticed  that  in 
the  first  fifteen  leagues  above  latitude  49°  there  were 
two  salient  points,  with  a  bight  three  or  four  leagues 
deep,  with  a  beach  and  low  hills,  which  may  have  been 
Clayoquot  Sound,  or  perhaps  by  an  error  of  latitude 
Barclay  Sound,  farther  south.  The  natives  came  off 
to  trade,  selling  one  of  their  four  canoes  and  urging 
the  Spaniards  to  land.** 

According  to  the  narratives,  Heceta  kept  near  the 
shore,  anchoring  often,  and   having  clear,  favorable 

"According  to  Heceta,  Esped.  Marit.,  this  was  on  August  13th,  when  they 
were  in  49°  5';  tno  14th  they  were  in  48°  32',  and  the  condeatable  died;  the 
15th  in  48°  3' (or  47°  34'  in  afternoon  according  to  another  account);  Green- 
how's  account  of  this  part  of  the  voyage  is  very  erroneous. 


MOVEMENTS  OF  THE  SANTIAGO. 


168 


weather;  but  if  this  had  been  strictly  true  he  could 
hardly  have  missed  the  entrance  to  the  strait.  He 
saw  two  small  islands  about  a  league  from  shore,  in 
latitude  48°  4',"  and  located  Dolores,  or  Destruction 
Island,  in  latitude  47°  58',  or  eighteen  miles  too  far 
north. 

On  the  15th,  in  latitude  47°  34',  ten  Indians  came 
off  in  a  canoe  to  trade.  The  sailors  pretended  to 
recognize  some  of  those  engaged  in  the  massacre  of 
July,  and  efforts  were  made  to  entice  them  on  board 
with  a  view  of  Jiolding  some  of  them  as  hostages,  if  by 
chance  any  Spaniard  had  survived;  but  the  savages 
were  too  wary,  and  when  at  last  the  grappling-irons 
were  thrown  at  the  canoe  they  struck  an  Indian  in 
the  back  but  did  not  hold. 

Still  keeping  near  the  wooded  shore,  and  noting 
some  rocks,  or  small  islands,  Heceta  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  17th  discovered  a  bay  with  strong  currents  and 
eddies,  indicating  the  mouth  of  a  great  river  or  strait, 
in  latitude  46°  9',"  which  but  for  the  latitude  the  navi- 
gator would  have  identified  with  Fuca  Strait,  but 
which  he  now  named  Bahia  de  la  Asuncion,  calling 
the  northern  point  San  Roquc  and  the  southern  Cabo 
Frondoso.  It  was  subsequently  called  by  the  Span- 
iards Ensenada  de  Heceta;  and  was  of  course  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  between  capes  Dis- 
appointment and  Adams."  No  exploration  was  at- 
tempted, because  there  were  not  men  enough  to  raise 
the  anchor  if  it  were  once  lowered,  or  with  safety  to 
man  the  launch.    Next  day,  in  latitude  45°  43',  a  point 

*"  The  charts  show  many  small  rocks  along  the  coadt  between  Destruction 
Island  and  Cape  Flattery.  These  islotes  may  liave  been  Flattery  Rocks  or  any 
of  the  others.  It  is  clear  enough  that  Heceta  did  not  examine  this  part  of 
the  coast  so  closely  as  was  pretended. 

"According  to  Heceta,  K»}X'.d.  Maril.,  it  was  in  46°  1 1'.  In  Heceta,  Diario, 
the  reader  is  referred  to  the  map  for  the  latitude ;  but  in  the  tables  at  the  end, 
according  to  Greenhow,  the  latitude  of  the  17th  is  given  as  40"  17',  probably 
at  noon.    The  true  latitude  of  the  entrance  at  its  middle  is  about  46   15'. 

*''  Heceta's  statement  Uiat  the  points  r.tn  in  the  angle  of  10''  of  the  third 
quadrant — that  ia,  10'  west  of  south — is  unintelligible,  the  true  direction  being 
about  40°  of  the  second  quadrant,  or  nearly  s.  e.    In  the  E»ped.  Maril.  the 

Coints  are  said  to  be  a  league  and  a  half  apart,  the  inlet  'haciendo  horizonte' 
1  the  east,  and  supposed  to  be  a  river. 


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164 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


named  Cape  Falcon,  perhaps  Tillamook  or  False  Tilla- 
mook.**  Next  were  seen  three  farallones,  called  the 
Tres  Marias,  in  latitude  45°  30'**;  then  came  a  flat- 
topped  mountain  called  the  Mesa,  or  Table  Mountain, 
in  latitude  45°  28'**;  and  on  the  20th  in  43°  they  saw 
ten  small  islands  and  more,  noting  three  others  in 
latitude  42°  36',**  passing  Mendocino  on  August  26th, 
and  anchoring  at  Monterey  on  the  29tL.  Thirty-five 
sick  men  were  landed  next  day,  ten  remaining  on 
board,  one  of  whom  died. 

I  have  now  to  follow  Cuadra  in  the  Sonora.  At 
dawn  on  July  31st  the  ship  could  not  be  seen;  and 
the  captain  sought  her  in  the  very  direction  that  he 
wished  to  go  for  purposes  of  exploration — that  is, 
straight  out  to  sea. 

Cuadra  and  Maurelle  state  in  their  narratives 
that  the  separation  was  accidental,  and  imply  that 
their  subsequent  course  westward  was  in  accord- 
ance with  the  proposed  course  of  both  vessels,  no 
change  having  been  ordered,  though  such  a  change 
was  probable.  But  in  another  account  it  is  stated 
wioh  much  plausibility,  and  probably  on  good  author- 
ity, that  the  separation  was  deliberately  planned  by 
the  two  commanders  to  appear  accidental.  Heceta 
realized  that  very  soon  he  would  be  forced  to  yield  to 
the  clamors  of  his  officers  and  men  and  to  order  a  re- 
turn. But  Cuadra  not  only  desired  to  go  on,  but  was 
confident  of  success ;  and  accordingly  it  was  arranged 
that  the  bold  explorer  should  lose  sight  of  the  ship 

*'  A  lofty  sierra,  called  Santa  Clara  de  Monte  Falcon,  tho  latitude  of  the  day 
being  46°  41',  according  to  the  Esped.  Mai-it.  The  bearing  from  Cabo  Frondoso, 
according  to  the  Diario,  was  s.  22"  w.,  the  coast  running  thence  a.  6°  E.  In 
the  Seyuiida  Explor.  the  same  bearings  are  given,  and  the  point,  not  named, 
is  said  to  be  *  a  short  distance'  below  Cape  Frondoso.  Greenhow  identities 
Falcon  with  Cape  Lookout  (45°  20'),  for  no  reason  that  I  know  of.  The  bearings 
given  above  do  not  agree  with  either  point. 

**  Only  mentioned  in  the  Seqwida  Explor.  The  latitude  may  be  a  copyist's 
error,  as  the  discovery  is  mentioned  after  that  of  the  Mesa. 

*''  La  Mesa  is  on  the  Coast  Survey  Chart  in  45°  SCy.  Greenhow  identifies 
it  with  the  Clarke  Point  of  View  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  1805. 

"All  these  are  variously  described  as  isloies,  farallones,  or piedrao.  Perhaps 
those  of  43°  were  just  below  Cape  Blanco,  in  4i2°  60'.  These  rocks  are  numer- 
ous all  along  the  coast. 


%.„ 


MOVEMENTS  OF  THE  SONORA. 


165 


and  subsequently  use  his  own  judgment  as  to  the 
direction  in  which  he  should  search  for  her.*^ 

The  httle  craft  kept  on  to  the  west  until  August  5th, 
when  the  navigators  thought  themselves  one  hundred 
and  seventy  leagues  from  land,  and  were  in  latitude 
45°  55'.**  Then  the  favorable  south-west  winds  began 
to  blow,  and  a  junta  of  officers  was  held.  They  were 
short  of  food  and  water,  and  the  season  was  deemed 
late ;  but  the  officers  were  unanimous  in  favor  of  going 
on,  and  the  crew  agreed  not  only  to  obey  orders,  but 
to  contribute  for  a  solemn  mass  in  honor  of  our 
lady  of  Bethlehem,  that  she  might  enable  them  to 
reach  the  latitude  named  in  the  viceroy's  instructions. 
Consequently  on  the  15th,  when  according  to  Bellin's 
map — which  had  been  founded  on  Russian  discoveries, 
eked  out  with  imagination — they  should  have  been 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  leagues  from  the  coast, 
land  was  found  in  latitude  57°  2',  in  the  region  of  the 
later  Sitka,  the  navigators  noting  and  naming  Mount 
Jacinto,  now  called  Mount  Edgecombe.  Cuadra  sub- 
sequently went  up  the  coast  to  about  latitude  58°, 
returned  to  latitude  55°  17',  and  went  again  up  to 
latitude  58°.  A  very  complete  examination  was  made 
from  the  limit  of  Perez'  voyage,  and  formal  possession 
was  taken  at  two  points ;  but  details  of  this  northern 
exploration  belong  to  the  annals  of  Alaska,  in  a  later 
volume. 

Most  of  the  men  were  now  sick  with  scurvy,  ren- 
dering it  very  difficult  to  manage  even  so  small  a  craft 
in  rough  weather.  Accordingly  on  September  8th  the 
Sonora  was  headed  southward.  It  was  a  most  peril- 
ous trip;  more  than  once  it  seemed  certain  that  the 
vessel  must  be  lost,  for  a  part  of  the  time  the  officers 
only  were  able  to  work,  and  both  Cuadra  and  Mau- 
relle  were  attacked  with  fever.  Still  the  gallant  ex- 
plorers did  not  altogether  lose  sight  of  their  mission; 

*^Heeeta,  Serjunda  Exjdoracion.  '  Haata  la  preaente  no  se  ha  sabido  si  fu6 
4  no  voluntaria  la  separocion.'  Ileceta,  Eiped.  Alaril. 
'"46°  47',  according  to  the  tables  in  Maurell'i'ii  Journal. 


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DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


they  still  kept  as  near  the  shore  as  they  could  with- 
out sure  destruction.  On  the  1 1th  tney  saw  land,  in 
latitude  53°  54',  and  kept  it  generally  or  at  least  oc- 
casionally in  view  from  a  distance  down  to  about  lati- 
tude 47°;  and  again  they  scanned  the  coast  very 
closely  from  latitude  44°  30'  ^^own  to  latitude  42°  49' 
in  search  of  Aguilar's  river,  of  which  no  trace  could 
be  found.*'  Then  they  directed  their  course  for  San 
Francisco,  but  discovered  instead  the  bay  to  which 
the  commander  gave  his  name  of  Bodega,  reaching 
Monterey  on  October  7th.  As  soon  as  the  sick  had 
recovered,  both  vessels  sailed  for  San  Bias,  where 
they  arrived  November  20th.  Juan  Perez  died  twa 
days  out  from  Monterey. 

Thus  the  whole  extent  of  the  Northwest  Coast 
from  latitude  42°  to  55°  was  explored  and  formally 
taken  possession  of  for  Spain  by  Perez,  Heceta,  and 
Cuadra,  in  1774-5.  The  resulte  of  these  most  im- 
portant expeditions  were  not  published,  as  they 
should  have  been,  by  the  Spanish  government,  and 
for  many  years  were  known  only  through  the  little- 
circulated  English  translation  of  Maurelle's  Journal, 
which  was  not,  however,  so  faulty  a  work  as  it  has 
generally  been  represented.  The  charts,  which  must 
have  been  tolerably  complete,  have  unfortunately 
never  been  published,  and  are  not  even  known  to 
exist  in  manuscript.  By  this  mistaken  policy  on  the 
part  of  their  nation  the  Spanish  discoverers  lost  much 
of  the  honor  due  them,  but  popularly  given  to  later 
navigators,  who  in  most  instances  substituted  for  the 
original  new  geographical  names  of  their  own  choice. 
It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  by  her  error  Spain 
eventually  lost  anything  of  territorial  rights,  or  even 
possessions. 

"There  is  no  agreement  between  the  different  accounts  respecting  the 
latitudes  at  which  land  was  seen  on  the  southern  trip,  but  all  agree  on  the 
search  for  Aguilar's  river.  Maurelle,  Journal,  notes  that  on  the  20th  they 
were  at  the  scene  of  the  massacre  of  July  ;  on  the  24th  were  close  to  land,  in 
45°  27',  and  searched  for  the  river  down  to  45"  (?)  50',  where  they  found  a  capo 
with  ten  small  islands — probably  Cape  Blanco,  in  42°  50'. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 

1778-1788. 

OAfTAiN  Cook's  Expedition— Instructions— Discoveries  and  Name*— 
Map — At  San  Lorenzo,  Kino  George  Souxd,  or  Nootka — Oukun 

OP  the  PuR-TIiADE — ^VoYAGE  OP  ArTEAOA  AND  CtTADBA  TO  ALASKA — 
ENOUfH  FUB-TKADERS  FROM   1783 — HaNNA'S  VoYAGES — La  P^ROnSE — 

Archipelago  or  Mainland? — Map — Expedition  op  Strange,  Lowkie, 
AND  Guise -^cK£y  at  JNootk^y-Portlock  and  Dixon — Queen 
Charlotte  Isles-^Bahclat  Discovers  the  Strait — Duncan  and 
Co.'jfETT — Martinez  and  Haro  in  Alaska — Spanish  Policy  Fore- 
shadowed— The  Stars  and  Stripes  in  the  North  Pacific — Voyage 
OF  Kbndrick  and  Gray  on  the  'Columbia'  and  'Washington' — 
An  Original  Diary — Murderers'  Harbor— Wintering  at  Nootka — 
Voyage  of  Meares  and  Douglas — Under  Portuguese  Colors — 
Launch  of  the  'North  West  America' — The  House  that  Jack 
Built. 

The  famous  Captain  James  Cook  in  his  third  and 
last  voyage,  coming  from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  of 
which  he  was  the  discoverer,  on  March  7, 1778,  sighted 
the  northern  seaboard  in  latitude  44°  33'.  He  com- 
manded the  English  exploring  ship  Resolution,  and  was 
accompanied  by  Captain  Clerke  with  the  Discovery} 

'  Gook,  A  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  undertaken  by  the  command  of  Ma 
Majesty  for  Makin<j  Diaeowries  in  the  Northern  Hemisphere.  To  deJermine  the 
Position  and  Extent  of  the  West  Side  of  North  America  ;  its  Distance  from  Aain; 
and  the  Practicability  of  a  Northern  Passage  to  Europe.  Performed  under  the 
direction  of  Captains  Cook,  Clerke,  and  Gore,  in  his  Majesty's  ships  the  liesolu- 
tion  and  Discovery,  in  the  Years  1776-SO.  London,  1784;  4to,  3  vols.,  maps, 
charts,  and  illustrations.  The  portion  of  the  narrative  relating  to  the  nortli- 
west  coast  is  found  in  vol.  ii.  pp.  2o8-343;  also  table  of  latitudes,  route, 
winds,  etc.,  in  vol.  iii.  pp.  506-9.  The  octavo  edition  of  the  same  date,  in 
four  volumes,  is  an  abridgni  -nt  of  the  original.  There  were  other  editions 
and  translations ;  and  there  is  hardly  a  collection  of  voyages  that  \\o»  not  a 
longer  or  shorter  account  of  this  expedition.  Ledyard's  A  Journal  of  Cu/it. 
Cook's  last  voyage  to  thePacUic  Ocean,  etc.,  Hartford,  1783,  is  another  account 
by  a  man  who  accompanied  Cook.  Sparks'  Life  of  John  Ledyard,  Cambridge, 
1828,  covers  also  the  same  ground. 

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168 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


Cook  had  left  England  in  1776,  knowing  nothing  of 
what  the  Spanish  navigators  had  accomplished,  though 
aware  that  they  had  visited  the  northern  coast."  His 
special  mission  was  to  search  for  a  passage  to  Europe, 
either  by  Hudson  Bay,  or  the  northern  sea  recently 
found  by  Hearne,  or  by  the  sea  north  of  Asia;  and  in 
the  search  he  was,  of  course,  to  explore  all  the  north- 
western regions  of  America.  His  instructions  were 
to  fall  in  with  the  coast  of  New  Albion  in  45°,  that 
is,  beyond  the  supposed  limit  of  Cabrillo  and  Vizcaino, 
and  after  refitting,  to  follow  the  coast  northward,  but 
not  to  begin  his  careful  search  for  a  passage  until  he 
had  reached  the  latitude  of  65".  Every  precaution 
must  be  taken  to  avoid  encroachment  on  the  Spanish 
dominions,  or  troubles  with  any  foreigners;^  but  we 
also  read  in  his  instructions,  "You  are  also,  with  the 
consent  of  the  natives,  to  take  possession  in  the  name 
of  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  of  convenient  situations 
in  such  countries  as  you  may  discover,  that  have  not 
already  been  discovered  or  visited  by  any  other  Euro- 
pean power;  and.  to  distribute  among  the  inhabitants 
such  things  as  will  remain  as  traces  and  testimonies 
of  your  having  been  there."  It  would  appear,  not- 
withstanding the  allusion  to  Drake  in  the  use  of  the 
name  New  Albion,  that  it  was  not  England's  inten- 
tion to  found  any  territorial  claims  on  the  freebooter's 
discoveries,  but  to  claim  by  virtue  of  Cook's  discov- 
ery all  lands  beyond  the  unknown  limit  of  the  recent 
Spanish  voyages.*    As  to  the  main  object  of  the  ex- 

^ Cook' a  Voy,,  ii.  332.  Greenhow,  Or,  and  Gal.,  124,  quotes  from  the  London 
Annual  Register,  1776,  a  brief  notice  of  the  voyage  to  68°  20'  in  1774,  from 
the  official  gazette  of  Madrid. 

'  'You  are  also,  in  your  way  thither,  strictly  enjoined  not  to  touch  upon 
any  part  of  the  r^<mish  dominions  on  the  western  continent  of  Amenca, 
onless  driven  thither  by  some  unavoidable  accident ;  in  which  case  you  are  to 
stay  no  longer  there  than  shall  be  absolutely  necessarv,  and  to  be  very  careful 
not  to  give  any  umbrage  or  offence  to  any  of  the  inhaoitantB  or  subjects  of  hia 
Catholic  Majesty.  And  if,  in  your  farther  progress  to  the  northward,  as  here- 
after directed,  you  find  any  subjects  of  any  European  prince  or  state  upon  any 
part  of  the  coast  you  may  think  proper  to  visit,  you  are  not  to  disturb  them, 
or  ^ve  them  any  just  cause  of  offence,  but  on  the  contrary  to  treat  them  with 
civility  and  friendship. '    Secret  Instructions,  Cooifc's  Foy.,  i.  xxxii.-iii. 

'  Else  the  words  '  discovered  or  visited '  would  have  no  force,  and  there 
would  be  some  allusion  to  Drake's  latitu-les. 


.  Sir 


COOK'S  VOYAGE. 


lee 


pedition,  a  powerful  incentive  was  the  recent  oiFer  by 
the  Enghsh  government  of  a  reward  of  twenty  thou- 
sand pounds  to  the  officers  and  crew  of  any  vessel  dis- 
covering a  passage  to  the  Atlantic  north  of  52°. 

Captain  Cooks  explorations  along  what  is  herein 
termed  the  Northwest  Coast  are  shown  on  his  map, 
which  I  reproduce.*  For  six  days  he  remained  in  sight 
of  land,  unable  to  advance  northward  on  account  of 


Cook's  Map,  1778. 

contrary  and  variable  winds.  The  coast  seen  by  him 
was  between  44°  55'  and  43°  10';  and  he  named  capes 
Foulweather,  Perpetua,  and  Gregory,  which  names 
were  permanent,  except  that  tlic  last  is  also  called 
Arao-o.*  He  noted  the  absence  of  anv  strait  like  that 
whose  discovery  had  been  attributed  to  Aguilar;  but 

'  In  hia  general  chart,  showing  less  detail,  we  find  C.  Blanco  just  below  C. 
Orerjory;  'C.  Mezari  seen  by  the  Spaniards  in  1775,'  in  46';  and  in  53°  'Land 
seen  hy  the  Spaniards  in  Sep.  1775.'  In  the  map  attached  to  Maurdle'K 
Journal  we  find  also  C  Mezari  and  Cook's  Harbour,  1778.  The  name  Memri 
is  perhaps  a  blunder  for  the  Spanish  Mdrtirea. 

'  The  latitudes  of  these  capes  were  calculated  by  bearings  as  44°  55',  44°  6', 
and  43°  30';  the  true  latitudes  are  44°  45',  44°  19',  and  43°  20'. 


i  .'  - 

I;, 
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i 

i     .   (■ 

I;  -\ 


fv/ 


l.ll 


I    '.: 


170 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


ill 


he  did  not  see  the  Umpqua  Hiver,  the  largest  on  tho 
coast  except  the  Columbia.  After  being  driven  away 
from  land  down  to  42°  45',  the  navigator  again  turned 
north-eastward,  and  sighted  the  coast  in  47°  5'  on 
March  22d,  naming  and  describing  Cape  Flattery,  in 
48°  15',  tho  igh  unable  to  decide  whether  or  not  it  was 
an  island.  "It  is  in  this  very  latitude  where  we  now 
were,"  writes  Cook,  "that  geographers  have  placed 
the  pretended  strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  But  we  saw 
nothing  Uke  it;  nor  is  there  the  least  probability 
that  ever  any  such  thing  existed."  The  English  navi- 
gator was  very  lucky  in  his  conclusions;  for  if  when 
off  Cape  Gregory  he  had  seen  the  Umpqua  River, 
or  off  Cape  Flattery  he  had  seen  the  broad  entrance 
just  beyond  that  point,  he  might  have  put  himself  on 
record  as  confirming  the  discoveries  of  both  Aguilar 
and  Fuca. 

Driven  away  by  the  winds.  Cook  sighted  land 
again  on  March  29th,  in  49°  29',  at  what  he  called 
Hope  Bay,  with  Point  Breakers  on  the  south  and 
Woody  Point  on  the  north,  in  50°.  Drawing  nearer 
the  shore,  two  inlets  were  seen,  into  the  lower  of 
which,  below  Point  Breakers,  the  ships  entered  and 
found  a  tolerably  good  harbor,  anchoring  on  the  shore 
of  an  island,  within  what  was  named  Friendly  Cove 
and  Ship  Cove.  This  southern  inlet — ^the  connection 
of  which  with  the  northern,  forming  a  large  island, 
was  not  discovered  at  this  time — was  called  at  first 
King  George  Sound;  but  soon  Captain  Cook  deemed 
it  best  to  retain  what  he  understood  to  be  the  native 
name  of  Nootka.  The  San  Lorenzo  of  Juan  Perez 
was  either  this  same  Nootka  Sound  or  the  inlet 
immediately  above  or  below  it.'  The  natives  came 
off  in  their  canoes  to  meet  Cook,  as  they  had  met 

^  See  Perez'  Voyage,  in  preceding  chapter.  Cook  has  left  a  degree  of  con- 
fusion in  local  geography  which  has  been  reflected  in  later  maps  and  writings. 
Woody  Point  is  the  one  which  still  retains  the  name.  Cook's  narrative  gives 
the  impression  that  Hope  Bay  was  bounded  on  the  south  by  Point  Breakers,  and 
included  both  inlets ;  and  later  writers  have  followed  this  in  most  cases,  by 
identifying  Point  Breakers  with  the  mainland  Point  Est^van,  south  of  Nootka 
Sound ;  but  Cook's  chart  of  Nootka,  vol.  ii.  p.  279,  and  even  his  text,  when 


an,' 


AT  NOCTTKA  SOUND. 


171 


Perez,  castinj'  t'aathers  upon  the  waters  in  si/^n  of 
friendship.  'J  hej  remained  friendly  duriug  the  month 
of  the  Enghshmen's  stay,  being  eager  to  trade  their 
furs  and  othor  products  for  anything  that  was  made 
of  metal,  but  not  ca'ing  for  beads  or  cloth.  They 
came  on  board  the  ships  without  the  slightest  timidity, 
and  gave  no  other  trouble  than  that  resulting  from 
their  petty  taefts,  which  the  closest  watch  could  not 
entirely  prevent.  Thuy  vveio  :'eady  to  fight  with 
their  neighbors  tor  the  exclusive  privilege  of  trading 
with  the  strangers,  and  they  expected  the  latter  to 
pay  for  the  wood,  water,  and  grass  obtained  from 
their  country.  Cook's  long  stay  enabled  him  to  give 
an  extended  and  accurate  description  of  the  country 
and  of  its  people,  but  this  description,  like  the  earlier 
and  somewhat  less  complete  ones  of  Perez  and  Cuadra, 
has  of  course  no  place  in  these  pages. 

Captain  Cook  noticed,  as  Perez  had  done  before  him, 
that  the  natives  had  many  articles  of  iron  and  copper, 
which  must  have  come  from  abroad;  and  he  rightly 
concluded  that  all  could  not  have  been  obtained  from 
any  one  foreign  navigator  visiting  the  coast.  Two 
silver  spoons  worn  as  ornaments  by  a  native  who 
came  from  a  place  south  of  Nootka,  suggested  an 
earlier  visit  by  the  Spaniards;  and  the  failure  of  the 
Indians  to  exhibit  any  surprise  at  sight  of  the  ships 
pointed  in  the  same  direction;  but  it  could  not  be 
learned  from  the  Indians  that  they  had  ever  seen  a 
ship  before,  and  their  astonishment  at  the  penetrative 
power  of  a  musket-ball  indicated  that  the  discharge 
of  fire-arms  was  new  to  them.  Accordingly  Cook  con- 
cluded, incorrectly,  that  the  Spanish  vessels  had  never 
been  at  Nootka;  yet  it  is  not  stated  that  he  took  pos- 
session of  the  country  for  England. 

Having  made  the  somewhat  extensive  repairs  re- 

closely  examined,  shows  that  Point  Breakers  was  on  the  island — either  the 
Point  Bajo  or  Point  Macuina  of  later  maps,  or  Perez'  Point  Santa  Clara,  if  he 
was  at  Nootka  Sound — and  that  the  mainland  point  below  was  not  named  at 
all.  Modem  maps  differ  widely  in  both  names  and  coast  contour  on  this  part 
of  the  coast. 


¥ 


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.1    I 


11    t 


», 


I 


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■  I 


u  .. 


I      a 


ITS 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


i:M 


quired  by  his  vessels ;  obtained  full  supplies  of  water, 
wood,  fish,  grass,  and  spruce -beer;  and  made  some 
tours  of  exploration  round  the  shores  of  the  sound, 
of  which  a  char,  was  published  with  his  narrative. 
Captain  Cook  sailed  on  April  2Gth  from  Nootka  for  the 
north,  to  undertake  explorations  very  much  more  ex- 
tensive and  important  than  those  here  recorded,  but 
which  belong  to  a  later  volume,  the  History  of  Alaska. 
Of  the  Northwest  Coast  he  had  seen  much  less  than 
Perez,  Heceta,  and  Cuadra;  nor,  with  the  exception 
of  Nootka  Sound,  had  his  description  of  the  regions 
visited  been  more  complete  than  theirs.  Like  the 
Spaniards,  he  had  missed  the  entrance  of  the  strait; 
a,  I  like  them  he  had  not  suspected  that  the  northern 
shores  were  those  of  islands,  and  not  of  the  main. 
But  Cook  had  established  the  longitude  of  the  coast 
much  more  accurately  than  his  predecessors  by  mere 
dead-reckoning  had  been  able  to  do;  and  by  the  acci- 
dental carrying  away  of  a  small  collection  of  furs, 
whose  great  value  was  learned  iu  Siberia  and  China, 
he  origmated  the  great  fur-trade  which  became  the 
chief  mcentive  of  all  later  English  and  American  ex- 
peditions to  these  regions.  Moreover,  the  results  of 
his  voyage  were  fully  and  promptly  made  known  to 
the  world,  as  those  of  the  Spaniards  had  not  been; 
and  thus  were  practically  won  for  Cook  and  England 
the  honors  of  discovery  and  of  naming  the  points  ex- 
plored. Spain,  with  her  unwise  policy  of  concealment, 
had  no  just  cause  for  complaint,  though  to  the  real 
discoverers  individually  great  injustice  was  done. 

Orders  for  a  new  Spanish  expedition  to  the  north 
were  issued  in  1776  as  soon  as  the  results  of  the  last 
one  were  known.  Delays  ensued  for  various  reasons, 
chiefly  the  lack  of  suitable  vessels,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  Deginning  of  1779  that  everything  was  ready. 
One  vessel,  the  Favorita,  was  brought  up  from  Peru, 
and  another,  the  Princesa,  was  built  for  the  voyage  at 
San  Bias.    Heceta  had  at  first  been  named  as  com- 


IS 


HANNA'S  ADVENTtmES. 


173 


mander,  but  before  the  preparations  were  completed 
Lieutenant  Ignacio  Arteaga  was  appointed  in  his 
place.  Lieutenant  Cuadra  was,  as  before,  second  in 
command,  though  ho  ought  to  have  been  first,  in  con- 
sideration of  former  services.  The  expedition  sailed 
from  San  Bias  February  11,  1779,  and  returned  to  the 
same  port  November  2l8t.  The  explorations  of  Ar- 
teaga and  Cuadra  in  Alaska  were  extensive,  and  in 
a  sense.  Cook's  achievements  being  unknown  to  tho 
Spaniards,  important ;  but  they  are  not  to  be  recorded 
here,  for  the  Princesa  aiid  Favorita  did  not  touch  the 
coast  between  latitudes  42°and  55°,  nor  even  Cahfornia 
until  the  return.*  The  north-west  coast  was  regarded 
as  ah  cat  y  fully  explored,  and  as  a  legitimate  posses- 
sion of  6pain.  By  a  cedula  of  May  10,  1780,  the 
king  ordered  that  voyages  de  altura  should  cease.* 

It  was  seven  years  after  Cook's  departure  before 
the  Northwest  Coast  was  visited  by  another  European 
vessel.  In  1785  a  brig  of  sixty  tons  was  despatched 
from  China  under  Captain  James  Hanna  in  quest 
of  furs.  It  was  an  English  expedition,  but  it  is  not 
quite  clear  whether  this  pioneer  craft  of  the  fur-trade 
sailed  under  Portuguese  colors  or  under  the  English 
flag  with  a  license  from  the  East  India  Company. 
Hanna  left  China  in  April  and  reached  Nootka  in 
August.  The  natives  attacked  his  small  force  of 
twenty  men,  but  were  repulsed,  and  thereupon  became 
friendly  and  willing  to  trade.     Having  obtained  from 

^Arteaga,  Tercera  exploracion  hecha  el  nflo  1779  con  las  IWigatas  del  rey,  la 
'  Princesa,' mandada  por  el  teniente  de  navlo  don  Ignacio  Arteaga,  y  la  'jfavorita' 
por  el  de  la  misma  close  don  Juan  Francisco  de  la  Bodega  y  Ctuidra,  desde  el 
pu£rto  de  San  Bias  hasta  los  sesenta  y  un  gradoa  de  latitud,  MS.;  an  official 
account  made  up  from  the  original  diuriea,  with  tables,  etc.,  in  Viagcs  al 
Norte  de  Gal. ,  No.  4.  Maurelle,  Nnvegacion  Hecha  por  clA  l/4rez  de  Fragata  de 
la  Real  Armada  Don  Francisco  Antonio  Maurelle  desdnado  de  segundo  capUan 
de  la  Fragata  'Favorita,'  MS.  Maurelle's  original  diary,  in  Id.,  No.  5.  Bodega 
y  Cuadra,  Segunda  salida  hasta  los  61  grculoa  en  la  Fragata  'Nuestra  Sefiora  de 
lo8  Bemedios,'  dlias  la  'Favorita,'  Ailo  de  1779,  MS.  Cuadra's  diary,  in  Id., 
No.  6J.  Bodega  y  Cuadra,  Navegacion  y  descubrimietUos  hechoa  de  orden  da 
3.  M,  en  la  Costa  septentrional  de  Galifomias,  1779,  MS.;  the  same  '  '  y 
in  Mayer's  MS8.,  No.  13,  and  also  in  the  Pinart  collection.  As  to  the  vis.  tO 
California  in  returning,  see  Hist.  Vol.,  i.  chap.  xv. 

'Revilla-Oigedo,  Informe,  12  Abril,  1793,  p.  123. 


I.JM, 


sttm 


174 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


illi 


them  a  valuable  lot  of  five  hundred  p.nd  sixty  sea- 
otter  skins,  which  were  sold  for  twenty  thousand  six 
hundred  dollars,  the  captain  proceeded  up  the  coast, 
naming  Sea-otter  Harbor  and  St  Patrick  Bay,  in  50" 
41',  near  the  northern  end  of  the  island.  The  former 
name  has  been  retained;  the  latter  changed  to  St 
Joseph.  Leaving  Nootka  in  September,  he  reached 
Macao  in  December.  Such  is  the  only  information 
extant  respecting  this  first  voyage  of  its  class,  de- 
rived at  second-hand  from  the  statements  of  other 
voyagers.  Of  a  second  voyage  by  Hanna  in  the  Sea 
Otter  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons,  in  1786,  we 
know  still  less — barely  the  fact  that  such  a  voyage 
was  made;  and  that  he  spent  two  weeks  in  August 
at  Nootka,  obtaining  only  fifty  skins,  and  fifty  more 
on  other  parts  of  the  coast,  which  he  left  on  October 
1st.  Hanna  seems  to  have  discovered  and  named  Smith 
Inlet  and  Fitzhugh  Sound.^" 

The  famous  French  navigator  La  Pdrouse,  setting 
out  in  1785  on  a  scientific'  exploring  expedition  round 
the  world,  an  expedition  destined  to  be  fatal  to  him, 
as  was  thji  of  1778  to  Cook,  was  instructed  to  ex- 
amine suci'  oarts  of  north-western  America  as  had 
not  been  ex^  red  by  Cook,  to  seek  for  an  interoceanic 
passage,  to  mt  ^  scientific  observations  on  the  country, 
with  its  peopi  and  products,  and  to  obtain  reliable 
information  abc  .t  the  fur-trade.  He  was  to  learn  the 
extent  of  the  Spanish  establishments,  the  latitude 
beyond  which  peltries  might  be  obtained  without 
giving  offence  to  Spain,  and  in  general  the  induce- 

"Also  Virgin  Island  and  Pearl  Rocks,  according  to  Vancouver'8  Voy.,  1. 
369-70.  Dixon's  Voy.,  pp.  xvii.-xviii.,  xxii.,  232,  315-17,and  Portlock's  Voy.,  3, 
make  the  earliest  mention,  in  1789;  that  in  Meares'  Voy.,  pp.  l.-ii.,  of  1790, 
is  somewhat  more  extensive,  the  author  having  seen  Hanna's  original  journal. 
'  He  discovered  several  sounds,  Lslands,  and  harbours,  which  ho  named  Fitz- 
liugh's  Sound,  Lance's  Islands,  and  some  particular  parts  which  he  named  after 
Henry  Lane,  Esq.;  but  particularly  an  harbour  wliich  he  called  Sea  Otter's 
Harbour.'  Hanna's  chart  or  sketch  of  that  hai'bor  and  of  St  Patrick  Bay  is 
published  by  Meares,  326.  Dixon  also  used  Hanna's  chart.  Perhaps  the 
geographical  discoveries  mentioned  were  made  in  the  second  voyage.  Green- 
how,  Or.  and  Col.,  165-6,  says  Hanna  sailed  under  Portuguese  colors;  but  he 
had  no  other  authorities  thau  those  I  have  mentioned. 


pi! 


LA  PfeROUSE. 


178 


ments  for  Fiencl  enterprise  in  that  direction.  His 
explorations,  from  a  geographical  point  of  viuw,  were 
neither  extensive  nor  important,  so  far  as  they  aft'ected 
these  latitudes;"  and,  though  the  scientific  observa- 
tions of  himself  and  a  talented  corps  of  associates  are 
of  unquestioned  value,  his  information  on  commercial 
and  other  practical  topics  was  published  too  late  to 
attract  or  merit  much  attention.  Especially  were  his 
discoveries  unimportant  as  touching  the  Northwest 
Coast." 

Coming  from  the  Sandwich  Islands  on  the  Astro- 
labe and  Boussole,  the  former  under  the  command  of 
M.  de  Langle,  the  French  navigator  saw  land  on 
June  23,  1786,  and  spent  a  month  and  a  half  on  the 
Alaska  coast,  below  Mount  St  Elias,  chiefly  at  Port 
des  Fran9ais,  in  58°  37'.  It  was  on  August  9th  that 
La  Pdrouse  entered  the  waters  about  the  present 
boundary.  He  noticed,  but  was  unable  to  explore, 
the  entrance  which  the  Spaniards  had  found  befor(% 
and  which  Dixon  a  little  later  named.  He  followed 
the  coast  southward  without  landing,  in  haste  to  reach 
Monterey  after  his  long  delay  in  the  north.  The 
southern  extremity  of  the  great  island  he  named  Cape 
Hector;  and  he  was  the  Jiscoverer  of  the  broad  en- 
trance south  of  that  point,  believing,  though  unable 
to  prove  it,  that  he  was  at  the  mouth  of  a  great  gulf 
like  that  of  California,  extending  north  probably  to 
57°  He  does  not  state  definitely  his  opinion  that  the 
gulf  communicated  with  the  Dixon  entrance,  but 
implied  that  it  did  so,  and  with  other  entrances 
farther  north — indeed,  that  the  whole  coast  seen 
was  that  of  a  great  archipelago.     The  names  applied 

"  See  flist.  Cat.,  i.  chap,  xxi.,  for  his  visit  to  California;  also  Hist.  Alaska, 
this  series. 

^^La  P4rouse,  Voyage. .  .autourdu  monde.  Paris,  1708;  8vo,4vol8.  and  folio 
atlas.  That  part  of  the  narrative  pertaining  to  the  coast  between  55°  and  42° 
is  in  torn.  ii.  254-78.  In  torn.  i.  345-64  is  a  translated  extract  from  Maurello's 
Journal  of  the  Spanish  voyage  of  1779.  In  the  atlas,  maps  3,  15,  16,  17,  29, 
and  31  '■How  all  or  part  of  the  territory,  on  different  scales.  There  are  several 
editions  both  of  the  French  original  and  of  an  English  translation.  L.  A. 
Milet-Mureau  was  the  editor  of  the  original. 


'      i 


■ ;   I    ■ 


176 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


hting 

Mt.Cutlon 
Port  flea  I^ncalR 
±CroBs  Sound 
:.Croa« 

JPt.da  loi  Remediot 
j:j?.Gua5Jolupeg   Mt.St.Hyacintha 


p.St.Augurtrn 


oohe 


-tO] 


leuriM 


La  PiEoiTSK'H  Map,  1780. 


V  ?!.-^ 


f  ■  I 


MEARES,  TIPPING,  AND  STRANGE. 


177 


are  shown  on  the  map  ^vhich  I  copy,  and  which  is 
remarkably  complete,  if  we  consider  the  limited  ma- 
teria on  which  it  rested.  Though  far  superior  to 
aiij  map  made  before  1786,  its  value  was  of  course 
much  impaired  by  the  fact  that  it  was  not  published 
until  1798.  La  Pdrouse's  names  were  superseded  by 
other's  which  later  English  navigators  applied  before 
the  French  narrative  was  known  to  the  world.  The 
voyage  was  continued  down  past  Nootka  and  the 
southern  coast,  with  occasional  glimpses  of  the  coast 
as  the  fog  lifted;  the  latitude  of  several  points  was 
fixed  more  accurately  than  ever  before,  the  English 
and  Spanish  names  being  retained,  and  that  of  Necker 
Island  being  applied  to  the  rocks  off  Cape  Blanco  ;^' 
the  line  of  42°  was  passed  on  September  6th,  and 
on  the  14th  they  anchored  at  Monterey. 


,1 


8j'i! 


i':i' 


i  I 


In  1786  at  least  three  distinct  fur-trading  expedi- 
tions were  despatched  to  the  American  coasts;  one 
of  them,  consisting  of  the  Nootka  and  Sea  Otter,  under 
captains  Meares  and  Tipping,  was  fitted  out  in  Bengal,, 
and,  its  trading  operations  being  confined  to  Prince 
William  Sound  and  the  Alaskan  coast,  requires  no 
further  notice  here. 

The  second  expedition,  also  from  India,  was  fitted 
out  by  the  merchants  at  Bombay,  and  was  under  the 
supervision  of  James  Strange.  The  vessels  were  the 
Captain  Cook  and  Experiment,  commanded  by  Lowrie, 
or  Lorie,  and  Guise,"  sailing  under  the  flag  of  the 
East  India  Company,  David  Scott  being  the  chief 
owner.  They  reached  Nootka  in  June,  obtaining  six 
Landred  sea-otter  skins,  though  not  so  many  as  they 
had  hoped  for,  because  the  natives  had  promised  to 
keep  their  furs  for  Hanna,  who  arrived  in  August. 
One  John  McKey,  or  Maccay,  was,  however,  left  at 

"The  name  C.  Toledo,  n^-^i  heard  of  before,  may  have  come  from  some 
copy  of  Heceta  or  Bodega's  c'  art.  La  P^rouso  and  others  refer  vaguely  to 
a  chart  of  Maarelle,  of  which,  however,  I  know  nothing. 

"According  to  Vancouver,  Voy.,  i.  369,  the  Experiment  was  commanded 
by  Mr  S.  VVedgborough. 

Hut.  N.  W.  Coast.  Vol.  I.    12 


-1: 


M' 


^wmtnmmjjmmmiim-.'^ 


178 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


Nootka,  at  his  own  request,  and  under  the  chief's  pro- 
tection, to  recover  his  health  and  to  act  as  a  kind  of 
agent  or  'drummer'  for  the  traders;  and  he  hved  for 
over  a  year  among  the  savages  with  a  native  wife, 
well  treated  but  enduring  many  hardships.  Subse- 
quently Strange  sailed  on  up  the  coast  to  Princ3 
William  Sound,  and  thence  to  Macao.  He  seems  ■  o 
have  discovered — and  named,  according  to  Captain 
Dixon's  statement — Queen  Charlotte  Sound;  and  he 
probably  named  capes  Scott  and  Cox." 

The  third  expedition  of  the  year  was  one  fitted  out 
the  year  before  in  England  by  an  association  of  mer- 
chants called  the  King  George's  Sound  Company, 
acting  under  licenses  from  both  the  South  Sea  and 
East  India  monopolies.  Their  ships  were  the  King 
George  and  Queen  Charlotte,  commanded  by  Nathaniel 
Portlock  and  George  Dixon.  Both  of  these  gentle- 
men had  been  with  Cook,  and  each  of  them  published 
a  full  account  of  their  voyage ;  so  that  in  this  respect, 
as  also  in  respect  to  the  vessels'  outfit,  the  expedi- 
tion bore  much  resemblance  to  one  of  exploration. 
High  officials  took  an  interest  from  a  scientific  stand- 
point in  the  enterprise,  and  several  gentlemen's  sons 
were  committed  under  tutors  to  Captain  Portlock  to  be 
educated  for  a  seafaring  life.  Leaving  England  in 
August  1785,  Portlock  and  Dixon  sailed  round  Cape 
Horn,  touched  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  as  was  cus- 
tomary in  these  voyages,  and  in  July  1786  arrived  at 
Cook  River,  in  Alaska. 

Soon  the  navigators  started  down  the  coast,  intend- 
ing to  touch  at  seveial  different  points,  and  finally  to 
winter  at  Nootka.  Some  of  the  harbors,  however, 
were  not  found  where  sought,  and  others  could  not  be 
entered  by  reason  of  bad  weather,  so  that  the  vessels 
did  not  anchor  at  all.     They  .vere  on  the  coast,  gen- 

^^Mearea'  Voy.,  liii.-iv.;  Dixon's  Voy,,  232,  317-18,  and  other  references 
on  Hanua's  voyage  in  note  8.  Meares  saw  MoKey'a  journal,  and  he  says 
Strange  named  Friendly  Cove,  Dixon  used  Guise's  chart  for  his  general  map, 
to  bo  copied  presently,  and  he  got  an  account  of  McKey's  adventures  from 
Barclay,  who  carried  him  away. 


i-i 


PORTLOCK  AND  DIXON. 


179 


erally  in  sight  of  it  at  a  distance,  from  55°  down  to 
Nootka,  from  the  17th  to  the  28th  of  September,  but 
their  work  as  explorers  was  limited  to  the  naming  of 
Split  Kock,  off  Cook's  Woody  Point.  From  this 
region  they  went  to  winter  at  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
this  first  voyage  being  in  most  respects  a  failure.^* 


i-i 


Portlock  and  Dixon  repeated  their  voyage  in  1787, 
with  much  success,  both  in  respect  to  trade  and  geo- 
graphical exploration.  Leaving  the  islands  in  March, 
they  proceeded  to  Prince  William  Sound,  where  they 
met  Captain  Meares,  whose  first  voyage  of  1786-7 
has  already  been  mentioned.  The  vessels  parted  com- 
pany in  May,  the  King  George  remaining  on  the 
Alaskan  coast  and  the  Queen  Charlotte  proceeding 
southward.  It  was  on  July  1st  that  Dixon  passed 
the  boundary  line  and  was  off  the  'deep  bay,'  whose 
currents  had  baffled  Juan  Perez  thirteen  years  before, 
and  which  from  this  time  bore  Dixon's  name.  lie 
did  not  enter  it,  any  more  than  the  Spaniards  anc. 
Frenchmen  had  before  hiia;  but  far  within,  to  the  east- 
ward, he  saw  a  point  >»f  land  to  be  remembered,  and 
passed  on  down  the  coast.  Keeping  close  to  the  shore, 
without  landing,  but  trading  extensively  witli  the  In- 
dians, who  came  off  in  their  canoes,  he  named  several 
points,  some  of  which  had  already  been  named  by  La 
Perouse,  though  this  was  of  course  not  known  to  the 
Englishman." 

^^ Portlock,  A  voyage,  round  the  world;  hut  more  particularly  to  the  north- 
west coast  of  America;  performed  in  17S5,  17S6,  17S7,  and  1788,  in  the  'King 
George' and  'Queen  Charlotte,' Captains  Portlock  and  Dixon.  London,  1789; 
4to,  map  and  twenty  copperplates.  The  imrt  relating  to  the  present  topic  is  on 
pp.  135-42,  app.,  xxiv.  The  map  does  not  cover  our  territory.  Dixon,  A  voyage 
round  the  world,  etc.  (.is  above).  London,  1789;  4to,  map  and  plates;  also  a 
second  edition  of  the  same  year.  The  narrative  is  in  the  f  oi-m  of  letters  as  chap- 
ters, each  bearing  a  date  and  the  initials  '  W.  B. '  (Wm.  Berresford).  The  part 
of  tiie  text  relating  to  this  subject  is  on  pp.  70-83.  The  map  will  bo  noticed 
presently. 

"  The  names  applied,  most  of  them  still  retained,  were  Forrester's  Island 
( Santa  Cristina,  Catalina,  or  San  Cdrlos  of  the  Spaniards  and  La  Pdrouae), 

1,  Noi 
mse?) 
Cape  Uairymple 
Charlotte  Islands,  Cape  Cox  (Fleuriea  of  POrouse),  Berresford  Islands  (Sartine 


Mpa] 

Cape  Pitt  (Magdalena  of  Perez),  Cape  Chatham,  North  Island,  Cloak  Bay, 
Hippa  Island,  RenncU  Sound  ( La  Toucho  of  Perouse?),  Ibbertson  Sound,  Cape 
St  James  (Cape  Hector  of  Perouse),  Cape  Dalrymple,  Dixon  Straits,  Queen 


of  Perouse),  and  Cape  Scott. 


:■;•! 


:!  '; 


1      * 

iVi.i. 
J 

! 


:    I'Ll      J 


ii? 


^ 


\t 


■aWHlMH 


180 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


-  il 


I  •!! 


m 


:il 


! 


ill 


By  the  end  of  July  Captain  Dixon  had  rounded 
Cape  St  James  and  reached  a  latitude  of  53°  within 
the  strait,  seeing  in  the  north  land  which  he  believed 
to  be  that  seen  through  the  deep  bay  on  July  1st,  and 
thus  proving  to  his  own  satisfaction  "the  land  we  have 


Dixon's  Map,  1787. 


beon  coasting  along  for  near  a  month,  to  be  a  group 
of  islands."  Accordingly,  from  his  own  name  and 
that  of  his  vessel,  he  applied  the  names  Queen  Char- 
lotte Isles  and  Dixon  Straits.    It  will  be  remembered 


Is  3';' 


CAPTAIN  BARCLAY. 


181 


that  La  Pdrouse  had  already  conjectured  the  true 
geography  of  this  region,  which  Dixon  did  not  quite 
prove;  but  it  is  also  to  be  noted  that  La  Pdrouse's 
editor  had  Dixon's  narrative  and  map  before  him. 
This  map,  which  affords  all  necessary  detail  about  the 
voyage,  and  is  far  superior  to  any  that  preceded  it,  I 
reproduce.^*  That  pait  of  the  coast  from  Cape  Cox 
to  Woody  Point,  showing  the  first  indication  that  the 
Nootka  region  might  be  on  a  great  island,  was  laid 
down  from  the  earlier  explorations  of  Hanna  and 
Guise. 

On  August  6th  Dixon  sighted  Woody  Point,  and 
two  days  later  he  met  at  sea  captains  Duncan  and 
Colnett,  learning  from  them  that  Captain  Barclay  was 
at  Nootka,  or  had  just  left  that  port  for  the  south, 
and  that  there  was  no  prospect  for  successful  trade 
there.  Accordingly  the  Queen  Charlotte  was  headed 
for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  she  arrived  early  in 
September.^"  Portlock  and  Dixon  sold  in  China,  as 
the  result  of  their  expedition,  2552  sea-otter  skins, 
1821  of  which  had  been  obtained  by  Dixon  on  Queen 
Charlotte  Islands,  for  $54,857.  The  whole  number 
obtained  by  Hanna,  Strange,  Meares,  and  Barclay, 
down  to  the  end  of  1787,  was  2481  skins:  so  that  the 
expedition  was  very  successful  in  comparison  with  the 
others.'* 

"  The  map  from  Berresford  Island  northward  was  from  Dixon's  own  survey; 
from  Cape  Cox  to  Woody  Point,  from  Guise  and  Hanna;  from  Point  Breakers - 
south,  from  Barclay.  (Jt)ier  navigators  of  this  period  were  not  so  frank  in 
stating  tlie  origin  of  their  charts. 

^'3ixon'8  Voy.,  198-247,  considerable  space  being  given  to  a  description  of 
the  natives;  Portlock's  Voy.,  307 ;  J/cares' To?/.,  liii.-iv.  and  appendix;  Oreen 
how's  Or.  and  Hal.,  1G9-70. 

''"Dixon'ii  Remarks  on  the  Voyages  of  John  Mearei^,  Esq.,  in  a  letter  to  that 
fientleman,b!/ Oeon/e  Dixon,  late  C'omm(mder,Qto.  London,  1700;  4to.  Meares, 
in  his  published  narrative,  to  be  noticed  later,  had  -poken  very  slightingly  of 
Portlock  and  Dixon's  expedition,  as  one  of  great  pretensions  and  slight  results. 
Moreover,  he  blamed  those  officers  for  the  manner  in  which  they  had  relieved 
his  own  great  necessities  when  they  found  him  on  the  Alaskan  coast  in  a  very 
precarious  situation.  I  have  no  room  for  the  quarrel  in  its  details.  Tlio  truth 
seems  to  be  that  Portlock,  while  affording  all  the  relief  in  his  power,  did  it  in 
such  a  way  as  to  advance  his  own  interests  and  to  prevent  Meares  from  en- 
gaging in  any  fur(;her  trade  during  the  tx-ip.  In  reply  to  Meares'  strictures, 
Dixon  published  his  Remarks,  in  which  he  displayed  more  ability  than  was 
needed  to  point  out  the  various  iuaccuiucies,  inconsistencies,  and  falaehooda 
of  his  rival'a  narrative. 


IV' 


i*  ••  ■' 


!    !  I 


mm 


I    ..  I 


r^% 


'■■)i< 


ld2 


EXPLORATION  OP  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


Two  other  expeditions  of  1787  have  to  be  recorded 
here,  one  commanded  by  Colnett  and  Duncan,  the 
other  by  Barclay.  Both,  as  we  have  seen,  were  at 
Nootka  about  the  time  that  Dixon  passed  that  port ; 
and  it  is  from  that  officer's  statements  and  those  of 
other  voyagers  of  the  time  that  all  information  about 
these  expeditions  must  be  derived,  no  direct  accounts 
being  extant. 

Captain  Barclay,  whose  name  is  also  written 
Berkely,  commanded  the  Imperial  Eagle,  which  sailed 
from  the  Belgian  port  of  Ostend,  under  the  flag  of  the 
Austrian  East  India  Company,  in  November  178G, 
and  arrived  at  Nootka  in  June  1787.  He  did  not 
go  farther  north,  but  was  successful  in  trade,  obtain- 
ing eight  hundred  skins.  He  utilized  the  services  of 
McKey,  whom  he  carried  away  to  China,  and  from  him 
learned  that  the  region  where  he  had  lived  for  a  vear 
was  probably  not  a  part  of  the  continent.  McKey  had 
formed  that  opinion  from  his  travels  in  the  interior  and 
from  reports  of  the  natives.  Before  leaving  Nootka 
Barclay  met  Duncan  and  Colnett,  whose  needs  he  re- 
lieved by  selling  them  surplus  supplies.  In  July  he 
sailed  southward,  and  discovered  Barclay  Sound,  and 
then  the  strait  for  which  earlier  navigators  had  sought 
in  vain,  but  which  he  neither  entered  nor  named. 
Meares  states  that  the  whole  exploration  below  Nootka 
was  made  in  the  ship's  boat,  which,  though  possible, 
seems  unlikely. 

Continuing  the  voyage  down  past  Cape  Flattery, 
Vhe  commander  sent  a  boat  to  enter  a  river  in  47°  43', 
\/here  the  crew,  consisting  of  five  men,  under  Mr 
Millar,  were  murdered  by  the  natives.  From  this 
occurrence  the  name  Destruction  River  was  applied 
to  the  stream,  now  the  Ohahlat,  but  was  transferred 
in  later  years  to  the  island  just  below  its  mouth, 
called   by   the    Spaniards   in    1775    Dolores.^^     The 

"Greenhow  and  others  aro  wrong  in  their  theory  that  the  Spaniards 
named  it  Dolores  from  the  disaster  that  occurred  farther  south.  The  name 
was  that  of  the  day  on  which  it  was  discovered.     Meares  calls  the  region 


if'li 


DUNCAN  AND  COLNETT. 


183 


southernmost  point  of  Barclay's  observation,  he  being 
the  first  since  Cook  to  visit  the  coast  below  Cape 
Flattery,  was  what  he  called  Point  Fear,  in  47"  9', 
probably  seen  at  a  distance;  and,  departing  in  Au- 
gust or  early  in  September,  he  reached  Canton  in 
November.  Mrs  Barclay  had  accompanied  her  hus- 
band, and  was,  perhaps,  the  first  European  lady  to 
visit  this  region.^^ 

Captains  Duncan  and  Colnett  commanded  the 
Princess  Royal  and  Prince  of  Wales,  which  were 
fitted  out  by  the  same  company  that  despatched 
Portlock  and  Dixon,  left  England  in  September,  and 
arrived  at  Nootka  in  July.  Here,  as  we  have  seen, 
they  met  Barclay,  and  a  little  later  Dixon.  From  the 
latter  they  learned  that  the  best  opportunities  for 
trade  were  to  be  found  on  Queen  Charlotte  Islands, 
and  thither  presumably  they  directed  their  course, 
instead  of  going  to  Prince  William  Sound,  as  had 
been  intended.  Of  their  subsequent  movements  we 
know,  from  fragmentary  references  in  the  narratives 
of  other  traders,  only  that  Duncan  wintered  on  the 
(^oast,  returning  the  next  year  to  Nootka;  that  his  trip 
was  a  successful  one  commercially;  and  that  he  sailed 
through  the  strait  between  Queen  Charlotte  Island 
and  the  main. 

Whether  this  was  in  the  autumn  of  1787  or  the 
spring  of  1788  is  not  clear;  but  I  deem  it  as  likely 
to  have  been  in  the  former,  though  Greenhow  and 
Meares  imply  the  latter.  At  any  rate,  he  was  the 
first  to  make  this  passage  and  prove  the  correctness 
of  the  earlier  conjectures  of  La  Perouse  and  Dixon. 

Queenhythe,  that  is,  Quenaiult,  the  name  of  a  stream  farther  south.  Meares 
the  next  year  at  Nootka  found  among  the  natives  a  seal  that  had  belonged 
to  Millar,  and  also  what  was  supposed  to  be  his  hand  or  that  of  one  of  liis 
men.  Dixon,  Hemarh,  33,  gives  the  latitudes  from  Barclay's  chart,  as  given 
on  a  map  published  by  Dalrymple  in  1789,  as  follows :  West  point  of  Barclay 
Sound,  49  ;  south  point,  48°  50  ;  north  point  De  Fear's  (De  Fuca's?)  entrance, 
48°  33';  south  point,  43°  26';  centre  of  Tallock's  Island  (Tatouche?)  48°  24'; 
Capo  Flattery,  48°  8';  Pinnacle,  47°  47';  Destruction  River,  47°  43';  Point 
Fear  (possibly  Grenville),  47°  9'. 

'"Dixon's  Voj/.,  231-3,  320;  Id.,  Remarlcs,  9,  12,  18,  33;  Meares'  Voy.,\v. 
28,  124,  132,  172;  Portlock's  Voy.,  307;  Oreenhow'a  Or.  and  Cat.,  171,  400. 


•CU'A< 


■ 

: 

^\hy 

IW 


EXPLORATION  OP  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


Duncan  also  discovered,  and  named  for  his  vessel, 
the  Princess  Royal  Isles.*^ 

In  1788  the  Spaniards  sent  another  expedition  to 
the  far  north,  v^hich,  however,  concerns  my  present 
topic  only  indirectly,  since  it  did  not  touch  the  coast 
between  42°  and  55°.  The  vessels  were  the  Princesa 
and  San  Carlos,  commanded  by  Estdvan  Josd  Mar- 
tinez and  Gonzalo  Lopez  de  Haro,  whose  mission  was 
to  ascertain  what  the  Russians  were  doing.  The  royal 
order  was  issued  in  consequence  of  a  report  of  La 
Pdrouse — on  his  visit  to  Chile  before  going  north — 
that  the  Russians  had  already  four  establishments, 
one  of  tnem  at  Nootka.  The  preliminary  correspond- 
ence on  the  expedition  of  Martinez  shows  very  clearly 
the  form  that  Spanish  policy  was  beginning  to  as- 
sume. There  was  no  objection  to  the  occupation  by 
Russians  of  the  far  north;  but  it  was  feared  that 
by  Russia  or  some  other  foreign  power  posts  would 
be  established  farther  south,  not  only  encroaching  on 
Spanish  territorial  rights,  but  threatening  Spanish 
settlements. 

There  was  of  course  no  doubt  respecting  the 
right  of  Spain  to  the  lands  she  had  discovered  up 
to  the  region  of  60°;  she  had  some  theoretical  rights 
beyond  that  region,  which,  however,  there  was  no 
apparent  intention  of  attempting  to  enforce;  and 
even  the  region  from  Nootka  southward  was  be- 
ginning to  appear  of  slight  comparative  value,  to 
be  occupied  only  as  a  political  necessity  to  prevent 
foreign  encroachment  and  so.ure  the  possession  of 
any  desirable  strait,  river,  or  port  that  might  pos- 
sibly be  revealed  by  new  explorations.  Accordingly 
Martinez  was  instructed  not  only  to  learn  as  much  as 

^D%xm'8  Vol/.,  230-4j  Id.,  Remarks,  8-10,  19,  28;  Mearea'  Voy.,\v.  195, 
199-201 ;  Oreenjtow's  Or.  and  Col.,  170,  199.  Dixon  says  that  Duncan's 
course  was  laid  down  in  Arrowsmith's  chart,  and  denies  Meares'  implication 
that  Douglas  preceded  him  in  sailing  tbroush  the  strait.  According  to 
Vancouver,  Voy.,  i.  369-70,  he  also  named  Calvert  Island  and  Port  Safety. 
Vancouver  liad  his  chart. 


KENDRICK  AND  GRAY. 


183 


possible  of  Russian  operations  in  Alaska,'*  but  on  his 
return  to  follow  the  coast  and  to  make  as  close  a 
survey  as  possible  of  every  place  which  would  have 
attractions  for  foreigners,  and  whose  occupation  by 
Spain  might  therefore  become  necessary.  The  latter 
part  of  the  instructions,  for  no  good  reason  that  is 
known,,  was  not  obeyed,  the  voyagers  returning  to 
Monterey  and  San  Bias  direct;  but  they  understood 
that  the  Russians,  though  they  had  no  establishment 
at  Nootka,  intended  to  found  one  there ;  they  learned 
something  also  of  the  operations  of  English  traders 
in  northern  waters;  and  their  reports  on  these  mat- 
*ters,  as  we  shall  see,  caused  Martinez  and  Haro  to  be 
sent  in  1789  on  a  new  expedition.^' 

Now  the  flag  of  the  United  States  appears  for  the 
first  time  in  these  waters;  and  the  'Bostons'  come 
into  rivalry  with  the  '  King  George  men'  as  explorers 
and  traders.  The  history  of  this  territory  for  the 
year  1788  is  little  more  than  a  record  of  what  was 
done  by  the  Americans  Kendrick  and  Gray,  and  by 
the  Englishmen  Meares  and  Douglas.  It  seems  more 
convenient  to  begin  with  the  voyage  of  the  former, 
though  the  others  arrived  first  in  the  field. 

The  first  American  fur-trading  expedition  to  the 
northern  Pacific  was  fitted  out  by  a  company  of  six 
Boston  merchants,  who  were  influenced  chiefly  by  the 
reports  of  Cook  and  Ledyard,  there  being  no  evidence 
that  they  had  any  knowledge  of  English  traders' 
operations.  A  medal  commemorative  of  the  enter- 
prise was  struck  off"  in  copper  and  silver,  and  the  copy 
here  given  explains  its  nature.  John  Kendrick  was 
chosen  to  command,  sailing  on  the  ship  Columbia  Redi- 
viva,  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  tons,  while  Captain 


] 


ll  I 


,i  ,  1 


n  ( 


^*  I  use  this  modem  name  in  these  years  for  convenience,  to  avoid  tiresome 
repetitions  of  geographical  definition. 

^^ Martinez  and  Haro,  Cuarta  exploracion  de  desctihrimientos  de  la  eoata 
septentrional  de  California  hasta  los  61  grados. .  .1788,  MS.,  in  Viages  al 
Norte  de  Gal.,  No.  7.  It  contains  not  only  Martinez'  diary,  but  various  in- 
structions, correspondence,  tables,  etc.,  connected  with  the 'voyage. 


r 


186 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


Robert  Gray  commanded  the  sloop  Lady  Washington, 
of  ninety  tons.  The  vessels  were  laden  with  articles 
deemed  best  fitted  for  barter  with  the  Indians,  chiefly 
implements  of  iron  and  copper.  Various  passports 
and  letters  were  obtained  fr»  vn  the  federal  govern- 
ment, from  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  and  perhaps 
from  the  minister  of  Spain  in  the  United  States.'"  I 
have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  an  original  diary 
of  this  voyage,  kept  by  Robert  Haswell,  the  second 
mate  of  the  Lady  Washington,  a  very  important  docu- 


The  GoLdMBiA  Medal. 

raent,  not  consulted  by  any  writer  before  me.    Indeed 
it  does  not  appear  that  any  other  log  of  either  vessci 
has  ever  been  seen;  and  consequently  nothing  but  a 
brief  mention  of  the  expedition  has  been  published 
As  a  narrative  of  the  first  visit  of  an  American  vessel 

**  So  it  is  stated  by  Greenhow  and  others,  possibly  without  good  authority. 
At  any  rate  the  governor  of  California,  in  obedience  to  instructions  from 
Mexico,  issued  orders  for  the  neizure  of  the  two  vessels  should  they  appear  in 
Califomian  ports.  See  his  famous  order  to  that  effect  in  IHst.  Gal.,  i.  chap. 
xxi.  The  mudal  is  given  in  connection  with  a  brief  account  of  the  voyage  in 
Greenhow's  Or.  and  Col.,  179-81 ;  and  Bvljinch's  Or.  and  El,  Dorado,  1-6.  The 
latter  gives  some  details  about  the  origin  of  the  enterprise  in  a  conversation 
at  the  residence  of  Dr  Bulfinch — perhaps  a  relative  of  the  writer — in  Boston. 
The  voyagers  also  carried  a  number  of  small  copper  coins  issued  by  the  state. 
One  of  the  medals  is  preserved  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state  at  Salem. 
Oregon  lielies,  MS.,  1.  See  also  Hist.  Mag.,  vii.  197.  Bulfinch  says  the  medals 
were  struck  in  bronze  and  silver;  Kelley,  Thornton's  Or.  I  fist.,  MS.,  66-84, 
says  in  both  gold  and  silver.  Charles  Bulfinch,  one  of  the  owners,  in  a  state- 
ment of  1838,  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc. ,  25th  Cong. ,  8d  Sess. ,  Sen.  Rept.  No.  470,  pp.  19-23, 
and  in  other  government  reports,  mentions  the  medal  in  copper  and  silver. 
He  names  Joseph  Barrell  aa  the  originator  of  the  scheme.  Most  of  the  many 
writers  on  Gray's  later  discovery  of  the  Columbia  River,  1792,  mention  this 
first  voyage  briefly. 


THE  HASWELL  MANUSCRIPT. 


187 


to  the  north-west  coast  this  diary  merits  much  more 
space  than  I  can  give  it  here — in  fact  it  should  be 
pubHshed  entire." 

Many  Boston  merchants  and  other  friend?  of  the 
navigators  spent  Sunday  on  board  the  vessels;  the 
evenmg  was  devoted  to  parting  hilarity;  and  on 
Monday,  October  1st,  the  start  was  made  from  Naii- 
tasket  Roads,  whither  the  guests  had  been  carried 
from  Boston  Harbor.  Progress  southward  in  the 
Atlantic  was  attended  by  many  delays,  for  which 
Captain  Kendrick  is  blamed  by  Haswell,  as  for  other 
unwise  proceedings  during  the  vo3'age;  and  it  was 
the  middle  of  April  1788  before  they  rounded  Cape 
Horn  into  the  Pacific,  the  sloop  and  ship  being 
parted  in  a  gale  a  month  earlier.  Nootka  was  the 
rendezvous,  and  thither  Captain  Gray  made  all  haste 
in  the  Lady  Washington,  without  touching  on  the 
coasts  of  South  America  or  Mexico. 

It  was  on  August  2d  that  Gray,  with  'inexpres- 
sible joy,'  first  saw  the  shores  of  New  Albion,  in 
latitude  41°  28';  and  on  the  4th  ten  natives  came 
off  in  a  canoe  to  greet  the  strangers.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  latitudes  and  landmarks  mentioned  I  find  it 
impossible  to  trace  with  any  degree  of  accuracy  the 
progress  made  along  the  coast,  almost  always  in  sight 
of  land;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  understand  how  Gray 
could  identify  a  point  near  latitude  43°,  possibly  Cape 
Blanco,  with  Mendocino.'*    On  August  14th  the  sloop 

^HaswdVs  Voyaqe  round  the  world  on  board  the  ship  'Columbia  Bediviva' 
and  sloop  '  Wa^hinyton,'  1788-9;  MS.,  65  pp.  This  narrative,  and  another  of 
a  later  voyage,  were  given  me  by  Captain  Haswell 's  daughter,  Mrs  John  .J. 
Clarke  of  Roxbury,  Massachusetts.  The  journal  extends  from  the  beginning 
of  the  voyage  to  June  1789.  Haswell  started  on  the  Columbia,  but  was 
transferred  to  the  Lady  Washington  before  entering  the  Pacific.  He  names 
Joseph  Ingraham  as  second  mate  of  the  Columbia,  Howe  as  Kendrick 's 
clerk,  Roberts  as  surgeon,  Treet  aa  furrier,  and  Nuttin  as  astronomer.  A  Mr 
Coolidge  is  often  named,  who  was  probably  first  mate  of  the  Lady  Washington. 

'^August  5th,  latitude  42°  3'.  August  6th,  past  a  cove  formed  by  a  small 
bay  in  N.  and  an  island  in  s.  [Mack's  Arch  or  Rogue  River?]  August  7th, 
ran  for  an  apparent  inlet  in  a  large  deep  bay  to  the  a.  and  e.  of  Cape  Mindo- 
cin,  but  passing  round  an  island  found  the  inlet  to  be  only  a  valley  between 
two  hills  [Port  Orford?];  at  6  p.  M.  Cape  Mindocin  was  n.  n.  e.  six  or  seven 
leagues ;  a  dangerous  reef  extends  six  leagues  from  the  point ;  rounded  the 
cape  and  stood  in  for  land ;  latitude  43°  20' ;  here  is  a  very  deep  bay  north  of 


r '  i 


'  ti 


188 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


crossed  tlio  bar  at  the  entrance  of  a  harboi'  that 
had  been  previously  examined  by  the  boat,  and 
anchored  in  what  was  doubtless  Tillamook  Bay. 
Gray  thought  it  likely  that  here  was  the  mouth  of 
the  famous  River  of  the  West;  and  before  his  de- 
parture he  had  good  reason  to  name  his  anchorage 
Murderers'  Harbor.  On  the  arrival  of  the  Ameri- 
cans the  Indians  were  very  friendly,  receiving  with 
joy  trifling  presents,  and  furnishing  without  payment 
vast  quantities  of  berries  and  crabs,  which  were  very 
acceptable  to  the  scurvy- stricken  crow.    Skins  were 

the  cape,  prolMibly  with  sounds  and  rivers,  l)ut  not  explored.  [This  agrees, 
were  it  not  for  preceding  dilBculties,  with  Cape  Gregory  and  Coos  Bay.] 
August  9th,  ten  or  eleven  leagues  N.  of  the  capo  the  boat  was  sent  to  explore 
the  shore,  the  sloop  sailing  along  about  a  mile  av«ay ;  at  2:30  r.  M.  passed  on 
inlet,  in  44°  20',  apparently  the  mouth  of  a  very  largo  river,  with  not  water 
enough  for  the  sloop  to  enter.  Natives  appeared  very  liostilo.  [This,  according 
to  the  latitude,  must  be  the  Alsoya  of  modem  maps.]  In  45°  two  Indiana  of 
different  languages  and  of  friendly  disposition  catno  off.  August  10-11,  lati- 
tude 45°  2',  44°  58';  boat  out  in  search  for  a  landing ;  slight  trade  with  natives. 
August  12th,  the  l)oat  obtained  two  loatls  of  w»od  from  a  small  inlet.  August 
IStli,  latitude  45°  50'  at  noon;  in  evening  passed  a  tolerable  harbor,  with  a 
bar.  August  14th,  returned  to  explore  the  harbor,  which,  after  exploration  by 
the  boat,  the  sloop  enterei',  anchori;ig  half  a  mile  from  shore  in  two  and  one 
fourth  fathoms ;  latitude  4^  > '  1; 7' ■  '  Slurderers'  Harbor,  for  so  it  was  named  [for 
reasons  see  my  text],  n,  I  snpj  lisc,  the  entrance  of  the  river  of  the  West.  It 
is  by  no  means  a  safe  phtcf.  iti\  uny  but  a  very  small  vessel  to  enter,  the  shoal 
at  its  entrance  being  so  (•  ■ ;  I-  .vardly  situated,  the  passage  so  narrow,  and  the 
tide  so  rapid  that  it  is  iu.iiiraly  possible  to  avoid  the  dangers.'  [This  must  be 
Tillamook  Bay,  really  m  45°  34'.]  Meares,  Voi/. ,  219-20,  supposed  it  to  be  near 
his  o^vn  Cape  Lookout.  Gray  in  1792  told  Vancouver  that  he  had  [no  date 
given]  been  off  a  river  in  46°  10',  where  the  cun'ent  kept  him  for  nine  days 
from  entering;  and  Greenhow,  Or.  and  Cal.,  181,  234,  erroneously  concludes 
that  this  Murderers'  Harbor  '  was  the  mouth  of  tho  great  river  since  called 
the  Columbia. .  .because  there  is  no  evidence  or  reason  to  suppose  that  Gray 
visited  tliat  part  of  the  coast  on  any  other  occasion  prior  to  his  meeting  with 
Vancouver.'  August  18th,  Gray  got  over  the  bar  after  striking  several  times. 
August  19th,  latitude  47°  11'.  [It  seems  strange  that  he  missed  Shoalwater 
Bay  and  Gray  Harbor.]  August  2l8t,  at  7  A.  m.  Green  Island  bore  n.  four 
miles,  and  Quinclth  N.  N.  E.  seven  miles ;  latitude  47°  30*.  August  22-4,  con- 
trary winds ;  latitude  47°  43'.  .August  25th,  craggy  and  detached  rocks  and 
reefs ;  latitude  47°  57'.  August  2Cth,  some  distance  off  shore,  but  in  sight ; 
latitude  48°  5';  '  to  the  E.  n.  e.  lay  a  very  deep  bay,  in  whose  entrance  lie 
many  islands,'  named  Company  Bay,  and  doubtless  has  good  harbors.  [This 
was  Barclay  Sound,  so  that  he  missed  the  entrance  of  the  strait  named  Fuca 
by  Meares  a  little  earlier.]  August  27th,  snowy  mountains  in  the  distance; 
hititude  48°  43'.  August  28th,  calm ;  latitude  48°  53';  visited  by  many  natives 
familiar  with  English  names.  August  29-31,  narrowly  escaping  wreck  on 
sunken  rocks ;  reached  Hancock's  Harbor,  in  49°  9'  [Clayoquot  Sound],  were 
visited  by  the  chief  Wicananish,  and  set  sail.  September  1-2,  a  gale;  driven 
s.  to  48°  9'.  September  3-5,  to  latitude  48°  50'.  September  0-9,  to  sight  of 
Point  Breakers ;  latitude  50°  22'.  September  10th,  latitude  49°  53'.  September 
11-15,  gales;  in  Hope  Bay.    September  IGth,  anchored  in  Nootka  Sound. 


FIGHT  WITH  THE  NATIVES. 


189 


also  purchased  in  exchange  for  iron  implements, 
though  copper  was  more  in  demand.  The  natives  freely 
gave  up  their  furs,  and  took  what  was  offered  in  ro- 
turn  without  the  slightest  complaint.  Wood  and  water 
were  obtained;  and  then,  while  waiting  for  a  tide,  the 
two  mates,  Coolidge  and  Haswell,  went  ashore  witli 
seven  men  for  the  benefit  of  their  health,  and  to  get 
a  load  of  grass  and  shrubs  for  the  vessel's  live-stock. 
This  was  on  Saturday,  August  IGth.  The  Indians 
received  them  in  a  most  friendly  manner,  invited  them 
to  their  houses,  and  amused  them  with  a  war- dance 
and  an  exhibition  of  skill  with  arrows  and  spears. 
Presently,  however,  while  the  officers  were  searching 
for  clams  at  a  little  distance,  and  the  men  were  cutting 
grass  near  the  boat,  an  Indian  seized  a  cutlass  which 
the  captain's  servant — a  nativu  of  the  Cape  Verde 
Islands,  named  Marcos  Lopez — had  left  sticking  in  the 
sand,  and  ran  away  with  it,  Lopez  following  in  pursuit. 
The  chiefs  were  offered  rewards  to  bring  the  boy  back 
unhurt,  but  refused,  urging  the  Americans  to  seek 
him  themselves.  On  the  officers  and  one  man  doing 
so  they  found  Lopez,  who  had  caught  the  thief", 
surrounded  by  a  group  of  Indians,  who  at  once 
killed  Lopez  with  their  knives  and  arrows,  and  then 
attacked  the  three,  as  did  another  large  body  of  sav- 
ages in  the  rear  under  the  chiefs  who  had  sent  them 
that  way.  The  situation  was  desperate,  but  by  a  dili- 
gent use  of  their  pistols  the  three  Americans,  after 
killing  the  boldest  of  their  assailants,  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  shore  and  in  wading  off  to  the  boat,  all 
wounded,  the  sailor  very  seriously.  The  savages  pur- 
sued in  canoes,  but  the  boat  reached  the  sloop,  and  a 
few  discharges  of  the  swivel-gun  drove  the  savages 
back;  but  all  night  they  kept  up  their  whoops  and 
howling  on  shore.  Two  days  more  passed  before  the 
Lady  Washington  could  leave  Murderers'  Harbor, 
striking  dangerously  on  the  bar;  and  meanwhile  the 
swivel-gun  had  to  be  fired  again. 

Proceeding  up  the  coast  and  trading  often  with  the 


t    ] 


190 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NOllTHWEST  COAST. 


ill 


4!i 


natives,  the  navigators  met  with  nothing  remarkable 
in  the  way  of  adventure  or  discovery.  Haswell  writes : 
"I  am  of  opinion  that  the  straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca 
exist,  though  Captain  Cook  positively  asserts  they 
do  not,  for  in  the  very  latitude  where  they  are  said  to 
lie,  the  coast  takes  a  bend  which  very  probably  may 
be  the  entrance."  A  little  farther  north  they  noted 
the  entrance  of  Barclay  Sound  and  called  it  Com- 
pany Bay.  They  found  frequent  indications  of  the 
Enghshmen's  visits;  narrowly  escaped  shipwreck ;  and, 
the  last  day  of  August,  entered  Hancock  Harbor,  as 
they  named  Clayoquot,  where  they  were  honored  with 
a  visit  from  the  chief  Wicananish.  Beyond  this  point 
they  had  gales  and  fog;  and  it  was  not  until  Septem- 
ber 16th,  almost  a  year  from  Boston,  that  the  Lady 
Washington  was  towed  into  Ncotka  Sound  by  the 
aid  of  boats  from  the  vessels  of  Meares  and  Douglas 
lying  at  anchor  there. 

Captain  Gray's  intercourse  with  the  Englishmen, 
whose  operations  in  this  region  will  presently  be 
noticed  in  detail,  was  very  agreeable,  and  they  showed 
him  many  polite  attentions,  besides  permitting  their 
smith  to  assist  in  certain  repairs  to  the  sloop.  Yet 
Captain  Meares  did  his  best  to  discourage  the  Amer- 
icans from  engaging  in  trade,  and  espociallv  from 
wintering  on  the  coast,  to  do  which  he  insisted  was 
madness  and  sure  destruction.  He  even  went  so  far 
as  to  assure  Gray  on  his  word  of  honor,  but  most 
falsely,  that  his  vessels  had  not  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing over  fifty  skins  during  the  season.  During  the 
stay  of  the  Englishmen  no  trade  whatever,  either  for 
furs  or  food,  could  be  carried  on  in  the  sound,  the 
natives  being  unapproachable.  Haswell  states  that 
this  was  in  consequence  of  Meares'  custom  of  taking 
their  property  by  force,  preventing  their  escape  by  a 
free  use  of  musket-balls,  and  giving  them  in  payment 
such  trifles  as  he  chose.  On  September  19th  or  20th 
the  Americans  witnessed  the  launching  of  Meares' 
new  schooner,  firing  a  salute;  and  on  the  22d  their 


QUESTIONABLE  CONDUCT. 


191 


boats  helped  to  tow  the  Felice  out  of  the  harbor." 
On  his  departure  Captain  Meares  offered  to  carry 
letters  to  China;  but  by  his  consort's  boats  returned 
the  packet,  on  the  plea  that  it  was  not  certain  at  what 
port  in  India  he  might  touch,  thus  preventing  Gray 
from  sending  the  letters  by  some  of  his  officers  or 


30 


men. 

On  September  22d  or  23d  the  Columbia  and  Captain 
Kendrick  made  their  appearance.  Nothing  is  known 
of  her  trip  from  Cape  Horn  sav^e  that  it  had  been  a 
stormy  one,  that  she  had  touched  at  Juan  Fernandez, 
and  had  lost  two  men  from  scurvy.  October  1st  was 
celebrated  as  the  anniversary  of  departure  from  Bos- 
ton, Captain  Douglas  of  the  Iphigenia  firing  a  salute, 
and  the  officers  of  all  four  vessels  dining  on  board  the 
Columbia.  The  two  vessels  under  Captain  Douglas 
were  tov/ed  with  Kendrick's  aid  out  of  the  harbor  on 
October  26th,  bound  for  the  Sandwich  Islands.  On 
the  departure  of  the  Englishmen  the  natives  lost  all 
their  fear,  and  supplied  all  the  food  that  was  needed. 
Kendrick  decided  to  winter  at  Nootka,  and  made 
preparation'  to  build  a  house  on  shore  and  to  rig  the 
sloop  into  a  brig,  though  both  of  these  schemes  were 
aoaiidoned;  indeed,  if  we  may  credit  Haswell,  Cap- 
tain Kendrick  was  much  addicted  to  whims  and  ever 
varying  plans  never  put  into  t  xecution.  The  winter 
passed  without  other  excitemji.t  than  that  arising 
from  hunting  and  fishing  adventures,  the  discussion 
of  Kendrick's  various  petty  schemes,  the  stealing  of 
a  boat  and  divers  water-casks  and  cannon  bj-  the 
Indians,  troubles  with  one  or  two  refractory  sailors, 


31 


"•According  to  Meares  the  launch  \fiu>  o{\  ',he  20th  and  liis  departure  on 
the  Felice  on  the  24th. 

'"  Meares  feared  aonic  infcrri.'dtioti  on  trade  would  bo  sent  that  might  be 
prt judicial  to  his  interests.  Ivlnch  sharp  practice  was  common  enouah 
among  rival  fu»"trb.J;r8,  .'.m!  an  s  nile  i  omit  both  sides  of  petty  (luatTeF; ; 
but  it  seems  proper,  for  r-- jaot?::  tliat  will  appear  later,  to  add  Ilaswel  's 
accusations  to  the  mass  o'  +''K,ir.ioay  showing  Meares  not  to  have  been  fn 
bouoioblo  man. 

"John  Green,  Meares'  Loivtswain,  while  confined  in  the  house  on  shore  /or 
mutiny,  had  escaped,  and  had  nivplied  for  admission  iix>  the  American  sloop. 
<Jray  refused,  having  promised  Meares  not  to  receive  him ;  but  some  'A  hia 


n 


I    1 


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«»   .  I 


FM 


192 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


and  an  alarm  of  fire  one  day  in  the  ship  in  dangerous 
proximity  to  the  powder.  Both  vessels  remained  at 
anchor  in  the  sound  until  March  of  the  next  year; 
and  their  subsequent  movements  will  be  noticed  in  a 
later  chapter.  I  have  now  to  follow  the  voyaoje  of 
the  English  traders,  whom  we  have  seen  at  No  )tj  a.. 

The  ships  Felice  Adventurer  and  Iphigeni'x  Nti- 
hiana,  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  and  two  huudied 
tons  respectively,  were  fitted  out  by  a  company  of 
English  merchants  in  India,  and  were  put  under  the 
command  of  John  Meai  es  and  William  Douglas,  the 
former  being  a  lieutenant  retired  from  the  British 
navy,  whose  former  voyage  to  the  Alaskan  coast  has 
already  been  mentioned,  and  who  published  an  elabo- 
rate narrative  of  his  expeditions.  This  work  contains 
a  large  amount  of  valuable  information  on  the  North- 
west Coast ;  but  the  author,  as  appears  from  his  own 
statements,  as  well  as  from  the  testimony  of  other 
traders,  both  English  and  American,  is  not  to  be  im- 
plicitly trusted  in  matters  affecting  bis  own  interests.^^ 

men  supplied  Green  with  food,  and  when  Kendrick  came  ho  was  taken  on 
board  tlio  Columbia.  But  ho  refused  to  sign  the  articles,  and  Kendrick  landed 
him  again  among  the  savages.  Meares  in  his  narrative  blames  the  Americaup 
for  their  course  in  this  matter,  and  very  likely  with  reason.  George  Monk,  a. 
seaman,  also  ran  away,  but  was  pursued  and  captured. 

'^  Voyages  Made  in  the  Years  1786  and  1789,  from  China  to  the  North  West 
Coast  of  America.  To  which  are  prrfixed,  an  Introductonj  Narrativeofa  Voya/je 
performedin  1786,  from  Bengal,  intheship  'Nootka';  observations  on  the  prohah'e 
existence,  of  a  north  went  passage  ;  and  some  account  of  the  trade  between  the  north 
went  coast  of  America  and  China;  and  the  latter  country/  and  Great  Britain.  By 
John  Mearea,  Esq.  London,  1790;  4to,  portrait,  maps,  and  charts.  Tho 
•  Introductory  Voyage,'  pp.  i.-xl. ,  contains  the  author's  version  of  his  troubles 
with  Portlock  and  Dixon,  with  original  correspondence.  In  tho  'Observa- 
tions,' pp.  xlii,-lxvi.,  the  author  argues  that  the  north-west  passage  may  yet 
bo  found,  relying  not  on  the  old  fanciful  theories,  but  chiefly  on  the  facts  that 
Hudson  Bay  had  not  been  completely  explored,  and  that  the  lato  voyagers, 
including  himself,  had  found  on  the  Pacific  side  a  complicated  net-work  of 
islands  and  straits,  some  of  which  latter  might  very  likely  afford  the  desired 
passage.  Though  marked  by  some  inaccuracies  of  8tatem?.nt  the  argument 
IS  far  stronger  than  most  of  those  on  this  subjei;t  '''it  I  law  noted  in  earlier 
chapters ;  and  the  author  introduces  a  brief  ske^ : '  ■  r. ;  the  lato  sraiUng  voyages. 
The  'Accountof  the  Trade'  is  on  pp.  Ixvii.-xcvt.  The  voyo  .<  »  ,:  Rleares  and 
his  associates  fill  .372  pages  of  text.  There  aro  thiao  grvi  ^^ai  u.;ip8  or  charts, 
showing  all  or  part  of  the  north-west  coast  on  uflFereiii/  scaki,  to  be  copied  a 
littld  later ;  there  are  local  sketch-charts  of  Friendly  Cove,  p.  108,  Port  Cox, 

K  143,  Port  Effingham,  p.  172,  Sea-otter  Harbor,  p.  305,  and  Raft  Cove,  p. 

72 ;  coast  views  of  Nootka,  Port  Elfiiigham,  and  land  in  49°  3',  p.  104 ;  eu- 


:|-.t 


m 


MEARES  AND  DOUGLAS. 


103 


In  order  to  evade  excessive  port  cliargea  in  China, 
and  also  to  obviate  the  necessity  of  obtaining  Hcenses 
from  the  East  India  and  South  Sea  companies,  one 
Cavalho,  a  Portuguese,  was  made  nominally  a  partner 
in  the  concern,  and  through  his  influence  with  the  gov- 
ernor of  Macao  the  vessels  were  furnished  with  Por- 
tuguese flags,  papers,  and  captains.  All  of  these  were 
to  be  used  as  occasion  might  demand,  either  in  the 
Chinese  ports  or  in  case  of  embarrassing  meetings  with 
British  vessels,  when  the  real  commanders  would  ap- 
pear in  the  Portuguese  version  of  the  ship's  papers  as 
supercargoes.  Among  the  instructions  from  the  '  Mer- 
chantss  Proprietors' — Daniel  Beale  of  Canton  being 
elsewhere  named  as  the  'ostensible  agent  of  the  con- 
cern'— was  the  following:  "  Should  you.  .  .meet  with 
any  Russian,  English,  or  Spanish  vessels,  you  will 
treat  them  with  civility  and  friendship;  and  allow 
them,  if  authorized,  to  examine  your  papers,  which 
will  shew  the  object  of  your  voyage : — But  you  must, 
at  the  same  time,  guard  against  surprize.  Should 
they  attempt  to  seize  you,  or  even  carry  you  out  of 
your  way,  you  will  prevent  it  by  every  means  in  your 
power,  and  repel  force  by  force.  You  will,  on  your  ar- 
rival in  the  first  port,  protest  before  a  proper  officer 
against  such  illegal  procedure .  .  .  Should  you,  in  such 
conflict,  have  the  superiority — ^you  will  then  take 
possession  of  the  vessel  that  attacked  you,  as  also  her 
cargo;  and  bring  both,  with  the  officers  and  crew,  to 
China,  that  they  may  be  condemned  as  legal  prizes,  and 
their  crews  punished  as  pirates."  Of  course,  the  only 
trouble  deemed  likely  to  occur  was  with  vessels  be- 
longing to  rival  English  companies,  in  which  case  this 

tronco  to  Fuca  Strait,  p.  156,  and  Cape  Lookout,  p.  161 ;  portrait  of  author, 
frontispiece;  the  chiefs  Maquilla and  Callicum,  p.  109;  launch  of  the  schooner, 
p.  221.  In  the  appendix,  besides  feiblen  of  the  voyage,  are  over  GO  pages, 
not  nnmbered,  of  itidtructions  and  other  documents,  including  Mearcs'  Me- 
morial of  1790  on  his  wrongs  at  the  hands  of  Spain.  There  was  an  octavo 
edition  of  the  Voyages,  London,  1791,  2  vols. ;  also  a  French  translation,  1794 ; 
Italian,  1796;  German,  1790;  and  Swedish,  1797.  Mearcs  also  published  an 
Ainnotr  to  Mr  Ge  ^rge  Dixon,  London,  1791,  which  was  intended  as  a  refuta- 
tion of  Dixon's  liemarks. 

Hut.  N.  W.  Comt,  Vol.  I.    13 


*■  1 


i  f 


1     I 


m^: 


m 


194 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


was  to  be  a  purely  Portuguese  expedition ;  but  it  was 
to  be  as  purely  English  if  Spaniards  or  Russians 
sh  \'<'  vcntuic  to  interfere.  This  trick  of  sailing 
uno(.  ible  colors  was  not  permissible  under  the 

laws  oj  istoms  of  any  civilized  nation,  unless  directed 
acjainst  a  hostile  nation  in  time  of  war:  and  Enjjland 
assuredly  would  assume  no  responsibility  in  conse- 
quence of  such  a  trick,  directed  against  herself,  unless 
it  might  be  advantageous  to  her  own  interests  to  do  so. 
So  far  as  is  known,  Meares  had  no  occasion  to  use  his 
Portuguese  colors  in  American  waters,  except  when 
the  Lady  Washington  made  her  appearance  at  Nootka, 
and  before  her  nationality  was  known  ;^  but  on  his 
return  to  China  his  device  was  successful,  so  far  as 
the  evasion  of  port  charges  was  concerned,  until  the 
'little  game'  was  exposed  by  legal  proceedings  arising 
from  Cavalho's  bankruptcy  after  the  complaisant  Por- 
tuguese governor's  death.^ 

The  vessels  lefi  Macao  in  January  1788.  The 
Iphigenia  directed  her  course  to  Alaska,  with  instruc- 

""  Haa well,  Vfj. ,  MS. ,  35,  describes  the  vessels  as  '  under  Portuguese  colors' 
on  his  arrival ;  but  he  says  nothing  of  any  flag  later  either  on  the  vessels  or 
house. 

'*  Meares  in  his  narrative  says  nothing  to  indicate  tliat  the  expedition  was 
anything  but  an  English  one  from  beginning  to  end.  In  his  Memorial  he 
admits  the  ruse  as  against  the  Chinese,  carefully  suppressing,  of  course,  the 
other  phase  of  the  matter,  and  insisting  that  the  vessels  and  cargoes  were 
'  actually  and  bona  fide  British  property.  The  instructions  and  otiicr  docu- 
ments published  in  Metircs'  appendix  are  in  English,  and  for  the  most  part 
Rtldresscd  to  Meares  and  Douglas  as  captains;  but  in  some  of  tho  documents 
1  elating  to  the  troubles  of  tho  next  year  Cavalho  and  Company  are  named  as 
owners  of  one  of  tho  vessels;  in  one  document  Francis  Joseph  Viana  is  named 
as  captain  of  the  Iphhjenia,  with  Douglas  as  supercargo ;  Meares,  in  his  Mi  mo- 
rial,  once  names  Viana  as  'second  captain';  Douglas,  in  \ua  Journal ,  once  men- 
tions instructions  in  the  Portuguese  language ;  Gray  and  Ingraham  testified  in 
later  years  to  tho  fact  that  tho  vessels  were  imder  Poi-tugueso  colors,  captains, 
and  p;ipera ;  and  linaliy  Haswell  found  tho  vessels  under  I'ortugueso  colors. 
All  this  is  sufficient  to  support  the  conclusions  in  the  text,  which  are  mainly 
identical  with  those  of  Mr  Groenhow,  Or.  and  C'al.,  17J-3.  This  writer  says: 
'Tliero  is  no  sufficient  proof  that  any  other  [than  the  Portuguese  flagl  was 
displayed  by  them  during  the  expedition.'  This  is  in  a  nenso  true,  but  hij 
partisanship  is  somewhat  too  apparent  in  the  statement  that  tho  Portuguese 
subjects  figure  as  tho  real  commanders  '  in  all  tho  papers ;'  and  that  '  tho  doc- 
uments atntexed  to  tho  Memorial  conclusively  prove  that  all  these  deceptive 
appearances  wore  kept  up  at  Nootka ;'  and  he  certainly  has  no  reason  to  iniply, 
as  1)0  docs,  that  the  idea  of  this  being  an  English  and  not  <■  "jrtugueso  expe- 
dition was  entirely  an  aftor-thought,  dcvisetd  for  the  purj>ose  of  obtaining 
English  protection. 


MAQUINNA  AND  CALLICUM. 


195 


tions  to  follow  the  coast  southward;  and  her  move- 
ments will  be  noted  later.  The  Felice,  Captain 
Meares,  had  a  force  of  fifty  men,  crew  and  artisans,  a 
considerable  number  of  each  class  being  Chinese. 
Comekela,  a  native  chief  of  Nootka,  brought  away  by 
one  of  the  earlier  voyages,  returned  home  on  this 
vessel,  while  the  Iphigenia  carried  also  Tiana,  a  young 
Hawaiian  chief,  bound  homeward  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands  by  way  of  America.  Especial  pains  is  said  to 
have  been  taken  with  the  outfit;  but  the  Americans 
state  that  the  vessels  were  very  poorly  provided  with 
everything  except  articles  of  trade.  America  was 
sighted  on  May  11th;  and  two  days  later  the  Felice 
anchored  in  Nootka  Sound,  having  sighted,  without 
speaking,  the  Pi'incess  Royal,  Captain  Duncan,  which 
had  just  left  the  harbor  on  her  homeward  trip.^' 
Comekela,  who  is  called  a  brother  of  Maquinna  and  a 
relative  of  Callicum,  the  two  being  the  great  chiefs  of 
Nootka,  was  received  by  his  countrymen  with  great 
festivities  of  welcome. 

The  Englishmen  had  come  prepared  to  build  a 
small  vessel;  and  their  first  occupation  was  to  erect  a 
house  foi  the  workmen  and  stores.  Maquinna,  the 
chief,  made  no  objections,  but  gave  thera  a  spot  for 
the  house,  promised  native  assistance,  and  appointed 
Callicum  as  a  kind  of  guardian  to  protect  the  strangers 
in  their  operations.  In  return  for  his  kindness  Ma- 
quinna was  given  two  pistols,  for  which  he  had  shown 
a  fancy,  and  was  promised  the  building  itself  when 
the  builders  should  leave  the  coast.  Meares,  how- 
ever, chose  to  operate  on  the  native  fears  as  well  as 
their  gratitude,  by  explaining  his  power;  and  round 
the  new  house,  which  was  two  stories  high,  built  of 
wood,  he  threw  up  a  breastwork,  and  on  it  mounted 
a  small  cannon.  There  is  nothing  in  Meares'  narra- 
tive or  instructions  to  indicate  an  intention  of  ac- 
quiring permanent  possessions  at  Nootka,  either  for 

*'That  part  nf  Meares' narrative  relating  to  his  experience  in  Americi^ 
begins  on  p.  103. 


196 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


himself  or  any  nation,  but  everything  to  show  that 
the  house  was  built  for  temporary  purposes  only.  The 
circumstances  of  the  case,  and  the  testimony  of  men 
who  arrived  a  little  later,  point  in  the  same  direction. 
In  later  years,  however,  when  claiming  the  protection 
of  England,  Meares  set  up  the  claim  that  he  had 
bought  the  land,  and  also  stated  that  the  English  flag 
had  been  raised  over  the  building.  It  matters  little 
which  version  was  true;  but  obviously  the  narrative 
is  to  be  trusted  rather  than  the  Memorial.^ 

On  the  shore  outside  the  enclosure  the  keel  of  a 
vessel  was  laid,  and  the  work  was  pressed  forward 
with  all  due  speed.  The  natives  remained  friendly, 
and  many  otter-skins  were  purchased.  At  first  the 
trade  was  regulated  by  a  fixed  scale  of  prices;  but 
later,  so  says  the  narrative,  a  system  of  mutual  gifts 
was  adopted — a  system  which,  according  to  Mr 
Huswell,  as  the  reader  will  remember,  consisted  in 
the  Englishmen  seizing  all  they  could  get  their  hands 
on,  and  giving  the  Indians  such  trifles  as  could  best 
be  spared.  But  this  accusation  must  be  taken  with 
much  allowance,  since  Captain  Meares  was  by  no 
means  so  stupid  as  to  ruin  his  prospects  for  future 
trade  by  such  wholesale  theft.  At  some  one  of  tlie 
later  interchanges  of  gifts  the  savages  may  have 
deemed  themselves  overreached,  whence  the  dissatis- 

'"Haswell  simply  says:  'Captain  Meares,  amving  here  some  time  before 
Captain  Douglas,  landed  his  second  officer,  Mr  Funter,  and  a  party  of  artifi- 
cers, who  first  built  a  tolerably  strong  garrison,  and  then  went  to  work  build- 
ing a  small  schooner  of  about  30  tons.'  Captain  Gray  and  Mr  Ingraham 
subsequently  testified  that  '  On  the  arrival  of  the  Columbia,  in  the  year  1788, 
tliere  was  a  house,  or  rather  a  hut,  consistingof  rough  posts,  covered  with 
bo;irds,  made  by  the  Indians ;  but  this  Captain  Douglas  jjulled  to  pieces,  prior 
to  his  sailing  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  the  same  year.  The  boards  ho  took 
on  board  tlie  Iphlgenin,  and  the  roof  he  gave  to  Captain  Kendiick,  which 
was  cut  up  and  used  as  firewood  on  lx)ard  the  Columbia ...  As  to  the  land  Mr 
Meares  says  lie  purchased  of  Maquinn.a  or  any  other  chief,  we  cannot  say 
further  than  we  never  heard  of  any;  although  wo  remained  among  these 
people  nine  months,  and  could  converse  with  them  perfectly  well.  Besides 
this,  we  have  asked  Maquinna  and  other  chiefs,  since  our  late  arrival,  if 
Captain  Meares  ever  purchased  uay  land  in  Nootka  Sound ;  they  answered 
No;  that  Captain  Keudrick  waa  the  only  man  to  whom  they  had  ever  sold 
any  laid.'  Gray  and  Jngraham'g  Letter  to  Cuadra,  1703,  in  Greenhow's  Or, 
and  Cal.,  415^16.  I  may  add  that  Kendrick  also,  according  to  Hoswell,  built 
a  uma,ll  house  for  temporary  use  in  the  autumn  of  1788. 


wmx 

1-i 


i     ;    I 


WICANANISH. 


107 


faction  noted  by  the  Americans.  At  any  rate,  they 
stole  a  grindstone,  were  not  admitted  within  the  en- 
closure of  the  house,  and  finally  retired  to  another 
bay  to  fish,  returning,  however,  to  steal  the  ship's 
pinnace,  which  w^as  broken  up  for  the  nails,  Maquinna 
still  protested  his  fidelity;  and  it  was  just  before  the 
vessel's  departure  that  the  final  ownership  of  the  house 
was  promised  him,  as  before  related. 

On  June  11  th,  leaving  a  force  at  Nootka  to  work  on 
the  schooner,  Meares  sailed  for  the  south,  and  spent 
two  weeks  in  Clayoquot  Sound,  which  he  named  Port 
Cox,  being  lavishly  entertained  by  Wicananish,  the 
chief  of  that  region.  A  valuable  lot  of  otter- skins 
was  secured,  and  dissensions  between  the  chiefs  were 
healed  by  a  treaty  which  gave  to  Wicananish,  for 
sale  to  Meares,  all  furs  then  in  possession  of  the 
Indians,  but  allowed  Hanna  and  Detootche  the  riglit 
to  sell  such  skins  as  should  be  taken  later  by  their 
people.  The  next  day  after  leaving  Port  Cox,  Sun- 
day, June  29tli,  the  navigator  sighted  a  great  inlet  in 
latitude  48°  39',  reaching  its  southern  shore  and  re- 
ceiving a  visit  from  the  chief  Tatootche.  The  inlet 
was  named  for  its  "original  discoverer,  Juan  de  Fuca," 
and  has  retained  the  name.  Meares  coolly  assumes 
the  honor  of  rediscovering  this  strait,  knowing  of  no 
other  navigator  "said  to  have  been  this  way"  except 
Cook  and  Maurelle,  and  ignoring  Barclay's  discovery, 
of  which  he  was  perfectly  aware.^^  The  boat  was  sent 
out  to  explore  the  island  which  still  bears  the  name 
of  Tatouche.  A  near  view  was  had  of  Classet  village 
on  a  high  steep  rock;  and  there  were  also  seen,  on 
July  2d,  Cape  Flattery,  Queenhithe  river  and  island . 
Queenuitett  village.  Saddle  Hill,  and  Destruction 
Island.  On  the  4th  they  named  Mount  Olympus,  in 
latitude  47°  10';  and  next  day  Shoalwater  13ay,  with 
the  capes  Low  Point  and  Shoalwater  at  its  entrance. 

■'  He  several  times  speaks  of  Barclay's  voyage  in  his  narrative ;  and  in  his 
Observations,  p.  Iv.,  he  snya  :  'The  boat's  crew,  however,  waa  despatched,  unJ 
discovered  the  extraordinary  straits  of  John  do  Fuca,  aud  also  tho  coast  as 
far  as  Quoonhy  tho. '    Meares  gives  in  a  large  engraving  a  view  of  tl\o  cutraucu. 


5  .■'• 


;:!.J 


I  ill 


198 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  N0RTirV7EST  COAST. 


1 1 


On  Sunday,  the  Gth,  they  rounded  a  promontory  in 
about  latitude  46°  10',  with  great  hopes  that  it  would 
prove  the  Cape  San  Roque  of  Heceta;  and  so,  indeed, 
it  was,  the  bay  beyond  being  the  mouth  of  the  great 
river  of  the  west.  But  Meares  found  breakers  ex- 
tending completely  across  the  ba}^  which  he  named 
Deception,  and  the  cape  Disappointment,  and  wrote : 
"We  can  now  with  safety  assert,  that  no  such  river 
as  that  of  Saint  Roc  exists,  as  laid  down  in  the 
Spanish  chart."  Farther  south  he  named  Quicksand 
Bay,  which  was  probably  Tillamook,  called  Murder- 
ers' Harbor  by  Gray  a  little  later,  though  Meares 
describes  it  as  entirely  closed  by  a  low  sandy  beach. 
The  adjacent  headland  was  named  Point  Grenville, 
and  a  southern  one,  in  latitude  45°  30',  Cape  Look- 
out. The  name  is  still  applied  to  a  cape  farther 
south,  in  latitude  45°  20',  the  original  being  still 
known  by  the  name  of  La  Mesa,  which  Heceta  gave 
it  in  1775,  and  sometimes  by  that  of  Cape  Meares,^ 

Having  "met  with  nothing  but  discouragement," 
Meares  now  abandoned  his  southern  explorations, 
much  against  his  inclinations,^®  and  on  July  11th 
arrived  at  Barclay  Sound,  which,  or  part  of  which, 
he  renamed  Port  Effingham,  the  eastern  headland 
of  which  he  called  Cape  Beale.  While  trade  was 
in  progress  here,  Mr  Duffin  was  sent  with  thirteen 
men  in  the  long-boat  to  explore  the  strait  of  ij^uca, 
and,  if  possible,  the  country  farther  south.  He 
started  on  the  13th,  and  was  absent  a  week.  He  fol- 
lowed the  northern  shore    of  the  strait  for   about 

*'  Point  Grenville  has  no  name  on  modem  maps,  unless  it  was  south  of  the 
bay,  as  is  implied.  The  identity  of  these  different  points,  as  I  have  given 
them,  in  accordance  with  Davidson,  Direct,  of  I'ac.  Coaxt,  87-8,  is  not  quite 
clear.  It  is  not  impossible  that  Meares'  latitude  was  wrong ;  that  he  missed 
Tillamook  altogether;  that  Grenville  was  La  Mesa;  Quicksand  Bay,  Natahats 
Lagoon  (or  even  Tillamook,  as  before) ;  and  Lookout,  the  point  still  so  called ; 
nevertheless,  a  group  of  rocks,  one  of  them  arched,  as  described  by  Meares,  " 
found  according  to  Davidson  off  La  Mesa,  and  not  off  Lookout,  should  be  con- 
clusive. Greeiuiow,  Or.  and  Cal.,  177,  is  wrong  in  identifying  Lookout  with 
tlie  Falcon  of  the  Spaniards,  which  was  False  Tillrtook,  and  he  cites  the 
latitude  as  45°  37',  as  indeed  Meares  gives  it  in  one  •  '  .-e. 

'•  He  had  hoped  to  reach  42°,  wliere  '  it  is  saiU  Captain  Gaxon  found  a 
good  harbour.'   I  do  not  know  the  meaning  of  this  allusion. 


m 


MEARES'  MENDACITY. 


100 


twelve  miles,  perhaps  to  the  San  Juan  of  modern 
maps,  neither  diary  nor  map  being  quite  intelli- 
gible, and  in  what  he  called  Hostility  Bay,  perhaps 
False  Nitinat,  was  attacked  by  the  savages,  who 
wounded  him  and  several  of  his  men,  but  were  repulsed 
after  a  hard  fight.*^  Though  Duffin's  journal  is  geo- 
graphically somewhat  vague  to  us,  it  presented  no 
difficulties  whatever  to  the  captain,  who  coolly  says: 
The  boat  "had  sailed  near  thirty  leagues  up  the 
strait,  and  at  that  distance  from  the  sea  it  was  about 
fifteen  leagues  broad,  with  a  clear  horizon  stretching  to 
the  east  for  15  leagues  more. — Such  an  extraordinary 
circumstance  filled  us  with  strange  conjecti^res  as  to 
the  exuomity  of  this  strait,  which  we  concluded,  at 
all  events,  could  not  be  at  any  great  distance  from 
Hudson's  Bay."  He  also  writes :  "  We  took  possession 
of  the  straits  of  John  de  Fuca,  in  the  name  of  the 
King  of  Britain,"  though  Duffin  mentions  no  such  act ; 
and  in  his  memorial  of  later  date  he  claims  to  have 
obtained  from  Wicananish  on  this  trip  "the  promise 
of  a  free  and  exclusive  trade  with  the  natives  of  the 
district,  and  also  his  permission  to  build  any  store- 
houses, or  other  edifices,  which  he  might  judge  neces- 
sary; that  he  also  acquired  the  same  privilege  of 
exclusive  trade  from  Tatootche,  the  chief  of  the 
country  bordering  on  the  straits  of  John  de  Fuca, 
and  purchased  from  him  a  tract  of  land  within  the 

*"  Duffin's  Journal  is  given  in  Mearc.  appendix,  as  also  his  instructions. 
The  following  are  the  points  bearing  on  geography :  July  13th,  small  sandy 
bay;  14th,  village  of  Attah  on  sandy  bay;  course  E.  and  E.  N.  E.  along  shore; 
Nittee  Nutt  [Nitinat]  village ;  Point  Entrance  at  noon  bore  E.  by  s.  4  leagues, 
Tatootche  Island,  s.  E.  by  E.  10  leagues ;  15th,  small  sandy  bay  ;  Nittee  Natt, 
rivulet  and  bar  with  surf;  Point  Entrance  bore  s.  by  e.  [supposably  lionilla 
Point];  ICth,  sandy  cove  and  %allage;  passed  Point  Entrance ;  steered  east  into 
the  strait;  at  noon  entered  adeepbay,  a  good  harbor  for  vessels  of  100  or  150 
tons  [Hostility  Uay,  or  Falsa  Nitinat ?] ;  17th,  iight  with  Indians;  'turned 
out  of  the  bay'  and  'stood  ever  to  the  other  shore'  [of  the  bay  or  strait?]; 
p'.acc  ca,lled  Port  Hawkesbury,  Tatootche  bearing  s.  w.  [whicli  indicates 
San  .luan,  but  how  did  he  get  there?];  18th,  'wind  s.  s.  w. ;  at  4  r.M.  tacked  off 
the  south  shore  four  miles,  and  stood  over  to  the  north  shore  of  the  straits; 
at  7  tacked  again  off  shore  half  a  mile;  p,t  sunset  the  entrance  of  Port 
Hawkesbury  n.  by  e.;  Tatootche  Island,  s. ;  Point  Entrance,  w.  .s.  w.,  oiT  the 
latter  8  leagues,  and  from  the  former  3  leagues;  sailed  N.  w.  by  w.,'  and 
returned  to  ship.  Mcares  says  the  retura  was  on  the  2Ctli.  See.  Meares'  map 
luter. 


!)'■ 


ii 
If 


.....  p    !   : 


-hi 


m- 


I , 


''>   I 


1 1 1 

1 


900 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


r'6^. 


il! 


Ill 


said  strait,  which  one  of  your  Memorialist's  officers 
took  possession  of  in  the  King's  name,  calling  the 
same  Tatootchc."  Avoiding  a  harsher  term,  we  may 
call  these  statements  gross  exaggerations. 

Returning  to  Nookta  on  July  2Gth,  it  was  learned 
that  all  had  been  reasonably  prosperous  during  the 
Felice's  absence;  but  when  she  was  ready  to  sail  again 
for  Port  Cox  a  mutiny  occurred  to  prevent  embark- 
ing. The  mutineers,  headed  by  the  boatswain,  who 
had  been  disgraced  for  previous  insubordination,  were 
barely  prevented  from  seizing  the  vessel;  but  all  sub- 
mitted and  returned  to  duty  except  eight,  who,  rather 
than  submit  to  be  ironed,  having  their  choice,  were 
turned  on  shore  among  the  savages,  who  for  a  while 
made  slaves  of  thorn.  On  August  8tb.  Meares  sailed 
for  Port  Cox,  and  just  outside  the  harbor  met  again 
the  Princess  Royal,  Captain  Duncan,  now  nearly 
ready  to  leave  the  coast.  After  a  successful  voyage 
he  returned  on  the  24th  to  Nootka,  where,  on  the 
27th,  Captain  Douglas  arrived  in  the  Iphigenia  from 
the  northern  coast. 

Coming  from  the  Alaskan  waters,  it  was  on  August 
20th  that  Douglas  found  himself  in  Dixon,  or,  as 
he  chose  to  rename  it,  Douglas  entrance;  and  thence 
he  proceeded  through  the  strait  between  Queen  Char- 
lotte Islands  and  the  main,  as  Duncan  had  done  before 
him,  though  Meares  has  the  assurance  to  claim  the 
honor  for  his  associate.*^  The  only  other  name  ap- 
plied, so  far  as  the  journal  shows,  was  that  of  Point 
Rose;  but  Douglas  returned  through  the  strait  the 
next  year,  as  we  shall  see.  Meares'  map,  which  I  re- 
produce here,  shows  the  route  and  names  given  for 
both  trips,  and  also  the  supposed  track  of  the  Ameri- 
can sloop  round  another  great  island  in  1789,  of  which 
I  shall  speak  elsewhere." 

**  Douglas'  Journal  of  this  part  of  his  voyage  is  found  in  Meares'  Voy., 
329  ct  seq.  For  Meares'  remarks  see  Id.,  Ixiii.-v.  and  21 1-12.  He  knew  per- 
fectly well  that  Duncan  had  preceded  Douglas  in  the  strait. 

*''  On  the  original  map,  not  copied,  is  an  inscription  to  the  effect  that  Qneeu 
Charlotte  Island  was  named  by  Dixon  in  17S7,  though  discovered  by  Lowne 


-TO^ir. 


r; 


i 


i  i 


S02 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST. 


!»' 


The  two  vessels  being  now  reunited,  every  effort 
was  made  to  fit  the  Felice  for  her  trip  to  China  with 
the  valuaolo  cargo  of  furs  that  had  boon  collected. 
The  exiled  mutineers  were  received  back  for  duty, 
except  the  boatswain,  who  was  confined  in  the  house, 
and  soon  escaped.  Work  on  the  new  and  old  vessels 
progressed  rapidly. 

On  Septemoer  I7th  the  Lady  Washivgton,  Captain 
Gray,  made  her  appearance,  as  already  related,  in 
time  to  witness,  on  the  19th  or  20th,  the  Ian  "  of 
the  new  schooner,  which  was  named  the  Nor  ^est 
America,  the  first  vessel  ever  built  on  the  v.oast. 
The  launching  was  an  event  of  much  interest  to 
English  and  American  spectators,  as  well  as  to  the 
Chinese  builders,  and  one  of  great  wonder  to  the 
natives.  It  is  made  the  subject  of  an  engraving  in 
Meares'  book." 

A  few  days  later  the  Felice,  taking  on  board  the 
Iphigenias  furs,**  and  a  lot  of  spars  for  the  China 
market,  sailed  from  Nootka.  She  touched  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  and  early  in  December  anchored 
at  Macao. 

The  Iphigenia  remained  about  a  month  at  Nootka 
after  the  Felice's  departure,  the  time  being  spent  in 
preparing  the  North  West  America  for  a  trip  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  where  the  two  vessels  were  to 
winter.  The  Columbia  arrived  on  September  22d  or 
23d,  the  day  after  Meares'  departure,  and  the  Ameri- 
cans, eager  to  get  rid  of  their  rivals  in  trade,  gladly 
aided  in  the  preparations  for  departure.  The  house 
on  shore,  if  we  may  credit  Gray  and  Ingraliam,  was 
demolished,  part  of  the  material  being  put  on  board 

and  Guise  in  1786.  And  in  Meares'  instructions  to  Douglas  for  the  second 
trip  through  the  strait,  in  appendix,  we  read :  '  You  have  the  credit  of  dis- 
covering the  Great  Island,  the  north-west  side  of  which,  comprehending 
nearly  four  degrees  of  latitude,  is  entirely  undiscovered.' 

^Meares'  Voy.,  221.  In  the  engraving  and  text  the  English  flag  is  repre- 
sented as  flying  over  both  schooner  and  the  house  on  shore.  H!aswell  saya 
nothing  of  this. 

**  Meares'  solemn  assertion  to  Gray  that  not  over  50  skir>B  in  all  had  been 
obtained,  as  also  his  mean  trick  of  refusing  to  carry  letters  for  the  Americans, 
has  already  been  noticed. 


WINTEllIXG  AT  NOOTKA.  M 

the  EiiQ^lIsh  vessels  and  the  rest  given  to  Captain 
Kendrick;  and  on  October  2Gth  or  27th  the  two 
vessels  set  sail,  being  towed  out  of  the  harbor  by 
the  Americans,  and  reached  the  islands  in  December. 
Captain  Kendrick's  vessels,  as  we  have  seen,  wintered 
at  Nootka. 


Il  i\  \ 


ll  1 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    NOOTKA    CONTROVERSY. 
1789-1790. 

Voyages  op  1789 — Movements  of  Kendkick  and  Gray — Cruise  of  the 
•Lady  Washington' — End  of  Haswell's  Diary — The  'Columbia' 
Goes  to  China  and  Boston — Kendrick  in  the  Strait — Trading 
Trip  of  Douglas  and  Funter — Meares  in  China — A  New  Partner- 
ship— Voyage  of  Colnett  and  Hudson — Plans  for  a  Permanent 
Establishment  —  Metcalf's  Voyage  —  Spanish  Expedition  under 
Martinez  and  Haro— Seizure  of  the  'Ipiiigenia' — Motives  of  Cap- 
ture AND  Release — A  Spanish  Fort  at  Santa  Cruz  de  Nutka — 
Seizure  op  the  'North  West  i^MERicA' — Taking  of  the  'Argo- 
naut' AND  'Princess  Royal' — Colnett  versus  Martinez — Prizes 
Sent  to  San  Blas — Rkstoration  by  the  Viceroy — The  Spaniards 
Quit  Nootka  —  American  Policy — Merits  of  the  Controversy — 
The  News  in  Europe — Spain  and  England — Diplomacy  and  Im- 
pending War — Spain  Yields — The  Nootka  Treaty. 

Northwestern  annals  of  1789  offer  little  of  inter- 
est outside  of  certain  somewhat  startling  events  at 
Nootka;  but  before  recording  those  events  it  will 
be  well  to  name  the  different  vessels  that  visited  the 
coast,  and  to  follow  their  movements  independently 
of  the  Nootka  troubles,  in  which  all  were  directly  or 
indirectly  ii  volved. 

Kendrick  and  Gray,  as  we  have  seen,  had  passed  the 
winter  at  Nootka,  and  were  therefore  first  in  the  field 
for  the  spring  trade.  On  March  IGth  the  Lady  Wash- 
ington sailed  for  Clayoquot,  where  she  arrived  next 
day,  and  where  she  lay  for  ten  days,  the  men  engaged 
in  trading,  hunting,  and  making  a  survey  of  what 
they  called  Hancock  Harbor.  "  I  really  think,"  writes 
Has  well,  "there  is  a  great  inland  communication  by 

(204) 


M 


MOVEMENTS  OP  VESSELS. 

rivers.  The  whole  land  we  could  see  I  have  reason 
to  suppose  to  be  islands.  '^  Then  they  sailed  down 
the  coast,  noting  Company  Bay,  or  Barclay  Sound, 
passing  Nitinat  village  and  Patchenat,  or  Poverty 
Cove,  and  entering  what  they  were  sure  was  the 
sti-ait  of  Fuca,  probably  to  about  the  same  point 
reached  by  ^Mcares'  boat,  where  on  April  1st  they 
"saw  the  sun  rise  clea;-  from  the  horizon  up  the 
straits."^  It  is  evident  that  Mearcs  had  told  them 
nothing  of  his  own  or  of  Barclay  s  discoveries.  Noting 
Tatooche  Island,  or  Chandee,  they  were  tossed  by 
the  wands  below  Cape  Flattery  for  several  days,  and 
returned  to  Clayoquot  on  the  9th,  joining  Wicananish 
in  a  successful  whale -hunt.  Subsequently  Captain 
Gray  repeated  his  southern  trip,  exploring  Ccchasht 
Cove  and  Company  Bay  by  means  of  his  boat,  and 
returning  on  April  2 2d  to  Nootka,  where  he  found 
Captain  Douglas  and  the  IpJdgenia.  The  American 
vessels  were  anchored  seven  miles  up  the  sound,  at. 
I\Tawinah,  Moweena,  or  Kcndrick  Cove;  and  the  offi- 
cers made  some  explorations  in  the  inland  channels. 
Ileturning  to  Friendly  Cove  ready  for  sea.  Captain 
Gray  learned  that  the  iV^or^/i  West  America  had  arrived 
and  departed  for  northern  waters.  Leaving  the  sound 
on  the  3d  of  May,  he  met  the  Princesa,  commanded 
by  ISIartinez.  Gray  was  bound  north,  but  for  a  week 
the  winds  prevented  his  getting  beyond  Hope  Bay;^ 
and  before  his  departure  on  the  10th  he  sighted 
another  vessel  under  Spanish  colors,  the  Sail  Carlos. 
This  trip  of  the  Lady  Washington  to  the  north  is  not 
so  clearly  described  by  Haswcll  as  would  be  desirable,  it 
being  impossible  to  fix  all  the  positions.    They  passed, 

'  UaswflVs  Voy. ,  MS. ,  43  et  seq.  The  author  introduces  quite  a  long 
dcscri]ition  of  Nootka  and  its  ppnr.i;, 

"Hall  J.  Kelley,  JJigcov.  Nortliwxt  Coast,  claims  to  have  seen  Gray's  log 
and  Iloskins' journal  in  1820;  but  liia  brief  remarks  contain  so  many  blundcra 
al)cu*;  the  voyage  tiiat  we  can  have  no  confidence  in  statements  that  cannot 
bo  proven  erroneous.  lie  says  tliat  Gray  entered  Fuca  Strait  00  miles  in  1788 ; 
and  also  that  Gray's  journal  mentions  'the  largo  river,  called  by  the  Indians 
Tacootche,  flowing  into  the  eastern  part  of  this  [Fuca]  sea,  in  latitude  49 
degrees;'  that  is,  Fraser  River. 

^  The  westerumo&t  inlet  of  the  bay  he  says  was  called  Chicklcsset. 


f;: 


„l. 


BB 


206 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


1  i 


however,  between  the  continent  and  the  great  island, 
and  penetrated  the  maze  of  is)  .  and  channels 
beyond  as  far  as  55°  43'.*  To  Que&i_  Charlotte,  Gray 
gave  the  name  of  Washington,  apparently  not  aware 
that  any  other  navigator  had  discovered  its  separation 
from  the  mainland.  "  Had  we  not  met  with  the  mis- 
fortune of  running  ashore  in  the  storm  our  discoveries 
would  have  been  very  interesting.  As  it  was,  we  dis- 
covered thai,  the  straits  of  Admiral  do  Font  actually 
exist.  As  far  north  as  we  went  is  a  vast  chain  of 
islands,  and  the  entrances  between  them  may  be  taken 
for  gulfs  and  straits;  but  when  explored  large  rivers 
and  lakes  may  be  found.  This  coast  can  never  be 
thoroughly  surveyed  until  it  is  done  at  some  national 
expense,  whose  commanders  are  interested  by  com- 
merce."® Commercially  the  trip  was  successful,  large 
nu'iibers  of  skins  being  obtained,  especially  on  the 
western  side  of  Queen  Charlotte  Isles,  on  the  return. 
At  one  place  the  unsophisticated  savages  gave  two 

*  May  3d  to  15th,  from  Hope  Bay  passed  between  Cape  Ingraham  and  a 
group  of  islands ;  across  to  opposite  siioro  fourteen  leagues ;  a  large  bay  with  a 
dangerous  reef  on  west ;  farther  west,  coast  craggy,  with  low  detached  islands; 
latitude  52"  o7'  [no  date] ;  good  open  bay  in  52°  50',  with  a  remat-kable  ridge  of 
barren  mountains  on  N.  shore ;  saw  land  s.  w.  by  s.,  far  away.  May  IGth,  land 
90  miles  in  extent  and  six  miles  from  coast,  N.  N.  E.  to  continent;  waited 
until  19th  for  Indians  who  promised  furs ;  this  bay  [probably  that  in  62"  50'] 
named  Derby  Sound,  for  one  uf  the  owners.  May  2lBt,  'A  large  inlet  trending 
to  the  westward,  probably  the  entrance  of  Admiral  de  Font's  Straits ;'  gales 
and  complicated  movements;  the  great  island  estimated  to  extend  170  miles, 
from  52°  to  54°  30'.  May  22d,  n.  w.  and  w.,  'edging  into  the  continent;'  lati- 
tude 55°  30'.  May  24th,  a  terrible  gale,  which  so  strained  the  sloop  that  it 
was  resolved  to  return  to  Nootka ;  place  named  Distress  Cove,  in  55°.  May 
25th  and  27th,  nenr  Distress  Cove,  generally  in  55°  10'.  May  28th,  latitude  at 
noon  55°  43';  a  chain  of  islands,  which  could  not  be  explored;  returned  to 
Vv'ashington  Island ;  Ciista,  a  village  on  a  sandy  bay  [not  far  from  Dixon's 
Cloak  15ay]  under  chief  Caneah ;  estimated  latitude  54°  15';  entrance  of  the 
strait  [Dixon  Entrance]  in  54°  20';  passed  south  in  foggy  weather.  June  8th, 
latitude  53°  [54°?]  8'.  June  10th,  latitude  53°  32'.  Juno  11th,  in  an  inlet 
nnd  good  harbor,  in  52°  12',  named  liarrell  Sound,  for  one  of  the  owners;  on 
shore  found  a  very  curious  fortiiicd  rock,  called  Touts,  with  flat  ton  and  per- 
pendicular sides  40  feet  high.  Thence  [no  more  dates  given]  to  tlie  islands 
off  Cape  Ingraham  ;  and  to  Nootka. 

*  Duncan  nnd  Douglas  had  preceded  Gray  in  the  straits,  as  we  have  seen. 
Oreenhow,  Ur.  and  lal.,  199,  says:  ' Gray  explored  the  whole  east  coast  of 
Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  which  had  never  before  been  visited  by  the  people 
of  any  civilized  nation,  though  Duncan .  . .  had  . . .  sailed  through  the  sea 
separating  it  from  the  main  land;'  and  then  claims  that  Dougk*)  did  not 
precede  Gray.  All  this  is  wrong,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that  Gray's 
exploration  was  of  the  main  rather  thou  the  island  coast. 


VOYAGE  OF  THE  COLUMBIA. 


207 


hundred  sea-otter  skins,  worth  about  eight  thousand 
dollars,  for  an  old  iron  chisel. 

Captain  Gray  arrived  at  Nootka  shortly  after  June 
14th,  and  as  he  sailed  up  the  sound  to  rejoin  Kendrick 
at  Mawinah,  he  saw  the  two  Spanish  vessels  at  anchor, 
with  the  Princess  Royal,  Captain  Hudson,  and  noted 
that  Martinez  had  fortified  Hog  Island  near  Friendly 
Cove.  Here,  after  relating  brictly  what  had  occurred 
at  Nootka  during  the  absence  of  the  Lady  Washington, 
Haswell's  diary  comes  to  an  end.  Before  either  of  the 
vessels  sailed  again,  the  Avriter,  with  Captain  Gray, 
was  transferred  to  the  Cdumhia.  After  witnessing 
the  transactions  between  the  English  and  Spaniards, 
and  perhaps  taking  some  part  indirectly  in  them,  to 
be  noted  presently,  the  Americans  decided  to  send  the 
ship  to  China  with  the  furs  collected  under  command 
of  Gray,  while  Kendrick  was  to  remain  and  continue 
trading  operations  with  the  sloop.  The  crew  of  the 
North  West  America,  a  Spanish  prize,  was  put  on 
board  the  Columbia,  as  is  subsequently  related,  to 
be  carried  to  China,  and  also  a  quantity  of  supplies, 
ostensibly  for  their  support,  which  enabled  Kendrick 
to  reinforce  advantageously  the  crew  and  replenish  the 
stores  of  the  Lady  Washington.  Soon  after  the  middle 
of  July  the  two  vessels  left  Nootka  and  went  down 
to  Clayoquot,®  where  the  transfer  of  skins  and  supplies 
was  made,  and  the  Columbia  sailed  for  China.  We 
have  no  details  of  the  voyage,  except  that  they  reached 
Canton  early  in  December,  and  loading  with  tea,  pro- 
ceeded on  their  voyage  round  the  world,  the  first  under 
the  flag  of  the  United  States,  and  arrived  at  Boston 
in  August  1790.     Though  a  large  quantity  of  furs 

*  Possibly  the  Lady  Washington  left  Nootka  first,  and  after  a  Boutheni  trip 
met  the  Columbia  at  Clayoquot.  Greenhow,  Or.  and  Cat.,  199-200,  so  under- 
Btauds  it,  and  thinks  that  it  was  ou  this  trip  that  Gray,  as  ho  told  Vancouver 
later,  sailed  50  miles  into  the  strait  of  Fuca,  and  found  the  passa;,'o  live  Icjigues 
wide.  Had  Gray  made  this  trip,  however,  it  seems  that  llaswcll  \^ould  have 
extended  his  diary  to  include  it;  in  one  of  the  documents  attached  to  iliarca'' 
Memorial,  it  is  stated  that  the  vessels  left  Nootka  together;  and  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  Gray's  report  to  Vancouve.  Voij.,  i.  '214,  may  have  been  merely 
an  exag/;eratiou  of  his  visit  to  the  st     i  in  1789.    See  p.  205  of  this  volume. 


H  m 


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i 

208 


THE  KOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


had  been  obtained,  the  expedition  is  said  to  have  re- 
sulted in  no  piofit  to  the  owners,  some  of  whom  sold 
out  their  interest,  while  the  others  fitted  out  the  ship 
for  a  new  voyage,  to  be  deccribed  in  a  later  chapter.^ 
After  Gray's  departure  we  know  nothing  in  detail  of 
Kcndrick's  operations  on  the  coast.  In  Meares'  map, 
copied  in  the  preceding  chapter,  we  find  laid  down 
the  "track  of  the  Ladij  Washington  in  the  autumn 
of  1789,"  through  a  strait  whose  southern  entrance 
is  that  of  Fuca,  and  the  northern  above  Queen 
Charlotte  Island,  thus  making  a  great  island  of  the 
Nootka  region.  When  Vancouver  met  Gray  in  1792, 
and  was  told  by  liim  that  he  made  no  such  voyage, 
the  inaccuracy  of  Meares'  statement  was  believed  to 
be  established;  but  it  subsequently  appeared  that 
Meares  got  his  information  from  a  man  who  had 
obtained  it  from  Kendrick  after  his  return  to  China 
at  the  end  of  1789/  and  therefore  it  was  plausibly 
concluded  by  Greenhow  and  others  that  the  Lady 
Washington  had  made  the  trip  through  the  strait 
under  Kendrick 's  command  after  the  departure  of  the 
Columbia.  I  cannot  say  that  such  was  not  the  fact; 
but  from  the  extreme  inaccuracy  of  Meares'  chart, 
from  the  narrowness  of  the  real  channel,  and  from 
the  fact  that  Kendrick  is  not  kpown  to  have  made 
subsequently  any  claims  to  a  discovery  so  important, 
I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  the  chart  was  made 
from  second-hand  reports  of  Kendrick's  conjectures, 
founded  on  Gray's  explorations  of  the  north  and 
south,  already  described,  and  supplemented  by  his 
own  possible  observations  after  Gray's  departure,  as 
well  as  by  reports  of  the  natives,  which,  according  to 
Haswell,  indicated  a  channel  back  of  Nootka,  It  is 
not  difficult,  without  imputing  any  intentional  decep- 
tion to  the  American  commander,  to  suppose  this  to 

'  Bulfinch's  statement,  U.  S.  Gor.  Doc. ,  25th  Cong. ,  3d  Sesa. ,  H.  Rrpt.  No.  101, 
p.  50;  Greerihow'H  Or.  ami  C'aL,  200,  225-fl.  It  was  Derby  and  Pintard  who 
sold  out  to  Barrell  and  Brown. 

^Mcarea'  Answer  to  Mr  George  Dixon,  London,  1791.  A  reply  to  Dixon't 
Kemarks, 


-W^!^ 


THE  IPHIGE^^A. 


209 


have  been  the  origin  of  the  report,  which  was  carried 
to  London  by  a  man  who  had  talked  with  Kcndrick 
and  had  not  himself  visited  the  coast.  At  any  rate 
the  evidence  is  not  sufficient  to  give  Kcndrick  the 
honor  of  having  been  the  first  to  sail  round  Van- 
couver Island.  Somewhere,  however,  during  the 
autumn,  Captain  Kcndrick  obtained  a  valuable  cargo 
of  furs,  and  at  the  end  of  the  season  went  to  China  to 
sell  them,  not  returning  the  next  season  at  all,  but 
making  his  appearance  in  1791,  as  we  shall  see." 

The  Iphigenia,  under  Douglas  or  Viana  according 
to  circumstances,  and  the  native -built  North  West 
America,  Captain  Robert  Funter,  had  wintered  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  in  accordance  with  Mearcs'  instruc- 
tions. The  plan  for  this  season  was  for  these  two 
vessels  to  occupy  the  field  north  of  Nootka,  the  snow 
trading  on  the  western  side  of  Queen  Charlotte  Isles 
chiefly,  and  the  schooner  on  the  eastern  shore  and 
mainland,  while  Meares  in  the  Felice  was  to  return 
and  confine  his  operations  to  the  south.  Douglas  and 
Funter  left  the  Islands  on  March  18th  and  arrived 
at  Nootka,  the  former  on  April  20th  and  the  latter 
on  the  24th.  Five  days  later  the  schooner  sailed  for 
her  northern  trading  cruise,  soon  followed,  as  we  have 
seen,  by  the  Ladj/  Washington.  Then  came  Lieutenant 
Martinez  from  San  Bias,  as  is  more  fully  described 
hereafter,  and  about  the  middle  of  May  seized  the 
Iphigenia  as  a  prize.  She  was  subsequently  released, 
furnished  with  some  needed  supplies,  and  permitted 
to  sail  on  the  2d  or  3d  of  June,  ostensibly  for  the 
Sandwich  Islands;  but  no  sooner  was  Captain  Doug- 
las out  of  sight  of  port  than  he  turned  northward  for 
a  tour  of  trade,  which  was  quite  successful,  though 
less  so,  as  was  claimed,  than  it  would  have  been 
if  the  Spaniards  had  not  taken  some  of  the  cargo  of 
articles  for  barter.  The  course  was  up  the  straits  and 
round  the  great  island,  as  shown  on  a  map  already 

*JIatiwdVa  Log  of  the.  Columbia  liediviva. 
Hmt.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    li 


r-' 


M 


I  '!-: 


^  i'ir,.f 


SIO 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


given.  The  Englishmen  had  to  discharge  their  gims 
once  or  twice  to  keep  off  hostile  savages;  but  there 
was  no  other  adventure  worthy  of  notice.  Leaving  the 
north  end  of  the  island  on  June  27th.  the  Iphirfenia 
reached  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  July,  and  Macao  in 
October.  ^» 

Funter's  route  on  the  North  West  America  is  not 
exactly  known,  except  that  the  natives  reported  him  to 
have  been  on  the  west  shore  of  the  island,  in  52°  12', 
in  May;  but  he  obtained  over  two  hundred  skins, 
and  returning  to  Nootka  on  June  9th,  his  vessel  was 
seized  by  the  Spaniards,  the  furs  being  transferied  to 
the  Princess  Royal,  and  the  crew  to  the  Columbia. 
She  remained  in  the  Spanish  service,  under  the 
name  of  Gertrudis  probably,  and  immediately  made  a 
trading  trip  for  account  of  her  captors  in  charge  of 
David  Coolidge,  mate  of  the  Lady  Washington,  obtain- 
ing some  seventy-five  skins.  She  was  taken  to  San 
Bias  at  the  end  of  the  year." 

Meanwhile  Captain  Meares,  instead  of  returning 
in  the  Felice  from  China,  as  he  had  intended,  formed 
a  partnership  there  in  behalf  of  his  company  with 
Mr  Etches,  representing  the  London  company  that 
had  fitted  out  Duncan  and  Colnett's  expedition  of 
^787-8,  making  joint-stock  of  all  the  vessels  and 
other  property.  The  Prince  of  Wales  being  sent  to 
England,  a  new  ship  was  purchased  and  named  the 
Argonaut,  to  replace  the  Felice,  which  was  sold.  This 
ship,  under  Captain  Colnett,  and  the  Princess  Royal, 
Captain  Thomas  Hudson,  left  China  in  April  and 
May,  not  flying  Portuguese  colors  this  time,  because 
the  London  company  had  a  license  from  the  East 


^'' Douglas'  Journal,  in  Mearea'  Voy.,  3G1-9  and  tables;  see  artao  map  in 
preceding  chapter,  p.  201.  The  names  applied  on  this  trip,  according  to  the 
Journal,  were  as  follows:  Fort  Pitt,  Buccleugh  Sound,  Cape  Fanner,  Cape 
Murray,  Petrie  Island,  Mount  St  Lazaro,  Haines  Cove,  Cape  Irving,  Mclntyre 
Bay,  in  53°  58',  Cox  Channel,  Tatanee  village,  and  Deal  Harbor. 

^'Mearea'  I'o)/.,  tables  and  documents  in  appendix.  Tobar.  Informe,  says, 
however,  that  she  was  sent  under  Narvaez  to  explore  the  strait  of  Fuca, 
Coolidge  going  as  interpreter;  and  this  may  be  confirmed  by  Navarrete, 
VitigM  Apdc,  114. 


m 


fv:  I 


FORT  PITT. 


211 


India  Company.  It  was  the  intention  now  to  es- 
tablish a  permanent  trading -post  or  factory  on  the 
coast,  with  suitable  buildings  for  tlie  occupation  of  the 
company.  Colnott  was  authorized  to  select  the  most 
convenient  site  for  such  an  establishment,  which  was 
to  be  named  Fort  Pitt,  and  to  be  under  the  charge  of 
Mr  Duffin.  Nootka  was  not  mentioned  in  the  in- 
structions as  the  site  of  the  fort,  though  it  would 
naturally  have  been  placed  there.  Nor  do  we  find  in 
the  instructions  as  printed  any  provision  like  that  of 
the  preceding  year  for  troubles  with  vessels  of  other 
nations."  Seventy  Chinamen  were  embarked  as  set- 
tlers for  the  new  fort;"  and  a  small  vessel  of  thirty 
tons  was  carried  to  be  launched  on  the  American 
coast. 

The  Princess  Royal  was  the  first  to  reach  Nootka, 
on  June  14th,  and  after  a  few  days  of  the  most 
friendly  relations  with  both  Spaniards  and  Americans 
Captain  Hudson  sailed  for  a  trading  cruise,  on  July 
2d,  carrying  the  skins  taken  from  the  schooner  North 
West  America.^*  Next  day  Colnett  came  in  with  the 
Argonaut,  which  on  July  4th  w?.s  seized  by  the  Span- 
iards as  a  prize.  Ten  days  later  the  Princess  Rotjal 
returned  and  was  also  seized.  Both  vessels  were 
sent  south  with  Spanish  crews  and  officers,  and  with 

"J/eaces'  Voy.,  appendix.  Colnett  was  recommended  to  form  treaties 
with  the  native  chiefs,  particularly  near  Nootka.  '  In  planning  a  factory  on 
the  coast  of  America,  we  look  to  a  solid  establishment,  and  not  one  that  is  to 
be  abandoned  at  pleasure.  Wo  authorize  you  to  iix  it  at  the  most  convenient 
station,  only  to  plp.ce  your  colony  in  peace  and  security,  and  fully  protected 
from  the  fear  of  the  smallest  sinister  accident.  The  object  of  a  port  of  tliia 
kind  is  to  drar;  the  Indians  to  it,  to  lay  up  the  small  vessels  in  the  winter 
season,  to  build,  and  for  other  commercial  purposes.  When  this  point  is 
effected,  different  trading  houses  will  bo  established  at  stations,  that  your 
knowledge  of  the  coast  and  its  commerce  point  out  to  be  the  most  advan- 
tageous.' In  his  Memorial,  however,  Meares  says  :  '  Mr  Colnett  was  directed 
to  fix  his  residence  at  Nootka  Sound,  and,  with  that  view,  to  erect  a  substan- 
tial house  on  the  spot  which  your  Memorialist  had  purchased  in  the  preceduig 
year ;  as  will  appear  by  a  copy  of  his  instructions. ' 

"  The  Chinamen,  according  to  Tobar,  Informe,  complained  that  they  had 
been  enticed  away  from  tlieir  country  to  go  to  Bengal,  but  found  the  |)lan  to 
bo  to  furnish  each  with  a  Kanaka  wife  and  thus  settle  Nootka.  The  ]<]nglish 
say  in  later  <locuments  that  the  Chinamen  were  taken  by  the  Spaniards  and 
put  to  work;  but  what  became  of  them  does  not  appear. 

'*In  Meares'  appendix  is  given  Hudson's  receipt  for  203  skins  from 
Fuuter;  it  ia  dated  tfuly  2d.   He  claims  that  there  were  a  dozen  skins  miasiuj^. 


ilA 


.1.  ■■  i  ^r. 


I:    It:' 


rw 


ijilr 


212 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


Colnctt,  Hudson,  and  thoir  men  as  prisoners.  *They 
sailed,  the  Argonaut  under  Josv5  Tobar  on  July  14th, 
and  the  Princess  on  the  27th,  arriving  at  San  Bias  on 
the  1 5th  and  27th  of  August  respectively."  Thus, 
for  this  year  at  least,  disastrously  came  to  an  end  the 
brilliant  commercial  enterprise  of  Meares  and  his 
associates. 

The  only  other  trading  voyage  of  1789  was  that 
of  Captain  Metcalf  with  two  vessels,  the  Eleonora, 
in  which  he  sailed  from  New  York,  and  the  Fair 
American,  purchased  in  China  and  commanded  by  his 
son.  He  is  said  to  have  arrived  at  Nootka  in  No- 
vember, and  to  have  had  one  of  his  vessels  seized  and 
held  for  a  time  by  the  Spaniards;"  but  as  there  were 
no  Spaniards  there  at  that  date,  the  arrival  must  have 
been  earlier,  or  there  was  no  seizure.  Of  Metcalf's 
trading  operations  nothing  is  known;  but  his  vessels 
met  with  disaster  subsequently  at  the  Sandwich 
Islands. 


I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  the  orijrinal  diaries 
of  the  Spanish  expedition  of  1789,  nor  has  any  pre- 
ceding writer  in  English  seen  them;  but  to  Navar- 
rete's  brief  resum6,  which  was  all  that  had  been  known 
from  Spanish  sources,  I  am  able  to  add  statements  of 
equal  importance  in  the  reports  c"  Tobar,  an  officer  in 
the  expedition,  and  of  the  viceroy  Revilla-Gigedo," 
besides  a  few  indirect  allusions  in  the  narratives  of 
later  expeditions.  The  tidings  brought  back  from 
Alaska  in  1788  respecting  the  intentions  of  the  Rus- 

*'  The  dates  are  given  in  Revilla-Oigedo,  Informe.  Greenhow  and  other 
writers  do  not  clearly  state  that  the  Prinresa  was  sent  to  San  Bias  at  all. 

^'^Greenhow's  Or.  and  Cal.,  224-5,  with  references  to  Vancouver,  Jarvia, 
lugraham,  and  to  newspaper  accounts. 

"Xiivarrcte,  Viages  Apdc,  61-3;  /(/.,  in  Sutil  y  Mex.,  Viage,  cvi.-viii.; 
RevUla-digedo,  Informe  del  Vireij,  13  df  Aliril,  1793,  127-9,  in  Hustamaiite, 
Siiplemenfo  a  la  Hist. .  .de  Cavo,  iii. ;  Tobar  y  Tamnr'.z,  Informe  gobre  Aconte- 
cimieiitos  de  NiUka,  17S4;  extracts  in  Viagero  Universal,  xxvi.  157-69.  This 
report  contains  quite  a  full  statement  of  the  fur-trade  and  operations  of 
Eaglish  traders,  with  a  description  of  Nootka  and  its  people;  but  except  in 
a  few  points  is  not  very  full  on  the  events  attending  tho  capture  of  vessels. 
Tobar  returned  to  San  Bias  in  command  of  the  Argonaut  as  a  prize;  and  hia 
report  was  the  first  account  of  the  capture  that  reached  Mexico  and  Europe. 


V    t 

1/.  I 


PKINCESA  AND  SAN  CARLOS. 


218 


sians  and  English  on  the  Northwest  Coast  caused 
Viceroy  Flores  to  resolve  u[)on  the  occupation  of 
Nootka  before  it  shoiikl  be  taken  possession  of  by  nwy 
foreign  power.  For  this  purpose  Martinez  and  Haro 
were  sen^j  back  to  the  north  on  the  Princcsa  and  Sua 
Carlos,  sailing  from  San  Bias  on  February  17,  1789. 
Their  insstructions  were  to  conciliate  the  natives,  for 
whose  conversion  friars  were  sent;  to  erect  baildinga 
for  the  colony,  and  fortifications  for  its  defence,  as  well 
as  an  indication  of  the  Spanish  sovereignty  in  that 
region ;  if  Russian  or  English  vessels  appeared,  to  re- 
ceive them  with  all  courtesy,  but  with  a  manifestation 
of  the  right  of  Spain,  by  virtue  of  discovery,  to  this 
establishment  and  others  that  were  to  be  founded; 
and  after  the  foundation  to  send  the  San  Carlos  on 
an  exploring  tour,  particularly  to  the  coast  between 
50°  and  55°. 

Without  touching  in  California  the  two  vessels 
reached  the  latitude  of  Nootka  early  in  May.  Just 
outside  the  entrance  of  the  sound  Martinez  met  Gray 
on  the  Lady  Washington,  and  in  a  friendly  interview 
made  many  inquiries  about  the  vessels  within,  an- 
nounced his  intention,  as  Haswell  says,  of  capturing 
the  English  craft,  and  gave  a  strange  account  of  his 
own  expedition.^*  It  was  on  May  6th  that  the  Frincesa 
entered  the  harbor  and  found  the  Iphigenla  under 
Portuguese  colors,  anxiously  awaiting  her  consort  and 
in  considerable  distress,  as  Captain  Douglas  stated. 
Martinez  treated  Douglas  with  every  courtesy,  prom- 
ised to  relieve  his  distress,  and  went  up  the  sound  to 
spend  a  few  days  with  Kcndrick.  During  his  absence 
Haro  arrived  with  the  San  Carlos,  on  the  13tli;  and 
next  day  on  his  return  he  summoned  Douglas  and 

^HTasrveH's  Voy.,  MS.,  56-7.  Martinez  said  liis  vessel  with  two  others 
had  been  fitted  out  at  C'ddiz  for  discoveries ;  liad  touched  on  the  coast  of  New 
Spain,  and  lost  most  of  liis  European  seamen,  supplying  their  places  with 
naturalized  natives  of  California.  He  had  been  to  Bering  Strait,  found  much 
snow,  and  parted  with  his  consorts  in  a  gale.  Martinez  told  a  similar  story 
to  Douglas  a  little  later,  and  added  that  he  had  met  the  Laa,,  M  itshlniitou  to  the 
northward,  and  had  supplied  her  with  things  she  needed.  Dotajlwi'  Journal,  in 
Mearen'  Voj.,  appendix. 


l:i 


214 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


l!!! 


I||!; 


Viana  on  board  the  Princesa  and  declared  them  to  be 
his  prisoners,  sending  a  force  to  take  possession  of  the 
Iphigenia,  on  which  the  Spanish  flag  was  raised." 

The  chief  motive  of  the  seizure,  as  alleged,  was 
that  clause  of  the  instructions  in  Portuguese  which 
required  the  captain  to  take  Spanish  vessels  and  carry 
their  men  to  Macao  to  be  tried  for  piracy.  To  enter 
a  Spanish  port  with  such  instructions  was  deemed  by 
Martinez  sufficient  cause  for  capturing  the  vessel  as 
a  prize.  Douglas  protested  that  the  instructions  were 
misinterpreted;  that  he  had  entered  the  port  in  dis- 
tress; and  that  he  would  depart  at  once  if  released. 
But  the  Spaniard  refused,  and  made  preparations  to 
send  his  prize  to  San  Bias.*  The  Englishmen  sus- 
pected that  Kendrick  had  instigated  the  seizure;  and 
I  have  little  doubt  that  he  did  so,  at  least  to  the  ex- 
tent of  putting  the  Iphigenias  peculiar  papers  in  their 
worst  light  and  encouraging  the  Spaniard's  natural 
suspicions.  The  vessel  was  unloaded,  to  be  caulked 
and  otherwise  prepared  for  her  voyage,  the  officers 
and  men  being  meanwhile  detained  on  the  Spanish 
ships. 

On  reflection  Lieutenant  Martinez  began  to  fear 
that  he  had  gone  too  far,  and  was  made  to  under- 
stand that  he  had  misinterpreted  the  Portuguese  in- 
structions, in  which  the  capture  of  Spanish,  English, 
or  Russian  vessels  was  made  contingent  on  a  previous 
attack  by  them;  also  that  their  aim  had  been  against 
English  rather  than  Spanish  interference.  Accord- 
ingly on  the  26th  of  May  he  restored  the  refitted 
Iphigenla  to  her  commander,  and  furnished  all  needed 
supplies  for  a  V(»yage  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  taking 

'*  These  are  the  dates  given  in  Douglas^  Journal.  Gray  and  Ingraham 
make  the  arrival  of  the  iSaii  Carlos  and  capture  of  the  Iphi/enia  on  May  10th 
and  1 1  th  respectively.    Douglas'  dates  are  doubtless  correct. 

'"  Martinez  at  first  intended  to  dismiss  with  a  warning  '  the  Iphinenia, 
wjiich  sailed  under  Portuguese  flag,  passport  from  the  governor  of  Macao,  and 
instructions  fiom  Juan  Caraballo  as  owner,  written  in  the  Portuguese  lan- 
guage; but  it  seeming  to  him  that  these  papers  were  not  ninreros,  and  con- 
tained harsh  and  insulting  expressions,  he  made  him  prisoner,'  but  afterward 
released  him  for  lack  of  men  to  man  the  prize,  taking  a  document,  etc. 
JievUla-Gii/edo,  In/orme,  127. 


r^f 

k 


:i 


DOUGLAS,  GRAY,  AND  INGRAHAM. 


215 


in  payment  bills  on  Cavallio  and  Company,  the  nomi- 
nal owners, and  receiving  Captain  Douglas'  signature  to 
a  statement  that  the  vessel  had  been  found  at  Nookta 
in  distress,  that  her  navigation  had  not  been  stopped, 
ami  that  she  had  been  supplied  with  all  the  stores 
needed  for  her  voyage.  Douglas  says  that,  notwith- 
standing this  document,  which  he  had  signed  at  the 
entreaty  of  his  men  to  obtain  release,  the  vessel  had 
been  plundered  of  everything  of  value,  including 
articles  for  trade  and  his  own  private  property;  and 
that  the  supplies  were  furnished  in  very  limited 
quantity  at  exorbitant  prices.  There  is  every  rea- 
son to  believe  that  this  was  a  gross  exaggeration, 
though  various  articles  may  have  been  lost  or  stolon 
in  the  transfers  of  cargo.  He  does  not  claim  that 
they  were  personally  ill-treated.  Gray  and  Ingraham 
testify  that  "they  were  treated  with  all  imaginable 
kindness,  and  every  attention  paid  thcm,"^^  that 
Douglas  and  his  officers  were  perfectly  satisfied  with 
the  arrangement,  and  that  "the  Ijjhigeiiias  being  de- 
tained was  oiT  infinite  service  to  those  who  were  con- 
cerned in  her,"  since  it  enabled  her  to  start  earlier 
and  in  better  condition  than  would  otherwise  have 
been  possible. ^^  True,  the  Americans  were  not  im- 
partial witnesses;  yet  Douglas'  signature  to  the  docu- 
ment, his  own  admission  of  the  vessel's  distress  on 
arrival,  and  the  very  fact  that  she  did  make  a  very 
successful  trading  cruise,  go  far  to  confirm  their  tes- 
timony.^' 

An  agreement  was  also  sijxned,  bindingr  the  owners 
to  restore  or  pay  for  the  vessel,  in  case  the  viceroy  of 

"  Graij  and  fngraliam's  Letter,  in  Oreenhmo's  Or.  and  Cal.,  414-15. 

'■^  '1mi  fin,  lejos  Jo  experimentar  perjnicio  alguno  el  jxiquebot  la  Efijenin, 
sua  oficialea  y  tripulacion  refrescaron  sus  vivercs,  de  que  se  liallaban  bieu 
cacasos,  saliendo  libremente  ii  navcgar,  socoridoa  con  generosidad  todas  bus 
necesidados.'  UcvUla-Oiijido,  liifurme,  127. 

"'In  Vancouvcr'n  Voi/.,  i.  339-90,  there  is  mentioned  a  docuniont  attached 
to  a  letter  of  Bodega  y  Cuadra  which  ia  a  certificate  of  Captfiin  \'iana  to  the 
giMjd  treatment  of  liimse'if  anti  fellow-prisoners  by  Martinez,  to  the  restoration 
of  vessel  and  cargo,  and  to  the  furnishing  of  all  needed  supplies.  Greenhow 
shows  that  Vancouver  does  injustice  to  Gray  and  Ingraham  in  his  version  of 
their  testimony. 


n 


i 


216 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


hi 


New  Spain  should  decide  the  prize  to  have  been  law- 
ful. Still  another  document  did  Lieutenant  Martinez 
obtain  from  the  captain,  a  letter  for  Mr  Funter.  Ho 
desired  to  purchase  the  schooner  North  West  America 
at  a  price  fixed  by  the  American  officers.  Douglas 
said  that  neither  he  nor  Funter  had  any  authority  to 
sell.  Martinez  insisted  on  having  a  letter  for  tho 
master  of  the  schooner;  and  at  tho  last  moment 
Douglas  wrote  one.  Its  purport  was  that  Funter 
might  act  as  ho  thought  best  in  tho  matter;  but 
there  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  represented 
to  Martinez  as  the  desired  order  for  sale.  Douglas 
himself  says,  "The  moment  I  had  finished  my  letter 
I  gave  orders  to  slip  the  hawser,  and  made  sail  out  of 
tho  cove."  Meares  says  that  in  writing  the  letter  ho 
"cautiously  avoided  any  directions  to  the  effect  de- 
sired, 'availing  himself  of  Don  Martinez's  ignorance 
of  the  English  language."  And  Martinez  a  little  later 
claimed  to  take  the  schooner  by  virtue  of  an  agree- 
ment with  Douglas.  On  June  2d  the  Ijjhigenia  sailed, 
bound  homeward,  as  the  Spaniards  and  Americans 
had  been  led  to  believe;  but  at  midnight  tacked  to 
the  northward  and  engaged,  as  we  have  s^i-lu,  m  a 
very  successful  trade.  She  did  not,  1  n'o  t,  as  was 
hoped,  meet  the  schooner  consort,  it  was  in- 

tended to  buiri  after  taking  off  the  and  furs. 

Meanwhile  the  Spanish  commanu  lad  t  icen  for- 
mal possession  of  the  port,  which  he  called  f"  mta  Cruz 
de  Nutka;  erected  barracks  for  his  men,  and  formed 
a  battery  of  six  jr  ten  guns  on  Hog  Island,  command- 
ing the  entrance  to  the  sound  and  the  anchorage 
known  as  Friendly  Cove;^*  or  possibly  they  had  six- 
teen guns  in  two  places.  On  the  arrival  of  the  North 
West  America  on  June  9th  Martinez  took  possession, 

'*  Tobar  says  the  formal  act  of  possession  took  place  June  2ith.  Macuina 
was  shown  a  collection  of  flags,  and  asked  which  he  had  seen  first,  selecting 
that  of  Spain.  He  also  described  the  first  officers  as  vcstido-<  de  cobre,  alluding 
to  tho  gold  lace,  etc.,  of  tho  Spanish  navy;  and  the  men  had  handkerchiefs 
on  tho  head,  'so  that  tlie  English  were  confounded,  confessing  that  Jacobo 
Koock  had  deceived  tlium,  saying  in  his  work  that  he  had  been  the  discoverer 
of  that  port.' 


i  I 


SEIZURE  OF  THE  ARGONAUT. 


817 


by  virtue,  as  ho  claimed,  of  his  a;:^rooincnt  with 
iJoujj^las,  and  sent  the  vcHsel  off  on  a  tradinjjj  voyage, 
])robably  f(jr  joint  account  of  himself  iind  his  Ameri- 
can friends,  since  Mr  Coolidjjfe  was  put  in  cliarLCo. 
The  crew,  as  already  related,  was  sent  to  China  on  tlio 
Columbia.  When  Captain  Hudson  arrived  on  the 
14th  of  June  on  the  Princess  Iioi/((l  he  brou<^ht  news 
of  the  bankruptcy  of  Cavalho  and  Company,  whoso 
bills  to  a  considerable  amount  for  supi)lies  to  tlio 
Jphi(jenia  were  held  by  Martinez;  and  that  oflicer 
therefore  justified  himself  in  holdinj^  the  schooner 
as  security  for  the  debt,  instead  of  ])ayinj^  for  her,  aa 
he  had  before  deemed  himself  bountl  to  do. 

The  Argonaut  arrived  on  July  3(1,  sighting  tho 
Princess  Royal  outside  without  speaking.  Captain 
Colnett  before  entering  learned  from  Mr  Barnett  and 
others  who  came  off'  in  a  boat  the  condition  of  things 
in  the  harbor,  and  was  advised  to  anchor  outside;  but 
Lieutenant  Martinez  came  on  board  with  most  friendly 
assurances,  the  good  faith  of  which  seemed  to  bo 
guaranteed  by  the  kind  treatment  of  Hudson;  and 
the  ship  was  towed  in  by  the  Spanish  Lmnch.  Until 
the  next  day  relations  continued  friendly;  then  tho 
vessel  was  seized  and  pat  under-  Spanish  colors,  officers 
and  men  being  detained  as  prisoners.  There  is  nothing 
to  support  the  later  cliargo  that  Martinez  treachei'- 
ously  enticed  the  ship  into  the  harbor  for  the  purpose 
of  seizure;  but  every  reason  to  believe  that  he  intended 
to  treat  the  /h'joiumt  as  he  had  just  treated  her  con- 
sort.^ The  true  reason  of  the  seizure  comes  out  clearly 


I 

1 

I      u 

i    ; 


"  In  hi?  published  narrative  of  a  later  voyage,  Colnett,  Voijaqe  to  the  South 
Atlavtic  at.'l  round  Cape  Horn  into  the  Pacffic,  London,  1708,  4to,  pp.  i.-iii., 
and  note  on  pji.  90-102,  says:  'I  had  no  sooner  rceoived  Don  ^lartincz  in  my 
cabin,  than  he  presented  mo  a  letter  from  Mr  Ilndson . .  .Tlio  commod'To  then 
infonned  ric,  that  the  vessels  under  his  command  were  in  great  distress,  Ik  )m  tho 
want  of  j^rovisions  and  other  necessaries;  and  rcrpiested  mc,  in  a  very  urgent 
ma*".r.c'.,  to  go  intu  port,  in  order  to  alibrd  luni  the  ncccssaiy  suppliuj".  I 
hesitated,  however,  to  comply  with  this)  demand,  as  I  entei'tained  very  reason- 
able doubts  of  the  pro]iriety  of  putt'iig  myself  under  tho  conunand  of  two 
Spanish  men  of  war.  Tiie  Spaniard,  observing  my  unwillingness  to  comply 
with  his  request,  assured  me,  on  his  word  and  honor,  in  the  name  of  the  Kiii,^ 
of  Spain ...  if  I  would  go  into  port  and  rolicve  his  wants,  I  should  be  at  liberty 


!:i' 


m 


218 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


enough  from  the  testimony  and  circun;stances,  oven  if 
the  form  or  is  in  some  respects  vague  and  contradictory. 
Richard  Plowe,  the  American  supercargo,  and  per- 
haps other  officers  of  the  Columbia  accompanied  Mar- 
tinez on  his  first  visit  to  Colnett;^*  and  other  American 
officers  were  present  at  subsequent  interviews.  They 
state  that  they  heard  Colnett  inform  the  Si:anish 
commander  of  his  purpose  to  take  possession,  hoist 
the  Enghsh  flag,  erect  a  fort,  and  settle  a  colony  at 
Nootka.  Martinez  replied  that  he  had  already  taken 
possession  for  Spain;  and  on  being  pressed  for  a  di- 
rect statement  whether  he  would  prevent  the  occupa- 
tion, declared  that  he  could  permit  nothing  more  tlian 
the  erection  of  a  tent  for  the  temporary  purpose  of 
obtaining  wood  and  water,  after  which  he  was  free 
to  depart."  This  was  just  such  an  interview  as  would 
bo  natural  under  the  circumstances;  and  it  is  not 
likely  that  Colnett  would  have  persisted  in  his  pur- 
pose, though  in  his  disappointment  he  may  have  used 
strong  language.  His  decision  would  naturally  have 
been  to  leave  Nootka  and  select  another  site  for  his 
trading-post.  In  the  afternoon  of  July  4th  Colnett 
went  on  board  the  Princesa  to  ask  permission  to  sail 
inmiediately.  Martinez  granted  it  at  first,  but  on 
second  thought  desired  to  see  the  Englishman's 
papers.^^  Doubtless  it  had  occurred  to  iiira,  or  per- 
haps had  bee'i  suggested  by  his  American  friends,  that 
Nootka  was  not  the  only  available  site  for  a  colony, 
and  that  Colnett's  des.'re  to  Sriil  so  soon  was  a  sus- 


to  Bail  whenever  I  pleased.'  So  he  went  fn.  Next  morning  he  got  ready  some 
stords  for  tlio  Spaniard,  and  on  taking  1>'.  eaktast  gave  him  a  list  of  the  articles, 
announcing  liis  intention  of  sailing  the  mime  day.  Martinez  consented,  and 
otFcrod  to  send  his  launch  to  get  the  supplies  and  tow  his  vessel  out,  but  sent 
instead  im  order  to  come  on  board.    See  continuation  in  a  later  note. 

'"  Howe  is  named  in  tlie  depositions  of  the  men  of  the  North  Went  America 
and  of  William  Gndiani,  attached  to  Meurcs'  Memorinl.  Mr  Duflin,  first  oflicer 
of  the  Anjona'  ^  '"x  his  letters,  hi.,  tells  us  that  Colnett  and  his  visiters  had 
an  interview  in  ti.    cabin  at  which  he  was  net  present. 

'"drny  and  fini'  uham'x  Letter. 

'^Biijliii'  I  Li  '"  These  letters,  written  at  the  time  by  Colnett's  first 
mati;,  are  by  fj.r  t'  yi  most  reliable  authority  on  occurrences  connected  witli 
tl  '1  seizuio.  Colnett's  own  statement  of  later  years  is,  as  will  be  shown  here- 
after, .m^vol•tlly    i  belief. 


COLNETT  AND  MARTINEZ. 


219 


picious  circumstance.  Colnctt  went,  however,  to  his 
own  vessel  and  returned  with  his  papers,  having  put 
on  the  Company's  uniform  and  sword.  On  reading  the 
instructions,  and  perhaps  desiring  time  to  have  them 
correctly  interpreted,  Martinez  informed  the  captain 
that  he  could  not  be  permitted  to  sail  that  day. 

Then  a  quarrel  ensued  between  the  commanders.,  in 
consequence  of  which  Colnett  was  put  under  arrest  and 
liis  ships  were  seized  as  prizes.  The  exact  circum- 
stances of  the  quarrel  are  not  accurately  known,  though 
I  append  some  evidence  on  the  subject.'^'     From  the 

'^Pu„  ^Aetters,  writes:  'On  which  some  high  words  en  ed  between 
them,  and  Ciijiuiin  Colnett  insisted  ou  going  out  immediately,  which  lie  said 
he  would  do  unless  the  commodore  fired  a  s'lot  at  him  ;  if  so,  ho  would  then 
haul  down  his  colours,  and  deliver  himself  up  a  prisoner:  hardly  had  lio 
uttered  this,  but  he  was  put  under  an  arrest,  and  his  sword  taken  from  him, 
the  vessel  seized . . . ;  but  what  is  most  particular,  ho  desired  Captain  Keudrick 
to  load  his  guns  with  shot,  to  take  a  vessel  that  had  only  two  swivels 
mounted;  so  that  it  was  impossilile  to  make  any  resistance..  .  The  com- 
modore's passion  now  began  to  abate  a  little,  and  he  sent  for  me  from  the  St 
Carlos,  where  I  was  imprisoned :  when  I  came  to  him,  he  seemed  to  profess  a 
very  f^reat  friendship  for  me,  and  appeared  to  be  exceedingly  sorry  for  wliat, 
he  said,  his  ofHcera  compelled  him  to  do.  He  declared  to  me,  that  ho  had  given 
Captain  Colnett  permission  to  depart,  and  would  liavc  assisted  him  all  in  his 
power,  but  that  Captain  Colnett  insisted  on  erecting  a  fort  opposite  his ;  said  lie 
represented  the  Kin;^  c  Great  Britain,  and  that  ho  came  to  take  possession  in 
his  Britannii'k  Majesty  s  name.  The  Spaniard  (juoted  the  same,  and  said  ho 
was  representative  of  his  most  Catholic  Majesty  the  King  of  Spain ;  but  I 
have  every  reason  to  suspect  there  was  a  misunderstandin;^  between  the 
two  parties,  for  the  linguist  spoke  Itluglish  very  imperfectly,  and  in  all  likeli- 
hood interpreted  as  many  words  wrong  as  right.'  Tobar  says,  Inforine, 
lo9-Gi :  '  Capitiui  Colnet  venia  con  destino  de  Gobernador  do  dicho  pnerto  .i 
poaosionarsc  y  fortificarse  para  no  uexar  entrar  ni  salir  euibarcacion  alguna  de 
otra  naciou;  y  seguramente  soy  do  sentir  lo  hubiera  veriiicado,  sino  eii  aquel 
Puerto  eu  nno  do  los  muchos  que  tiene  aquella  costa,  par;>.  euyo  efecto  traia  ya 
la  casa  y  el  martinote  para  la  entrada.  .  .  li  (juien  tiivo  d  bieu  el  comandanto 
do  Nootka  apresarlo  arreglado  it  la  ordenanza,  ntendiemlo  il  la  madera  ilo 
coustruncion  quo  traia  il  bordo. '  Navarrete,  Sutil  ;/  j\lcx.,  eviii.,  on  the 
authority  of  Martinez  states  tliat  '  Captain  Colnett  persistently  refused  to 
show  Martinez  his  instructions,  using  expressions  so  indecorous  and  heated 
that,  liaving  exhaustetl  the  metliods  of  prudence  hitherto  employed,  our 
commander  resolved  to  arrest  the  British  captain  within  the  frigate's  cabin, 
declaring  all  the  men  of  the  A  njoni  ut  prisoners  of  war,  and  to  send  the  vessel 
to  San  Bias  at  the  disposition  of  the  viceroy.  Revilla-Gigedos  account, 
Jii/or,ne,  1J7-8:  'They  came  under  ortlers  of  James  Colnett  to  take  possession 
of  Nootka,  to  fortify  it,  ami  establish  a  factory  for  trade  nnd  settlement, 
bringing  for  this  purpose  the  necessary  aids,  and  21)  sangleyes  [ChinameiiJ  of 
ditferent  trailes.  Colnett  wished  to  proceed  at  once  to  tlio  founduig  of  llio^io 
establishments,  preteiuUng  that  tlie  country  had  been  discovered  by  Captahi 
Cook,  and,  further,  tliat  the  Portuguese  had  ceded  to  t!ie  Ijondon  trading 
company  the  right  of  (irst  discovery,  if  Admind  Fonte  had  been  tlio  first  dis- 
coverer ;  but  the  commander  of  our  expedition  demonstrated  to  the  l']n'.;lish 
commandei'  his  eiToneous  and  ill-founded  designs.  Persisting  in  them,  Colnett 


',*'  ) 


■l'^ 


'    '.v' 


\,i' 


i      il 


imnmaiimiiwuiimiw 


220 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


testimony  and  circumstances  it  clearly  appears  that 
on  Martinez  refusing  to  permit  his  instant  departure, 
for  which  the  Spaniard  had  the  best  of  reasons,  Col- 
nett  lost  his  temper,  used  language  that  the  other 
deemed  insulting,  and  in  his  anger  insisted  on  his 
right  and  purpose  to  establish  an  English  fort,  which 
action  it  was  Martinez'  duty  as  a  Spanish  officer  to 
prevent  by  the  only  means  within  his  power,  tho 
seizure  of  the  vessel.  That  Colnett  claimed  the  right 
or  expressed  the  intention  of  holding  Nootka,  though 
Martinez  through  interpreters  may  have  so  understood 


i|;f 


refused  to  show  his  patents  and  instructions,  explaining  liimself  always  wiih 
much  liaughtinesa ;  hut  as  he  thought  he  could  not  keep  it  up,  ho  resolved  to 
leave  Nootka,  and  set  sail.  For  this  purpose  he  asked  the  aid  of  a  launch  to 
raise  his  anchors,  and  then  Martinez,  fearing  that  the  English  eapfciin  might 
estaljliah  himself  in  another  port  on  the  coast,  from  which  it  would  bo  dilii- 
cult  to  dislodge  liim,  again  ordered  him  to  show  his  papers.  Colnett  continued 
his  persistent  refusal,  accompanying  it  with  insulting  actions  and  expressions, 
so  tliat  Martinez,  his  little  patience  being  exhausted,  detiiincd  tho  Arjonaut 
and  PriiiccKS  liui/a/,  sending  both  vessels  to  San  IJlas.'  Colnett  himself,  I'oy., 
93,  siiys:  '  I  received  an  order  from  Don  Martinez,  to  come  on  board  liis  ship 
and  bring  with  me  my  papers.  This  order  appeared  strange,  biit  I  complied 
with  it,  and  went  aboard  the  PriiiC('na.  On  my  coming  into  his  cabin,  lie 
said  he  wished  to  see  my  papers:  on  my  presenting  them  to  him,  lie  just 
glaiieed  his  cyea  over  them,  and  although  he  did  not  understand  a,  word  of  tho 
hmguage  in  which  they  were  written,  declared  tliey  were  forged,  and  threw 
them  disdainfully  on  the  table,  saying  at  the  same  time,  Ishould  not  sail  until 
he  pleased.  On  my  making  some  remonstrances  at  his  breacli  of  faith,  and  his 
forgetfulneiss  of  that  word  and  honour  which  he  had  pledged  to  nie,  ho  aroso 
in  appanMit  anger,  and  went  out.  I  now  saw,  but  too  late,  the  duplicity  of 
this  Spaniard,  aud  was  conversing  with  the  interpreter  on  the  subject,  when 
having  my  back  towards  tlie  cabin  door,  I  by  cliance  cast  my  eyes  on  a  lonk- 
ing-glass,  and  saw  an  armed  ])arty  rushing  in  behind  me.  I  instantly  put  my 
hanil  to  my  hanger,  but  before  I  had  time  to  place  myself  in  a  posture  of  de- 
fence, a  violent  blow  brought  mc  to  the  ground.  I  was  then  ordered  into  the 
stocks,  and  ch>scly  conlinccl;  after  which,  they  reized  my  ship  and  cargo,  iin 
prisoned  my  oiliters,  and  put  my  men  ia  irons.'  Afterwanl  tlicy  'carried  me 
from  ship  to  ship,  like  a  crimin.il,  rove  a  halter  to  tho  yard-ann,  and  fre- 
quently threatened  me  with  instant  death,  by  hanging  me  as  a  pirate.  This 
treatment,  at  length,  nearly  cost  mc  my  life ;  and  tlirew  mo  into  so  violent  a 
fever,  that  I  was  delirious  for  several  days.'  Then  follows  an  account  of  hia 
cruel  treatment  on  the  way  to  San  Bias.  Evidently  his  'delirium'  either 
began  at  a  very  early  stage  of  the  quarrel  or  permanently  affected  his  mind, 
Colnett's  version  of  the  whole  ail'air  in  conversation  widi  Vancouver  is  also 
given  in  tlie  hitter's  Voij.,  iii.  4'.)1  et  scq.  Finally  Gray  and  Ingraham  s.av, 
Letter :  'In  conversing  on  the  subject,  after  the  arrival  of  tho  vessel  in  port,  it 
seems  Captain  Colnett  insulted  the  commodore  l)y  threatening  him,  and  drew 
hia  swoi'il  in  tho  J'riwina'n  cabin ;  on  which  Don  Marline.'',  ordered  tlie  vessel 
to  be  seized.  We  did  not  see  him  draw  his  sword,  but  were  infoi-med  of  llio 
circumstance  by  those  whoso  veracity  wo  had  no  reason  to  doulit. . .  Wiuh 
respect  to  tlio  treatment  of  the  prisoners. .  .wo  presume  none  of  tliem  will  be 
backward  in  confessing  that  Don  E.  J.  Martinez  always  treated  thom  very 
kindly,  aud  all  hia  uliicurs. ' 


COLNETT  BECOMES  INSANE. 


9SSh 


him,  is  very  improbable  and  inconsistent  with  his  pro- 
posed departure;  but  the  movement  recommended  in 
his  papers,  perhaps  threatened  by  him  openly  in  hia 
wrath,  feared  by  Martinez,  and  prevented  by  him  in 
accordance  with  his  duty,  was  the  departure  to  build 
a  fort  elsewhere  on  the  coast.  Had  Colnett  kept 
quiet  and  waited  a  few  days,  he  would  probably  have 
been  required  by  Martinez,  after  consult,::ition  with  his 
Yankee  advisers,  to  give  some  guarantee  that  he 
would  confine  his  efforts  to  the  fur-trade  and  estab- 
lish no  fort. 

The  loss  of  their  vessel  and  of  prospective  profits 
was  very  disheartening  to  the  traders ;  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  prisoners  were  in  any  way 
ill-treated  at  Nootka  or  on  the  voyage  to  the  south. 
Colnett,  according  to  his  own  officers,  became  tempora- 
rily insane  in  consequence  of  his  excitement,  requiring 
close  watching  and  even  confinement.  He  thought  he 
had  been  condemned  to  death,  and  once  nearly  lost 
his  life  by  jumping  out  of  his  cabin  window.^"  It  is 
only  by  charitably  taking  account  of  liis  insanity  or 
delirium  that  we  can  relieve  him  of  the  charge  of 
wilful  misrepresentation  in  a  statement  made  in  later 
years  and  already  cited.^^  The  Princess  Royal  re- 
turned to  Nootka  on  July  14th,  and,  belonging  to 
the  same  company  and  engaged  in  the  same  enterprise, 
was  also  captured.  Captain  Hudson  first  entered  the 
harbor  in  his  boat,  leaving  the  vessel  outside,  but  was 
taken;  with  four  men;  and  then  a  force  was  sent  to 

'"  Tobar,  Iiiforme,  IGl,  who  was  in  charge  o£  Cohiett,  dc8cril)es  his  attempt 
at  suicide,  and  the  great  difficulty  of  rescuing  him :  'Hallandome  al  ca)go  de 
Cota  presa,  y  aun  usando  do  todas  his  precauciones  posibles  para  el  resgiiardo 
do  los  Oliciales  prisioneros,  no  pudo  impedir  que  dicho  Coluet  se  arrojadc  al 
agua  ilesesperadamentc  por  una  do  las  vontanas  de  la  cAmara  con  intenco  de 
ahogarso,  pues  observe  fjuo  aun  sabiendo  nadar  no  hizo  dlligeiicia  alguna  para 
ello  ;  pero  yo  mandando  picar  las  amarras  del  bote,  hice  ii  mis  marineros  le 
ogiosen,  y  apenos  pudicrou  hacerlo,  sino  agarrandole  por  los  cabellos,  y  desde 
entonces  procure  asegurarle,  encerrdndole  en  un  eaniaroto  con  una  centinela 
do  vista. ' 

^'Duflin,  in  hia  letters,  records  Colnett's  insanity,  and  learned  from  a  ser- 
vant that  it  was  an  hereditary  malady.  This  greatly  offended  Colnett,  and  he 
obtained  from  Meares  a  letter,  dated  January  1,  1701,  in  which  ho  contradicts 
the  statement  which  had  appeared  in  his  Memorial  that  there  was  insanity 
iu  his  family.     This  letter  u  published  in  Colnetl'd  Voy.,  102. 


' 

\. 

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t 

i 

i 

i. 

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X- 

5. 
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■    V 

i'ri; 


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222 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


V.  I 


bring  in  the  sloop.  The  Argonaut  was  sent  immedi- 
ately, and  the  sloop  a  little  later,  as  a  prize  to  San 
Bias,  under  the  command  of  Tobar.  Of  the  voyage 
we  know  nothing  beyond  Colnett's  doubtless  exagger- 
ated compl.unts  of  inhuman  treatment. 

At  San  Bias,  Colnett  admits  the  prisoners  were 
treated  better,  though  they  had  been  plundered  of  all 
they  had.  By  encouragement  that  their  detention 
would  be  brief,  they  were  induced  to  repair  the  ship, 
whicV  was  then  employed  by  the  Spaniards  in  coast 
voyages  and  nearly  ruined.  Meanwhile  the  men,  after 
several  had  died  of  fever  and  one  committed  suicide,^' 
were  sent  to  Tepic  and  well  treated,  especially  after 
the  arrival  of  Bodega  y  Cuadra.  Colnett  went  to 
Mexico,  and  was  much  pleased  with  his  treatment 
at  the  hands  of  Viceroy  Bevilla-Gigedo,  who  finally 
gave  an  order  for  the  restoration  of  his  vessel.  On 
returning  to  San  Bias  the  order  was  obeyed,  the 
Spaniards  settling  all  accounts,  including  the  wages 
of  the  sea.nen  for  the  time  of  their  detention.  Col- 
nett claims  that  he  was  outrageously  cheated  in  the 
settlement,  but  was  obliged  by  fear  of  greater  evils 
to  sign  a  paper  "expressing  my  complete  and  entire 
satisfaction  of  their  usage  to  me  and  my  people."  In 
August  he  sailed,  with  an  order  for  the  release  of  the 
Princess  Royal.  This  is  the  substance  of  Colnett's 
own  statement.^  Bodega  y  Cuadra  stated  in  1792 
that  "Mr  Colnett  was  treated  with  the  greatest  dis- 
tinction at  San  Bias,  and  his  officers  and  crew  received 
the  wages  of  the  Spanish  navy  for  the  time  of  their 
detention:  that  the  vessel  and  cargo  were  restored, 
and  that  Mr  Colnett  obtained  a  great  number  of  skins 
on  his  return  to  Nootka."  Viceroy  Revilla-Gigedo 
confirms  this  with  some  additional  details  in  his  re- 
port of  1793.=^ 

'-According  to  Tobar,  Tnfrrme,  168,  he  cut  his  throat  with  a  razor  in  his 
rage  at  rnuliii^  himself  a,  prisoner. 

'^^Cohiett'M^l'o;/.,  99-100. 

**CiiwIra,  in  I'aiicouver's  Voij.,  i.  388;  lievilla-Gigedo,  In/orme,  127-9,  132. 
The  viceroy  says :  Viceroy  Florea  ordcrnd  '  ihat  the  two  vessels  should  bo  un- 
loaded iu  the  prosenuo  and  with  intervention  of  their  captains,  and  that  they 


h 


OPINION  OF  THE  VICEROY. 


223 


m: 


The  viceroy  believed  that  Martinez'  acts  were 
legally  justified  by  the  circumstances  and  by  his  instruc- 
tions, as  well  as  by  various  royal  orders,  but  thought 
.that  officer  had  acted  somewhat  hastily  in  bringing 
about  a  controversy  in  which  it  would  be  difficult  to 
prove  the  exact  truth,  and  which  must  cause  consider- 
able expense  to  the  treasury.  He  permitted  Colnett 
and  Hudson  to  visit  Mexico  and  to  present  their 
complaints;  and  though  he  regarded  those  complaints 
as  for  the  most  part  unfounded,  he  gave  orders  to 
•  begin  legal  proceedings  against  Martinez.  The  action 
was  soon  dismissed,  however,  because  the  complain- 
ants preferred  to  be  released  at  once  rather  than 
await  the  issue  of  what  promised  to  be  a  long  trial. 
The  alleged  reason  of  their  release  and  that  of  their 
vessels  was  the  friendly  relations  existing  between  the 
two  nations,  and  the  probability  that  the  traders  had 
acted  in  ignorance  of  Spanish  rights.  It  has  been 
generally  supposed  from  later  diplomatic  correspond- 
ence that  the  viceroy  in  restoring  the  vessels  acted 
on  his  own  judgment;  but  it  appears  from  his  own 
statement  that  he  acted  probably  in  accordance  with 
orders  from  Spain,  dated  January  20,  1790.^ 

Of  Martinez'  operations  at  Nootka  after  the  de- 
parture of  his  prizes  we  have  nothing  in  addition  to 
the  following  from  Navarrete:^  "This  question  being 

should  sign  the  formal  inventories  of  everything,  giving  them  certified  copies 
for  their  protection  and  satisfaction  at  any  time,  wliether  the  vessels  shonld 
be  declared  or  not  legitimate  prizes.  He  also  ordered  that  the  effects  and 
provisions  liable  to  decay,  loss,  and  damage  should  be  sold  at  fair  prices,  tlie 
rest  being  deposited  separately  and  securely  in  the  royal  storehouses.  IIo 
also  disposed  that  the  snow  and  sloop  being  unloaded  should  be  given  the 
necessary  repairs,  an  estimate  of  cost  being  formed  in  advance  with  ccrtiiied 
accounts,  all  being  done  with  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  the  said  English 
captain.  Finally  he  ordered  very  particularly  that  the  latter  and  their  crews 
should  be  left  in  discreet  lil/erty,  should  be  given  good  treatment  and  lodgin,';s, 
and  that  to  each  one  should  bo  given  the  pay  corresponding  to  liis  position 
according  to  the  regidation  then  in  force  at  San  Bias.' 

^'^  licvilla-Oirjedi),  In/orme,  129.     This  is  not  quite  certain,  however. 

^'^Viaiies  Ap6c.,  G3.  On  p.  114  lie  says  that  Martinez,  renicnilicring  that 
in  1774  he  had  seen  a  wide  entrance  in  48"  20',  sent  a  second  jiiloto  on  tiio 
schooner  Oertradis  to  explore,  anil  the  strait  was  found  21  miles  wide, 
in  48"  30'.  It  is  possible,  but  unlikely,  tiiat  Martiniz  had  lieard  nothing  of 
the  strait  from  Americans  or  English.  The  schooner  was  the  captured  North 
}YeM  America,  and  the  trip  may  have  been  that  under  Narvtiez  and  Coolidge, 
ali-eady  referred  to. 


I' ;    I 


I';; ' 


224 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


I 


disposed  of,  Martinez  caused  to  be  explored  the  region 
about  the  port  of  Santa  Cruz,  intending  to  extend  his 
survey  along  the  coast;  but  believing  this  to  be  risky 
v/ith  the  San  Carlos,  on  account  of  licr  great  draught, 
he  proposed  to  build  a  schooner  sixty  feet  long.  Then 
by  the  frigate  Aranzazu'^'^  ho  received  an  order  to  re- 
turn to  the  department  of  San  Bias.  Before  doing 
so  his  second  piloto  explored  in  a  boat  the  western 
channel,  and  through  it  reached  the  bay  of  Buena 
Esperanza,^  of  which  he  took  possession  in  the  name 
of  his  majesty.  Martinez  also  took  the  artillery  from 
the  fort;  piled  up  the  timber  prepared  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  house;  delivered  the  small  houses 
already  built  to  Maquinna,^*  chief  of  the  district ;  and 
on  October  31st  sailed  with  the  frigate  and  the  new 
schooner,*"  anchoring  at  San  Bias  on  December  6th." 
It  has  already  been  noticed  that  throughout  this 
whole  affair  relations  between  the  Spaniards  and 
Americans  v/ere  so  friendly  as  to  suggest  a  secret 
understanding.  There  was  not  the  slightest  interfer- 
ence with  the  Columbia  or  Lady  Washington,  though 
Martinez  could  hardly  have  been  unaware  of  the  orders 
issued  in  Mexico  for  the  seizure  of  those  werj  vessels  if 
they  should  enter  a  Spanish  pcH.  It  was  afterward 
stated  by  Spanish  ofScials  that  the  Columbia  was  de- 
tained until  some  doubtful  expressions  in  her  papers 
had  been  explained,  but  there  is  no  other  evidence  that 
such  was  the  case."     Martinez'  interview  -with  Gray 

"  Nothing  more  is  known  of  this  trip  of  the  Aranzas.u,  which  vessel  was 
often  in  California. 

^' Still  called  Esperanza  Inlet,  just  north  of  Nootka  Island. 

''The  Sjjaniarils  wrote  his  name  Macuina,  the  English  and  Americans 
Maquina,-  or  sometimes  Maqnilla.  Mcarcs,  Voj.,  113,  states  that  Callicum, 
the  othci  chief,  was  murdered  by  one  of  Martinez'  oiEccrs  in  June. 

*"  Nothing  is  said  of  the  San  Carlos  and  Aranzazu,  but  it  does  not  appear 
that  any  vessels  were  left. 

■"  Revilla-Gigedo,  Informe,  127,  says:  'Martinez  reconoci6  los  pasaportes 
do  los  butjues  americanos,  y  no  hallando  motivos  justos  quo  Ic  ouligasen  & 
dctenerlos,  reqairi6  A  sus  cipitanes  para  quo  no  volviescu  il  los  mares  y  costaa 
del  dominio  espaiiol,  sin  permiso  do  nuestro  sobcrano.'  'Mais  lo  Batiment 
portugais,  mais  les  deux  Batimens  do  Boston;  comment  cchappent-ils  h.  la 
loi?  comment  ne  sont-ils  pas  aussi  dcs  interlopes?  Lcs  Icttres  du  Mexiqiie 
no  s'expliquent  pas  sur  le  motif  de  cette  diiT(5rence  dans  les  proc^des;  ct,  sans 
doute,  on  ne  voudra  pas  admettre  I'cxplicatiou  que  les  Anglais  en  out  donnde : 


u 


INTERNATIONAL  COMPLICATIONS. 


225 


and  visit  to  Kendrick  just  before  the  seizure  of  the 
Iphigenia,  as  I  have  said,  caused  Douglas  to  suspect 
very  naturally  that  the  Americans  had  instigated  the 
act,  though  Captain  Kendrick  denied  it.  Subse- 
quently a  close  intimacy  continued;  interviews  were 
frequent;  American  officers  were  companions  and 
witnesses  for  the  Spaniards  in  all  their  transactions 
^vith  the  English;  Mr  Coolidge  took  charge  of  one 
jf  the  prizes  for  a  trading  cruise,  presumably  on  joint 
account.  Captain  Gray  willingly  carried  the  captive 
men  and  stores  to  China ;  and  the  Americans  became 
later  most  friendly  witnesses  in  defence  of  Martinez' 
acts.  It  by  no  means  follows,  however,  that  the 
Americans  took  any  dishonorable  advantage  of  the 
quarrel.  Their  own  interests  and  duty  to  their 
owners  required  them  to  get  rid  of  rival  traders  and 
to  secure  Spanish  protection  for  their  own  enterprise ; 
legally,  the  Spaniards  were  prima  facie  in  the  light, 
and  their  opponents  in  the  wrong;  and  I  know  of  no 
reason  why  under  the  circumstances  sympathy  sliould 
have  been  contrary  to  interest.  Individually,  and  in 
the  disposition  of  property,  there  may  have  been 
instances  of  dishonorable  action  on  the  part  of  botli 
Americans  and  Spaniards;  but  the  testimony  is  not 
sufficient  for  a  conclusion  on  that  point. 

Having  thus  narrated  in  full  occurrences  at  Nootka 
in  1789,  it  is  well,  before  considering  the  international 
complications  that  resulted,  to  glance  briefly  at  the 
respective  rights  and  wrongs  of  Spain  and  England 
in  this  connection,  Portugal  and  the  United  States 
never  having  claimed  either.  Irrespective  of  her  pre- 
tended exclusive  claims,  Spain  had  an  unquestioned 
right  to  found  a  settlement  at  any  point  on  the  coast 
not  previously  occupied  by  another  nation.     Nootka 

on  ne  craignoit  pas,  disent-ils,  la  concurrence  du  Portu^ais;  sa  nullit6  le 
sauva :  quant  aiix  BAiiinena  bostoniens,  les  Espagnols,^  craignoient  d'olfenscr 
les  £tats-Uins  y  ils  ne  pouvoient  pas  oublier  quo  cea  Etats  sont  bien  voisiiia 
dea  riches  Possessions  de  la  Couronne  iVEnpagiie  dans  VAmcriqtte  du  Nord.' 
Fleitricti,  in  Marrhand,  Voy. ,  i.  clxx-i. ,  with  reference  to  Dalrymplt,  the  Spanish 
Memorial  of  June  4th  Conmlered,  London,  1790. 
Hist.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    15 


iMi 


I-  ..i'-i 


226 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


was  such  a  point  when  Martinez  took  possession  in 
May  1789,  England  had  no  shadow  of  a  right  to 
make  objections.**  In  seizing  the  Tphigenia  Martinez 
gave  no  cause  of  offence  to  England.  If  the  pecu- 
liarity of  her  papers  did  not  justify  her  seizure,  the 
Spaniard  gave  ample  satisfaction  for  his  error  to  ail 
concerned,  England  not  being  in  any  sense  a  ])art3', 
and  took  formal  certificates  to  that  effect.  Later 
the  Argonaut  and  Princess  Roijal  arrived  and  were 
kindly  received  by  the  commander  of  a  Spanish  port. 
In  not  permitting  Colnett  to  establish  his  colony 
at  Nootka,  Martinez  must  be  justified  even  from  an 
English  point  of  view ;  and  he  had  a  perfect  right  to 
seize  the  vessels  if  Colnett  persisted  in  his  purpose.*' 
The  vessels  were  actually  seized  because  Colnett  in- 
sisted, with  violent  and  insulting  language  as  was 
alleged,  on  carrying  out  his  instructions  to  found  an 
English  post  either  at  Nootka  or  elsewhere  on  the 
coast.  If  it  was  elsewhere,  as  I  have  no  doubt 
it  was,  though  other  writers  have  not  taken  that 
view  of  it,  then  Martinez  still  did  his  duty  as  a 
Spanish  officer.  To  have  permitted  the  erection  of 
an  English  •  fort  above  or  below  Nootka  would  have 


^^Mearcs  in  1788  had,  with  chief  Maqninna's  permission,  built  a  house  on 
shore  for  temporary  purposes,  which  was  torn  down  on  his  departure.  Had 
he  bought  the  land  in  good  faith,  as  he  claimed,  the  act  would  hardly  have 
given  to  Portugal  any  territorial  rights,  and  certainly  it  could  have  given 
none  to  England.  At  the  most,  if  Meares  could  have  proved  that  he  had 
bought  tlie  land  in  good  faith  as  a  private  individual,  he  might  as  a  British 
subject  have  claimed  the  protection  of  his  government.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
the  weight  of  testimony  and  probability  is  tliat  he  bought  no  land;  and  in 
any  case  the  theory  that  his  acts  gave  England  a  claim  to  Nx>tka  is  too  absurd 
for  serious  consideration.  The  only  evidence  of  any  weight  ever  presented 
in  support  of  a  purchase  of  the  land  and  raising  of  the  British  flag  was  the 
testimony  of  Mr  Duffin  in  1792,  Vaucouvtr^s  Voy.,  i.  405,  that  all  the  land 
forming  Friendly  Cove  was  bought  in  his  presence  from  Maquinna  and  Cal- 
licum,  m  His  Britannic  Majesty's  name,  for  eight  or  ten  sheets  of  copper.  This 
testimony  would  be  more  weighty,  though  by  no  means  conclusive,  if  it  were 
given  in  Mr  Duffin's  own  words.  Vancouver  cannot  be  trusted  to  state  fairly 
the  testimony  of  either  friends  or  foes. 

*^  In  case  of  such  seizure  England  could  deem  herself  aggrieved  only  by  % 
failure  to  comply  with  the  formalities  of  international  law  and  usage ;  but  on 
this  point  there  was  no  difference  of  opinion  between  the  nations ;  it  waa  a 
matter  to  be  settled  by  a  careful  weighing  of  the  testimony,  which  was  some- 
what conflicting  as  to  the  way  in  which  the  Spaniards  hod  treated  their  pris- 
oners and  disposed  of  their  property. 


..,.J„, 


.    1 


SPAIN  AND  ENGLAND. 


227 


I 


been  a  criminal  disregard  of  his  instructions.  But 
here  arose  a  question  to  be  settled  between  Spain 
and  England.  Spain  had  always  claimed,  by  virtue 
of  prior  discovery,  the  north-west  coast  as  part  of 
her  domain,  on  which  no  foreign  power  had  a  right 
to  settle.  Prima  facie  she  had  this  right  of  exclu- 
sive possession,  since  other  nations,  if  not  formally 
acknowledging  had  never  successfully  disputed  its 
validity.  But  England  had  unquestionably  a  right  to 
dispute  the  claim  now;  and  if  by  arbitration,  diplo- 
macy, or  war  she  could  obtain  Spain's  assent  to  her 
views,  she  would  then  be  entitled  to  satisfaction  for 
the  insult  to  her  fla;^  at  Nootka.,  and  to  insist  on 
damages  for  the  injury  done  to  her  subjects  by  the 
seizure  of  their  vessels,  imprisonment  of  their  per- 
sons, and  the  breaking-up  of  their  commercial  enter- 


prise 


u 


Jose  Tobar,  in  command  of  the  prize  Argonaut, 
arrived  at  San  Bias  in  August  and  reported  to  the 
viceroy,  doubtless  bringing  communications  from  Mar- 
tinez. These  reports  were  sent  at  once  to  Spain, 
and  through  them  news  first  reached  Europe  of  what 
had  occurred  at  Nootka.  A  little  earlier,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  same  reports  that  had  caused  Martinez 
and  Haro  to  be  sent  to  the  north-west  coast,  Spain 
had  notified  Russia  of  the  rumored  intention  of  her 
subjects  to  form  trading-posts  in  the  Spanish  Califor- 
nian  dominion  south  of  Prince  William  Sound;  and 

**I  cannot  agree  with  Jlr  Greenhow,  Or.  and  CaL,  198,  to  whom,  as  to 
most  writers,  the  real  issue,  the  establishment  of  an  English  post  near  Nootka, 
seems  not  to  have  occurred  at  all,  when  he  says:  'The  seizure  of  the  Argo- 
naut, the  imprisonment  of  her  other  officers  and  crew,  and  the  spoliation  of 
her  cargo,  cannot,  however,  be  defended  on  those  [the  violent  language  of 
Colnett]  or  on  any  grounds  afforded  by  the  evidence  of  any  of  the  parties ; 
for  Martinez  had  no  reason  to  apprehend  an  attack  from  the  Argotuiut,  and  ho 
had  been  specially  instructed  by  his  immediate  superior,  the  viceroy  of  Mexico, 
to  suspend  with  regard  to  British  vessels  on  the  north-west  coasts  the  cxccn 
tion  of  tlie  general  orders  to  Spanish  commandants,  for  the  seizure  of  forci 
vessels  entering  the  iiorts  of  the  American  dominions.  Sti'.l  less  excusaljlo 
was  the  conduct  of  JIartinoz  towaid  the  sloop  Princess  Royal,  on  her  second 
arrival.'  This  is  all  true,  certainly,  iu  the  sense  tliat  Martinez  had  no  right  to 
seize  the  vessels  merely  because  they  entered  a  .Sp;misli  port  or  because  their 
captain  was  insolent;  but  that  was  by  no  means  liis  rcivson. 


iP 


,  ' 


228 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


the  Russian  government  replied  that  orders  against 
such  encroachments  had  been  issued,  desiring  the 
Spanish  king  to  put  a  stop  to  any  such  estabhsh- 
ments  that  might  have  been  founded  in  his  pos- 
sessions." On  receipt  of  the  news  from  Nootka, 
Spain,  after  having  apparently  sent  orders  in  January 
for  the  release  of  the  captured  vessels,  reported  the 
affair  to  the  English  government  on  February  10, 
1790,  through  her  ambassadors  in  London,  at  the 
same  time  asking  that  the  men  who  had  planned  the 
expeditions  should  be  punished,  in  order  to  deter 
others  from  making  settlements  in  Spanish  territory. 
The  reply  of  the  British  minister  on  February  26th 
was  very  different  from  that  of  Russia  and  from  what 
had  been  expected.  It  was  to  the  effect  that  nothing 
was  known  of  the  facts,  but  that  the  act  of  violence 
mentioned  by  the  Spanish  ambassador  must  neces- 
sarily suspend  all  discussion  of  the  claims  made  until 
the  seized  vessel  should  be  restored  and  an  adequate 
atonement  made  for  a  proceeding  so  injurious  to 
Great  Britain. 

"  The  harsh  and  laconic  style  in  which  this  answer 
was  given,"  to  use  the  words  of  the  Spanish  min- 
ister, "made  the  court  of  Madrid  suspect  that  the 
king  of  Great  Britain's  ministers  were  forming  other 
plans;"  and  the  suspicion  was  strengthened  by  reports 
of  fleets  being  fitted  out  for  the  Mediterranean  and 
Baltic.  The  reply  meant  war  indeed,  and  was  so  in- 
terpreted by  Spain,  whose  government  at  once  began 
to  make  warlike  preparations.  Spain,  however,  did 
not  desire  war,  and  she  soon  sent  another  memo- 
rial, setting  forth  that  although  her  right  to  the 
Northwest  Coast,  founded  on  treaties  and  imme- 
morial possession,  could  not  be  questioned,  yet,  the 
viceroy  having  restored  the  vessels,  the  king  was 
willing  to  look  upon  the  affair  as  concluded  without 


*'  This  is  the  Spanish  version  in  correapondence  to  be  noticed  presently. 
It  is  not  probable,  however,  that  Russia  committed  herself  to  accept  the  pro- 
posed boimdary  of  Prince  William. 


■yiT 


' 


THE  MEARES  ME^TORIAL. 


229 


entering  upon  discussions  or  disputes  with  a  friendly 
power,  and  would  be  content  with  an  order  that 
British  subjects  should  in  future  respect  Spanish 
rights  on  the  coast  in  question.  But  England  was 
by  no  means  ready  to  issue  such  an  order  or  to  regard 
the  affair  as  concluded.  H»  r  answer  was  dated  May 
5th,  and  was  a  renewal  of  her  remonstrances  against 
the  act  of  violence,  and  of  her  refusal  to  consider  the 
question  of  right  until  satisfaction  should  be  given: 
but  to  it  was  joined  the  declaration  that  the  govern- 
ment "cannot  at  present  accede  to  the  pretensions  of 
absolute  sovereignty,  commerce,  aid  navigation,  which 
appeared  to  be  the  principal  object  of  the  memorials 
of  the  ambassador;"  and  that  the  king  would  protect 
his  subjects  in  the  right  of  continuing  thcii  fisheries 
in  the  Pacific.  Meanwhile  preparations  for  w  ar  were 
hastened  in  England,  and  on  May  16th  a  formal  de- 
mand was  presented  for  the  restitution  of  vessels  and 
other  property  at  Nootka,  indemnification  for  losses 
sustained  by  English  subjects,  and  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  their  right  to  free  navigation,  trade,  and 
fishery,  and  to  the  possession  of  such  establishments 
as  might  be  formed,  with  consent  of  the  natives,  in 
places  not  previously  occupied  by  other  European 
nations.  A  request  was  also  made  for  a  suspension 
of  armament,  to  which  the  Spanish  court  announced 
its  willingness  to  accede,  but  only  on  principles  of 
reciprocity.** 

Captain  Meares  reached  London  from  China  at 
this  juncture,  ready  of  course  to  furnish  any  evidence 
that  might  be  required  of  his  wrongs  at  the  hands  of 
the  Spaniards.  His  memorial  was  dated  April  30th, 
and  was  presented  to  the  house  of  commons  on  May 
13th.  I  have  already  had  occasion  to  refer  to  this 
document,  which  was,  like  most  others  of  its  class  in 
all  countries  and  times,  full  of  misrepresentations  and 


^^- 


**Up  to  this  point  the  correspondence  is  not,  so  far  as  I  know,  extant  in 
its  original  form,  but  is  only  known  from  citations  and  references  in  later 
documents. 


I      I 
I   i  i 


230 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTRO\T:RSY. 


exaggerations,  in  which  everything  is  claimed  in  the 
ho[)o  that  something  may  be  obtained;  but  it  con- 
tained ample  material  for  the  national  use  that  it  was 
intended  to  serve.  His  claim  for  'actual  and  prob- 
able losses'  was  $G53,433  and  more."  On  May  25th 
George  III.  made  the  whole  affair  known  in  outline 
to  parHament,  it  having  been  hitherto  kept  a  secret, 
and  next  day  was  duly  thanked  for  his  message  by  the 
lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  who  offered  the  most 
zealous  and  effective  support  for  his  majesty's  warlike 
measures.**  Mr  Alleyne  Fitzherbert  was  sent  as  am- 
bassador to  Madrid,  and  in  June  and  July  a  corre- 
spondence was  carried  on  between  him  and  Count 
Florida  Blanca,  the  Spanish  minister.*' 

In  the  negotiations  referred  to,  the  tone  of  Spain 
was  that  of  a  nation  whose  interest,  and  therefore 
desire,  it  was  to  avoid  a  war.  '  Professing  a  wish  for 
peace,  she  was  willing  to  give  satisfaction  for  any  in- 
sult or  pay  any  losses;  and  she  would  make  no  claim 
to  territory  that  did  not  justly  belong  to  her;  but  it 
was  her  right  to  claim  that  the  nature  of  the  satis- 
faction, the  amount  of  the  losses,  and  particularly  the 
justice  of  her  territorial  claims,  on  the  invalidity  of 
which  alone  depended  the  offence  complained  of,  should 
first  be  settled  by  arbitration  or  otherwise.  Her  posi- 
tion was  altogether  a  just  one.  It  was  humiliating 
to  Spanish  pride  that  the  nation  was  forced  in  her 


"Meares'  Memorial. .  .on  Capture  of  vessels  at  Nootka,  1790,  was  piblished 
in  London,  separately,  in  tliree  editions  of  1790  and  1810,  besides  being 
attached  to  Meares'  Voy. 

^^Greenhow,  Or.  and  Cal.,  203-4,  erroneously  makes  the  date  of  the  mes- 
sage May  5th. 

*^Noiotka,  English  State  Papers  o»  the  Controversy  of  1790.  This  title  I 
give  to  a  collection  of  documents  published  in  the  Annual  lieffister,  xxxii. 
235-300.  Most  of  them  are  reprinted  in  Oreenhow's  Or.  and  Cal.,  418-30. 
The  documents  are  as  follows :  May  2jth,  king's  message  to  parliament;  May 
26th,  address  of  the  lords  in  reply;  [May  13tTi],  substance  of  Meares'  Mftno- 
rid;  June  4th,  declaration  of  king  of  Spain  to  all  the  European  courts;  June 
13th,  Florida  Blanca's  memorial  to  Fitzherbert;  [June  IGJ,  Fltzherbert's 
answer;  June  13th,  Elorida  Blanca's  reply;  July  24th,  declaration  and 
counter-declaration  of  the  parties ;  June  IGth,  letter  of  Count  Fernan  NuQez 
to  M.  Montmorin,  secretai-y  of  France;  [August  Cth  or  26th],  decree  of 
national  assembly  of  France ;  October  28th,  Nootka  convention ;  November 
24th,  address  of  lord  mayor  et  al.  of  Jjoudou  to  king  on  the  Nootka  convention. 


MIGHT  la  RIGHT. 


231 


weakness  to  appeal  in  humility  to  justice  instead 
of  haughtily  asserting  her  power.  Carlos  IV.  ex- 
plained his  position,  his  rights,  and  especially  his  un- 
willingness to  break  the  peace,  in  a  declaration  to  the 
European  courts  dated  June  4th;  lie  continued  the 
preparations  begun  for  war,  and  on  June  IGth  called 
upon  Franco  for  the  aid  to  which,  under  the  family 
-'impact,  Spain  was  entitled. 

England,  on  the  other  hand,  ready  for  war  and  con- 
fident that  her  rival  must  yield,  maintained  the  atti- 
tude assumed  at  first;  demanded  satisfaction  for  an 
outrage  on  the  British  fiag;  refused  to  discuss  the 
question  whether  or  not  any  outrage  had  been  com- 
mitted; claimed  the  right  of  her  subjects  to  trade  or 
settle  on  the  North wei^v,  Coast;  and  declined  to  admit 
any  investigation,  discussion,  or  arbitration  of  Spanish 
rights.  Of  course  there  was  no  element  of  justice  or 
right  in  the  position  assumed:  but  a  powerful  nation 
in  those  times  needed  no  such  element.  Had  the 
conditions  of  power  been  reversed,  a  corresponding 
change  in  the  respective  position  and  tone  of  the  con- 
testants would  have  been  noted:  Spain  haughtily 
asserting  her  right  and  impatient  of  all  argument; 
England  humbly  but  firmly  urging  her  equities,  point- 
ing to  the  explorations  of  Drake,  Cook,  and  other 
British  navigators,  protesting  great  anxiety  for  the 
tranquillity  of  Europe,  dwelling  eloquently  on  the 
interests  of  other  nations  in  a  free  fur -trade,  and 
showing  the  weakness  of  a  mere  discoverer's  claim  to 
exclusive  possession  of  territories  which  Spain  had 
made  no  attempt  to  occupy  or  utilize.  On  the  real 
merits  of  the  case  there  were  strong  arguments  to  be 
presented  on  both  sides;  but  in  this  controversy  the 
merits  had  no  place. 

On  June  16th  Mr  Fitzherbert  presented  as  a  kind 
of  ultimatum  the  willingness  of  his  government  to 
accept,  as  a  restoration  of  matters  to  their  original 
state  and  a  necessary  precedent  to  friendly  negotiation, 
an  oifer  of  the  Spanish  king  to  give  due  satisfaction 


il 


-  -) 


I   f     a 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


for  the  insult,  to  restore  the  vessels,  and  to  indemnify 
the  owners.  The  question  might  also  be  left  open 
whether  the  Iphigenia  and  North  West  America  were 
justly  entitled  to  the  protection  of  the  British  flag. 
Florida  Blanoa  in  his  reply  of  June  18th,  while  pro- 
testing against  the  principles  asserted,  consented  to 
the  terras  proposed  on  either  of  three  conditions :  that 
the  insult  and  satisfaction  should  be  settled  by  arbi- 
tration, England  choosing  any  European  king  as  arbi- 
trator; that  in  the  negotiations  no  facts  should  be 
admitted  except  such  as  could  be  proved ;  or  that  from 
the  satisfaction  no  inference  should  be  drawn  to  affect 
the  rights  of  Spain,  including  the  right  to  demand 
counter-satisfaction  if  it  should  be  found  that  England 
had  encroached  on  Spanish  territory  in  violation  of 
(existing  treaties.  The  British  ambassador  accepted  a 
jnodiiied  fi^rm  of  the  last  condition;  and  by  a  declara- 
tion and  counter-declaration  signed  on  July  24th  the 
required  promises  were  given  and  received  by  Florida 
Blanca  and  Fitzherbert,  with  the  condition  that  these 
documents  were  not  to  affect  the  rights  of  either  power 
to  an  establishment  at  Nootka.* 

It  is  stated  by  Calvo  that  this  agreement  was  re- 
jected by  the  British  cabinet,  and  that  preparations 
for  war  were  continued."  From  a  reference'  in  later 
negotiations  to  the  document  as  still  in  force  I  con- 
clude that  such  was  not  the  case,  but  that  negotiations 
in  accordance  with  the  declarations  were  begun  for 
the  settlement  of  the  real  question  at  issue.  Says 
Mr  Greenhow:  they  were  "continued  at  Madrid  for 

'"TwisB,  Or.  Quest.,  111-12,  justly  criticises  Mr  Greenhow's  version,  to 
the  effect  that  these  decHrations  were  solely  not  to  affect  the  Bpanisii  riglit, 
whereas  the  reserration  was  equally  in  favor  of  both  powers. 

"C'rt/ro,  Recueil  Complet  de  Tni'Ma,  etc.,  Paris,  1802,  iii.  .138-59,  which 
contains  a  good  account  in  Spanish  of  the  necotiations  and  results,  including 
some  of  the  documents  given  in  the  A niiital  Register,  l)esi(les  others  not  in 
that  collection.  The  latter  include  two  private  notes  of  Florida  Blanca,  one 
of  January  '20th  to  Count  Moutmorin  in  France,  and  the  other  of  April  Cth  to 
fJouut  Fernan  Nunez,  both  explaining  the  dif&culties  of  Spain's  position  and 
the  apparent  impcjaaibility  of  taking  a  finn  stand  airainst  English  ))retensions. 
There  is  also  a  'plan  of  what  should  be  done  v  i,  t  actual  circumstances  of 
Spain  with  England.' which  treats  of  military  :  •  i.  J.ip)  jmutic  measures  of  self- 
protection;  also  another  unportant  document,  -^  l>j  mentioned  a  tittle  later. 


' 


vi 


IMPENDING  WAR. 


233 


i 


three  m9nths  aft'^r  the  acceptanre  of  the  Spanish 
declaration;  duri  )<■  which  period  couriers  were  con- 
stantly flying  between  that  city  and  London,  and  the 
whole  civilized  world  was  kept  in  suspense  and  anxiety 
as  to  the  result."'**  Mr  Fitzherbert  claimed  for  Eng- 
lishmen the  right  to  trade  and  settle  on  any  part  of 
the  coast  not  actually  occupied;  Florida  Blanca  pro- 
posed to  ?dmit  the  right  above  51°  and  for  a  distance 
of  twenty  leagues  into  the  interior.  Then  other 
boundaries  were  suggested,  the  English  ambassador 
finally  consenting  to  the  lino  of  40°,  from  the  Pacific 
to  the  Missouri,  beyond  which  line  the  territory 
should  be  free  to  both  nations,  the  subjects  of  each 
having  access  to  settlements  of  the  other;  but  the 
Spaniards  declined  the  proposition. 

Already,  it  will  be  observed,  Great  Britain  had  con- 
siderably modified  the  spirit  of  her  demands,  because 
in  the  ever  changing  developments  of  the  European 
;  ituation  war  seemed  less  and  l,ess  to  be  desired  as 
the  days  and  weeks  passed  on.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  describe  those  developments;  but  the  attitude  of 
France  was  a  controlling  element.  Louis  XVI.  was 
ready  enough  to  accede  to  the  demands  of  Spain  for 
aid,  but  referred  the  matter  on  August  1st  to  the 
national  assembly,*^  which  body  on  the  2Gth  de- 
cided to  greatly  increase  the  French  armament,  and 
while  promising  to  observe  the  defensive  and  com- 
mercial stipulations  of  the  former  treaty,  clearly  im- 
plied that  France  desired  peace  and  could  not  be  relied 
on  for  aid  in  an  offensive  war.  This  action  made  it 
the  interest  of  England  nov/,  as  it  had  been  that  of 
Spain  from  the  first,  to  avoid  war.  With  Franco  en- 
tirely neutral,  England  would  probably  have  insisted 
on  a  rupture;  with  F'rance  as  an  ally,  Spain  would 

''^Oreen!u)w'a  Or.  and  CaL,  207;  Narrative  of  the  NegotUitiong  ofcanoned 
by  the  Dispute  between  England  and  Spain  in  1790,  London  (1791),  8vo,  vi. 
807  pp. 

^  Calvo,  348,  saya  the  demand  of  Ppiiin  was  made  after  the  agreement  of 
July  !i!4th  had  boon  rejected  by  England.  Acwjrding  to  the  document  in  th« 
Annual  Hci/iitfr  it  was  dated  June  IGth.  Greenhow  makea  the  date  of  the 
assembly  decree  August  Otb. 


i     :  -itt. 


H:t5 


.'  if. 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSy. 

probably  not  have  yielded  without  a  struggle  her 
claims  to  exclusive  sovereignty  in  the  north-west; 
but  with  France  insisting  on  peace,  an  amicable  set- 
tlement seemed  desirable  to  both  disputants." 

Fitzherbert  accordingly  submitted  a  new  proposi- 
tion, wliicli  d,t'ter  discussion  and  modifications  was 
agreed  upon  by  both  plenipotentiaries.  Before  sign- 
ing it,  liowever,  Florida  Blanca  submitted  it  to  a 
junta  of  high  Spanish  officials,  together  with  a  lonff 
argument  in  f*vor  of  its  adoption.*'  Ther*  was 
bitter  opposition,  for  the  concessiorn*  wmm  hun^'^'nting 
to   Spanish   prifle;  bat  k.  was  neoe>*ry  Vy  it, 

choosing  the  lesser  of  imo  evils,  and  </fj  '  )*^AM-r  zM}i 
was  signed  the  '  Nootka  convention,'  the  <*ubstance 
of  which  I  append  in  a  note.^     By  this  treaty  Eng- 

"  (Ireenliow,  citing  Tomllnf's  Li/f  of  Pitt,  describes  Mr  Pitt's  secret  efforts 
to  BOiuifl  the  intentions  of  the  French  Assembly ;  and  sayn  that  it  was  through 
the  mediation  of  uieroljers  of  that  body  that  new  negotiations  wor(;  opened. 
Calvo,  Recued,  340,  tells  us  that  the  proposition  canie  from  the  ijuoen  of 
Poi-tuga). 

**lhe  d'x^nment  is  given  in  full  in  f'aho,  Becmil,  350-5,  and  is  a  very 
interesting  one.  The  author  paints  the  condition  of  his  country  in  \'t;ry  dark 
colors,  explaining  that  it  haa  neither  money  nor  credit  for  a  foreign  war. 
Ho  takes  up  the  other  powers  one  by  one  in  order  to  show  the  prospocts  of 
gaining  foreign  alliance ;  some  are  hostile  or  b'^'.md  to  the  foe ;  some  are  willing 
but  not  worth  the  having;  others  would  demand  too  groat  a  price,  llussia 
U  the  most  promising  ally.  The  United  States  has  been  sounded  and  is  wtU 
disposed,  but  would  insist  on  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  and  or 
a  large  part  of  Florida.  The  reply  of  France  shows  that  she  cannot  Ijc  de- 
pended on,  as  there  are  a  thousand  definitions  of  a  '  defer  sive'  alliiiiicc;  and 
even  if  well  disposed  her  strength  is  unmanageable  by  reasoi  of  internal 
complications.  The  count  admits  that  to  yield  will  greatly  weaken  Spanish 
power  in  America,  and  encourage  the  ptetensionF  of  other  p(>wers  besides 
England. 

""'Tlieir  Britannic  and  Catholic  majesties,  being  desirous  of  tenninating, 
by  a  speedy  and  solid  ngrecnient,  the  differences  which  have  lately  arisen  ho- 
tweeu  the  two  crowns,  have  adjudged  that  the  best  way  of  obtaining  this  salu- 
tary object  would  bo  that  of  an  amicable  arrangement,  wliicii,  setting  iioide 
all  retrospective  discussion  of  the  rights  and  pretensions  of  tl.e  two  jiarties, 
should  fix  their  respective  situation  for  the  future  on  a  Iwsis  conformable  to 
their  true  interests,  as  well  as  to  the  mutual  desire  with  which  their  said 
majesties  are  animated,  of  establishing  with  each  other,  in  everything  and  in 
all  places,  the  most  perfect  friendship,  harmony,  and  good  correspondence.  In 
this  view  they  iiavo  named . . .  who . . .  have  agreed  upon  the  following  articles : 

'  ARTifT.E  1.  It  is  agreed  that  the  buildings  and  tracts  of  land,  situated  on 
the  north-west  coast  of  the  continent  of  North  Amoricia,  or  on  islands  iwl- 
jaeeiit  to  that  continent,  of  which  the  subjects  of  His  Britannic  niaiesty  were 
ui8{)osaes8ed,  about  the  month  of  April  1789,  by  »,  Spjiniih  ollicer,  shall  be  ro- 
■tored  to  the  said  Britieih  subjects. 

'Akt  2.  And  furtlier,  a  just  reparation  shall  be  mtde,  aecordiug  to  tho 
nature  of  the  case,  for  all  acts  of  violence  or  hostility,  which  may  have  beew 


THE  TREATY. 


235 


land  secured,  and  Spain  retained,  the  riglits  of  col> 
nierce,  iiavigation,  and  settlement  on  the  Pacilic  coabo 
above  San  Francisco.  Each  nation  was  to  have  iree 
access  to  the  establishments  of  the  other  in  those 
regions.  In  return  for  the  rights  conceded,  England 
pledged  herself  to  prevent  her  subjects  ft-om  carrying 
on  an  illicit  trade  with  the  Spanish  settlements,  or 


committed  subsequent  to  the  month  of  April  1789,  by  the  subjects  of  cither 
of  the  contractLig  parties  against  the  subjects  of  the  other;  ami  tliat,  in  ciuso 
any  of  the  said  respective  subjects  shall,  since  the  same  jxTiod,  have  been 
forcibly  dispossessed  of  their  lauds,  buildings,  vessels,  merchandise,  and  other 
property  whatever,  on  the  said  continent,  or  on  the  seas  or  islands  adjacent, 
tiiey  shall  Ijo  re-established  in  the  possession  thereof,  or  a  just  compenaatiou 
shad  be  made  to  them  for  the  losses  which  they  have  sustained. 

'  Ai;t.  3.  And,  in  order  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  friendship,  and  to  pre- 
serve in  future  a  perfect  harmony,  etc. .  .it  is  agreed,  that  their  respective 
subjects  shall  not  be  disturbed  or  molested,  either  in  navigating  or  carryir^g 
on  their  iishesies  in  tlic  Pacific  Ocean,  or  in  the  South  Seas,  or  in  landing  on 
the  coasts  of  those  seas,  in  places  not  already  occupied,  for  tlio  purpo.se  of 
ca'.Tyiug  on  their  commerce  with  the  natives  of  the  country,  or  of  making 
settlements  there ;  the  whole  subject,  nevertheless,  to  the  restrictions  specified 
in  the  three  following  articles: 

'  Art.  4.  His  Britannio  :najesty  engages  to  take  the  most  effectual  mcas- 
ares  to  prevent  tho  navigation  and  fishery  of  his  subjects  in  the  racific  Ocean, 
or  in  the  South  Seas,  from  being  made  a  pretext  for  illicit  tra<lo  witli  tlio 
Spnuish  8ettlein<>nts ;  and,  with  this  view,  it  is  moreover  expressly  stipulated, 
tb  t  British  subjects  shall  not  navigate,  or  carry  on  their  fishery  in  the  said 
»  js,  within  the  space  of  ten  sea  leagues  from  any  part  of  the  coasts  akeady 
occupied  by  Spain. 

•  Aet.  5.  It  is  agreed,  that  as  well  in  the  places  which  are  to  l)e  restored 
to  the  Br  tish  subjects,  by  virtue  of  the  first  article,  as  in  all  otlier  parts  of 
the  i;<jrth-  ivestern  coasts  of  North  America,  or  of  the  islands  adjacent,  situ- 
ated to  ths  north  of  the  parts  of  the  said  coast  already  occupied  by  Spain, 
wherever  the  subjects  of  either  of  the  two  powers  shall  have  made  settle- 
ments since  thr  month  of  April  1789,  or  shall  hereafter  make  any,  the  subjects 
of  the  otlier  shall  liave  free  access,  and  sliall  carry  on  their  trade  without  any 
disturbance  or  molestation.' 

Art.  6.  No  settlements  to  be  made  by  subjects  of  either  power  on  coasts 
and  islanths  of  South  .^Vmerica  south  of  parts  already  occupied  by  Spain ;  yet 
giibjocts  of  both  powers  may  land  for  purposes  of  fishery  and  of  erecting 
temfiorary  buildings  serving  only  for  those  purposes. 

kur.  7.  In  all  cases  of  complaint  or  infraction  of  tlio  articles  of  the  prch- 
«nt  <.(mventi()n,  the  officers  of  either  party,  without  permitting  themselves 
previously  to  commit  any  violence  or  act  of  force,  shall  bo  bound  to  make  an 
exact  report  of  tho  affair,  and  of  its  circumstances,  to  their  respective  courts, 
wbcj  will  terminate  such  diilerenccs  in  an  amicable  manner. 

Aet.  8.  Convention  to  bo  ratified  in  six  weeks  or  sooner  from  date  of 
signature,  etc. 

Secret  Article.  [Unknown  to  Greenhow,  Twiss,  et  al.]  Article  0  is  to 
remain  in  force  only  as  long  as  no  settlement  is  made  on  those  coasts  by  the 
subjects  of  any  third  power. 

To  be  found  in  Cati!0,Jieciteil,  356-9;  Armucd Register,  xxxii.  303-5;  Oreeii- 
*o?/'V  Or  and  Cat.,  476-7;  Tmsa'  Or.  Queai.,  113-17;  and  in  many  other 
works.  A  copy  was  sent  at  once  to  California,  and  is  iouudin.  Arch.  CaL,  MS., 
Prov.  iic.  Pap.,  ix.  309-13. 


-^iM) 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


I  1 


even  from  approaching  within  ten  leagues  of  those 
coasts  already  occupied  by  Spain;  also  to  found  no 
permanent  establishments  below  the  Spanish  posses- 
sions in  South  America,  Lands  and  buildings  taken 
from  British  subjects  in  the  Nootka  region,  that  is 
if  any  had  been  taken,  were  to  be  restored.  The 
ratifications  were  finally  exchanged  on  November  22d, 
in  Madrid.  In  December  the  matter  cam'e  up  in  the 
English  parliament,  where  the  opposition  regarded 
.  the  treaty  very  much  as  it  had  been  regarded  by  the 
Spanish  junta,  as  a  culpable  concest;ion  to  a  foreign 
power.  In  Madrid  it  seemed  simply  that  the  con- 
vention opened  to  English  settlement  a  portion  of 
Spanish  territory  in  return  for  concessions  which 
were  but  mere  acknowledgments  of  well  known  Span- 
ish rights;  but  the  London  view  of  it  was  that  by 
the  same  convention  an  Englishman's  undoubted  right 
to  trade  and  settle  in  any  part  of  America  had  been 
unjustly  and  needlessly  restricted.  The  average  Eng- 
lish mind  could  never  comprehend  that  Spaniards 
had  any  rights  worthy  of  consideration.  The  opposi- 
tion in  parliament  amounted  practically  to  nothing; 
for  the  ministry  had  so  large  a  majority  that  it  was 
not  deemed  necessary  even  to  explain  the  difficulties 
suggested  by  the  opposition." 

While  the  Nootka  convention  was  in  one  sense  a 
triumph  for  Great  Britain,  since  she  gained  the  point 
at  issue,  the  right  to  trade  and  settle  on  the  North- 
west Coast,  and  a  humiliation  and  defeat  for  Spain, 
because  she  was  forced  to  give  up  her  claims  to  exclu- 
eive  rights  in  that  region,  yet  it  was  pra,ctically  n  fair 
arrangement,  and  not  less  favorable  to  Spain  than 


'>''  Ilanmrd'a  Parliamentary  Dthaief,  xxviii.;  Oreenhow's  Or.  avd  Cal., 
211-1.5.  The  use  of  the  date  April  1789  inatead  of  May  for  tlie  Nootka 
events  was  naturally  at  the  time  a  suspicious  circumstance  in  connection  with 
the  provision  of  Article  2,  that  property  taken  subsequently  to  April  ohoui.i 
be  restortKl  or  paid  for;  yet,  althougli  carelessness  in  such  a  matter  wou'n 
seem  unlikely,  it  is  impoEsible  to  discover  any  hidden  purpose  in  tht  errrii-  to 
favor  either  pari  y  as  against  the  other.  Mr  Fox's  objection  that  the  treaty  left 
room  on  several  ix>ints  for  different  iiiterpn  tations  auJ  consequent  troubles 
was  of  more  weight. 


SPAIN  RETIRES. 


•237 


England.  Spain's  concession  was  to  her,  except  as  a 
matter  of  pride,  a  slight  one,  since  she  had  no  use  for 
northern  possessions  except  as  a  means  of  protection 
against  foreign  encroachments;  while  on  the  other 
hand  the  concessions  of  her  rival,  if  faithfully  carried 
out,  would  be  of  great  practical  advantage  to  her. 
Spain  might  properly  have  made  a  similar  treaty,  not 
including  the  satisfaction  for  Martinez'  acts  at  Nootka 
however,  if  she  had  been  in  condition  for  war;  though 
pride  and  popular  sentiment  would  probably  have  pre- 
vented it. 

By  the  treaty  Spain  must  be  deemed  to  have  relin- 
quished forever  all  her  claims  to  sovereignty  on  the 
north-western  coasts  as  founded  on  discovery.  The 
region  was  restored  to  what  may  be  termed  a  state  of 
nature,  with  the  exception  of  Nootka,  which  was 
already  a  legitimate  Spanish  possession,  though  sub- 
sequently abandoned,  as  we  shall  see.  Within  it  either 
Spain  or  England  might  form  settlements  at  any 
points  not  previously  occupied,  and  by  this  act  might 
acquire  sovereignty  over  extents  of  territory  to  be  de- 
termined at  the  time  or  later  when  questions  of 
boundary  should  arise.  T  cannot  accept  the  theories 
advocated  to  some  extent  in  later  years  that  Spain, 
retaining  the  sovereignty,  simply  conceded  to  English 
subjects  the  privilege  of  forming  settlements  within 
her  territory  for  spocial  pi'.rposes;  that  the  settlements 
provided  for  were  mere  trading-posts  for  temporary 
use;  or  that,  as  Mr  Greenhow  puts  it,  "both  parties 
were  by  the  convention  equally  excluded .  .  .  from  exer- 
cising that  jurisdiction  which  is  essential  to  political 
sovereignty,  over  any  spot  north  of  the  most  northern 
Spanish  settlement  on  the   Pacific."'*    It  i.s  not  un- 

**  Gri«enhow's  idea  in  that  the  frpe  nceess  of  each  to  the  other's  settMraenta 
would  destroy  the  sovei  'ignty,  Witich  seems  .an  absurdity.  He  also  writes  -. 
'The  convention,  in  fine  established  new  basi  s  for  the  navigation  and  fishery 
of  the  respective  iiartics,  and  their  trade  vith  the  nativea  on  th«  •noccupicd 
coasts  r>f  America ;  but  it  determined  nothing  regarding  tlie  ix^ihts  of  oitlier 
to  the  sovereignty  of  any  portion  <if  America,  except  ko  far  a»  si;  may  imply 
Ml  abrogation,  or  rathei  i  mi-'oensiori.  of  all  such  claims,  on  both  sides,  to  any 
of  those  cojists  ■  It  was  indeed  an  aorogation  of  all  existing  claims,  bat  not  of 
the  right  iu  -jfcabhah  new  ones  liy  settlement. 


'^g^^^-tM^ 


mma 


mmm 


238 


THE  NOOTKA  CONTROVERSY. 


likely  that  Spain  might  in  later  years,  had  it  seemed 
for  her  interest  to  do  so,  have  claimed  that  she  had 
granted  nothing  more  than  a  privilege  of  establishing 
temporary  trading-posts;  and  indeed  there  is  some 
evidence  that  even  now  she  had  a  vague  hope  of  main- 
taining that  the  whole  territory  in  question  had  been 
so  fully  'occupied'  as  to  preclude  any  English  settle- 
ments under  the  treaty;  or  at  least  of  insisting  on  the 
Nootka  settlement  as  the  southern  limit  of  the  rej^ion 
free  to  the  British  traders.®^  But  the  meaning  of  the 
treaty  is  clear,  and  Spain  could  not  justly  object  to  an 
English  establishment  anywhere  above  Cape  Mendo- 
cino at  the  highest.  No  controversy  ever  arose,  how- 
ever, betvveen  the  two  powers;  and  indeed  it  is  not 
impossible  that  the  secret  treaty  of  alliance,  generally 
believed  to  have  been  signed  about  this  time,  contained 
a  mutual  agreement  not  to  found  any  permanent  set- 
tlements on  the  coast. 

This  matter  of  sovereignty  in  the  north-west  under 
the  coi  vention  of  October  1790,  about  which  Spain 
and  El  gland  never  found  leisure  to  quarrel,  or  even 
to  intcifere  with  the  trading  operations  of  a  third 

{)arty,  the  Americans,  assumed  some  importance  in 
ater  discussions  respecting  the  quality  of  the  title 
transmitted  by  Spain  to  the  United  States ;  and 
another  question  of  interest  in  the  same  connection 
-vas  whether  the  Nootka  treaty  was  of  such  a  nature 
as  to  be  nulHfied  by  subsequent  war  between  the 
contracting  parties.  These  phases  of  the  topic  will 
receive  attention  in  their  proper  place.*' 

'"Viceroy  Revilla  Gigedo,  Informe  12  de  Abril,  179S.  134— '»,  seems  to 
havo  no  suMpicion  that  the  Northwest  Coast  was  thr"N  to  English 

h'adcrs  and  settlors.    He  regards  Articles  ;i  and  4  of  tin  "  little  iin- 

l>artaucc,  because  there  arc  'few  or  no  unoccupied  spotti.  .wuicii  are  not 
Rulijcct  to  Spanish  domiuijn.'  And  he  mcntiouB  a  royal  order  of  Deceml>er 'J.'), 
ITSM),  to  tlu-  effect  that  the  English  could  only  settle  nortii  of  Xootli;.  the 
dividing  line  between  our  legitimate  possessions  and  the  regions  ofwu  t.r  the 
reciprocal  use  and  trade  of  both  nations  being  fixed  at  48".' 

'"'September  G,  1780.  The  viceroy  writes  to  the  governor  of  California  t'""*^ 
\)y  the  king's  ovder  Briti^ii  trading  vessels  must  not  be  molested  ;  but.  if  t'-"^ 
make  Hcttlemcnts  contrary  to  the  treaty  they  must  be  warned  and  the  iuag 
informed.  Arch.  Cat.,  .\iS.,  Prov.  Si.  I'ap.,  xi.  ;]9-40. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


'1 


EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 
1790-1792. 

Spanish  Rkocoupation  of  Nootha  by  Eusa — Fidaloo's  Explobatiox  in 
THE  North — Qpimper  im  the  Stratt  of  Fpca — His  Chart — Colnett 
AND  THE  'Argonaut' — No  Fcr-trade — Kendhick's  Schemkh— Explo- 
rations OF  1791 — The  'San  Carlos' — Elisa's  Survey  of  the  Stuait— 
His  Map— The  Nootka  Coast — The  Transpokt  'Aranzazu'— Malas- 
pina's  Expedition  in  the  •  Descudierta' and  'Atkkvioa' — The  Gar- 
rison—The Boston  Traders — Gray  and  Haswell — KENORifK— 
Inoraham — Makchand's  Visit  and  Map — Fleurieu's  Essay— Voyages 
of  1792 — The  Tr.vdf.rs  — The  'Columbia  Rediviva'— BniLDiN<i  of 
the  'Adventure'  —  Haswell's  Log  —  Mauee,  Coolidoe,  Br(iwn, 
Stewart,  Baker,  Shepherd,  Colk — Portuguese  Vessels— A  French 
Trader — Spanish  Explorations — CaamaSo  in  the  North — Galiano 
AND  Vald^s  on  the  '  Sutil'  and  'Mexicana' — Thkocoh  the  Stuait  of 
Fttoa — Navarrbte's  Stmmaey — Vancocveb's  ExPLoaiNo  Expedition. 

YicEROT  Flores  had  resolved  to  occupy  Nootka 
on  his  own  responsibility.  Why  ho  ordered  Martinoz 
to  abandon  the  post  is  not  known;  possibly  he  wa^ 
frightened  at  the  prospective  results  of  his  subordi- 
nate's sbcts,  or  royal  orders  may  simj)ly  have  required 
the  presence  of  the  vessels  and  officers  elsewhere. 
On  October  18,  1789,  however,  the  conde  de  Revilla 
^j-igedo  succeeded  Flores  as  viceroy,  and  ho  at  once 
t«>ok  steps  to  renew  the  occupation,  orders  from  the 
king  to  that  effect  hii.ving  been  received  too  late  to 
prevent  the  recall  of  Martinez.  Similar  orders  were 
renewed  after  the  news  of  Nootka  tsvents  had  reached 
Europe.  The  new  expedition  was  put  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant  Francisco  Elisa,  who  sailed  on 
the  ship  Coiuepcion,  with  the  snow  San   Carlos,  or 


240  EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 

Filipino,  under  Lieutenant  Salvador  Fidalgo,  and  the 
sloop  Princesa  Real — that  is,  the  captured  Princess 
Royal — under  Alferez  Manuel  Quimper.^ 

The  three  vessels  sailed  from  San  Bias  on  February 
n,  1790,  well  fitted  and  supplied  for  a  year,  carrying 
also  a  company  of  volunteer  soldiers  for  garrison  duty," 
together  with  artillery  and  all  the  necessary  war-storea 
for  the  northern  presidio.  The  voyage  was  uneventful, 
and  the  first  land  sighted  was  at  Woody  Point.  The 
two  Spanish  vessels  anchored  at  Nootka  on  April  5th, 
and  the  less  speedy  English  prize  arrived  two  days 
later.^  Work  was  at  once  begun  on  the  restoration  of 
the  old  fortification  and  barracks.  The  formal  act 
of  possession  took  place  on  the  10th,  when  the  flag 
was  unfurled  and  saluted  by  a  general  discharge  of 
the  newly  mounted  guns.  During  the  rest  of  the 
year  nothing  is  known  to  have  occurred  to  disturb 
the  peaceful  monotony  of  garrison  life  at  Santa  Cruz 
do  Nutka.*  The  chief  Maquinna  had  retired  to  some 
distance  from  the  port  on  account  of  unexplained  diffi- 
culties with  Martinez;  but  on  being  assured  that  a 

'  Commander  Elisa  was  instnicted  to  fortify  the  fort  and  erect  the  simple 
necessary  buildings  for  storeiiouses,  dwellings,  and  work^jhops.  He  was  to 
Beck  the  friendship  of  tlie  Indians,  treating  them  with  discretion,  lo^'e,  and 

i)rudence ;  to  defend  the  establishment  from  every  insult,  whether  from  tJie 
ndiaas  or  from  the  subjects  of  any  foreign  power ;  not  to  insist  on  a  minute 
examination  of  their  vessels,  or  on  molesting  or  seizing  them,  nor  even  to  dis- 
lodge tlie  Russians  from  their  iixcd  establishments,  except  after  receiving 
positive  orders  from  the  king.  He  was  also  directed  to  despatch  hia  vessels 
at  iitting  times  to  carefully  explore  the  coasts,  islands,  and  ports  up  to  08°, 
('ook  River,  and  the  strait  of  Juan  de  Fnca.  Rcvilla  Giijedo,  Iiijhrme  de  12  de 
Ahr'd  179,),  130-1.  It  will  be  noted  that  these  instrudtions  were  given  before 
the  controversy  between  Spain  and  England  was  known  in  Mexico. 

^This  company  seems  to  have  been  under  tlio  command  of  Don  Pedro 
Albemi,  wlio  remained  but  a  short  time,  left  his  name  attached  permanently 
to  an  inlet  in  Barclay  Sound,  became  very  popular  with  the  Indians,  and 
finally  served  until  death  in  California.  See  Hint.  Cat.,  vol.  ii.  chap,  i.,  this 
series. 

^  Elian,  Salidn  de  Ion  ires  buques  para  Nolka,  ano  de  1790,  MS.  diary  from 
Spanish  archives,  in  Viagea  al  Norte  de  CaL,  No.  7;  also  Elka,  Tabla  diarla 
de  las  huqnes  para  el  jmerto  de  Nootka,  1790,  MS.,  including  the  movements 
of  all  three  vessels,  in  Id.,  No.  9.  Navarrete — I'iages  Ajxic.,  03-4;  SxUil 
y  Mex.,  Viarjc,  cix.-x. — falls  into  errors  respecting  the  names  of  the  vessels 
and  the  date  of  arrival. 

* '  Se  fortified  el  puerto  de  Nootka :  se  formo  una  poblacion  competente, 
C(imoda  en  lo  posible,  y  agradable ;  se  consiguii'j  la  buena  correspondencia  de 
los  indios  por  los  medios  del  cambalache  6  comercio,  y  de  alguuas  cortas 
dddivaa.'  Jievilla  Ghjedo,  JiiJ'orme,  131. 


FIDALGO  AND  QUIMPER'S  MOVEMENTS. 


m 


new  commander  had  been  sent  to  replace  his  enemy 
he  returned  and  became  friendly." 

Explorations  were  in  order  as  soon  as  the  fort  was 
completed,  and  on  May  4th  Lieutenant  Fididgo  was 
despatched  to  the  north  on  the  Fi.lqnno,  with  inter- 
preters of  Russian  and  English.  An  account  of 
Fidalgo's  investigations  on  the  Alaskan  coast,  mainly 
in  the  region  of  Prince  William  Sound  and  Cook  River, 
though  of  some  interest,  does  not  belong  here.  His 
orders  Avere  on  the  return  to  carefully  examine  the 
coast  from  latitude  57°  southward,  but  bad  weather 
prevented  this,  and  would  not  even  permit  him  to 
enter  Nootka,  in  the  latitude  of  which  he  was  at  the 
beginning  of  September.  Accordingly  he  kept  on  for 
Monterey,  where  he.  arrived  on  the  15th  of  September, 
spent  forty  days  in  refitting,  and  on  the  14th  of  No* 
vembcr  was  back  at  San  Bias." 

It  was  on  the  31st  of  May  that  Elisa  despatched 
the  Princesa  Real  under  Alfdrez  Quimper  to  explore 
the  strait  of  Fuca,  which  had  been  discovered,  as  we 
have  seen,  by  Barclay,  and  explored  for  a  short  dis- 
tance from  its  mouth  by  Duffin  and  Gray,  perhaps 
also  by  Kendrick  and  Haro.  Quimper  explored  not 
only  the  strait  proper,  but  the  widening  farther  east, 
which  he  called  Seno  de  Santa  Rosa.  His  progre'^jfi 
was  slow  and  his  examination  a  careful  one.  By  the 
end  of  June  he  had  surveyed  the  northern  shore  to 
the  region  of  the  modern  Victoria,  and  had  discovered 
the  main  northern  channel,  which  still  bears  the  name 
he  gave  it  in  honor  of  his  sailing-master.  Canal  de 
Lopez  de  Haro;  then  he  crossed  over  to  the  south 
shore,  and  named  for  himself  what  is  now  Squini 
Bay.     He  surveyed  Port  Discovery,  which  he  named 

''Quimper,  Segundo  recon.  de  Fuca,  MS. 

'^I'ldalfjo,  Viage  del  Paquehot  'Filipino'. .  .para  loa  reconocimie/itos  del 
Princip"  Gtdllcrmo  y  rio  de  Cook,  1790,  MS.,  in  Viwjea  al  Nortf  de  Gal.,  No.  8; 
also  Fidalijo,  Tabia  que  manijiesta,  etc.,  MS.,  in  Id.,  No.  10;  lievilln  Gi'jedo, 
Iilforme,  140-1;  Kavarrcte,  I'iages  Ap6c.,  G'l-G;  Id.,  in  Sutil  y  Mcxicana, 
I'tar/e,  ci.\.-xii.  December  11,  1790,  the  viceroy  has  heard  of  the  arriv.il  of 
the  Sail  Cdrlo-'i  and  Princesa  Ileal  at  Monterey.  Arch.  CaL,  MS.,  Prov.  Ht. 
Pop.,  ix.  '24']. 

Hist.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    16 


I::  y    I 


242 


EXPLOIUNO  AND  COMMERCTAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


Bodega  y  Ciiadra;  but  ho  mistook  the  nature  f)f  the 
nuuii  passage  to  southern  waters,  the  mouth  of  which 
he  named  Ensenada  de  Caamano.  Sent  northward  in 
boats,  his  men  discovered  also  the  secondary  northern 
channel,  Boca  de  Fidalgo,  now  Rosario  Strait.  The 
details  of  his  survey  are  best  shown  on  the  appended 
copy  of  his  chart.' 


^ ,j         iSL.Df  DA  RO?/iV!-Vt^Fta.iJo  Moreno  do  laVe<ja  •"■'''  C 

'i"  ,,  '":  '      ST  A.  nosA  \ 

'  f'VA  \  J. 


Pta.de  Menondez^' 


Quimper's  Map,  1790. 

Though  Quimper  was  the  first  discoverer  of  all  this 
region,  the  names  applied  by  him  were  with  a  single 
exception  not  peimanent;  Squim  Bay  should  bear  his 
name  rather  than  that  of  Budd  or  Washington.  On 
the  18th  of  July  he  turned  westward  and  followed 
the  southern  shore  of  the  strait  to  the  ocean,  taking 
formal  possession  on  the  1st  of  August  at  Port  Nunez 
Gaona,  or  Neah  Bay,  as  he  had  at  several  points  be- 

'  Chart  made  by  the  piloto,  Gonzalo  Lopez  de  Haro ;  copy  obtained  by  the 
United  States  Govcminent  from  ^Madrid,  and  published  in  L'eply  of  the  United 
Slalt's. .  .1S7~,  in  connection  with  the  San  Juan  boundary  dispute.  For  con- 
venience I  have  omitted  in  my  copy  the  western  portion  of  the  strait.  The 
names  on  the  part  omitted  in  their  order  from  the  entrance  eastward  arc  aa 
follows:  North  sliore,  Pfa  Bonilla,  Pto  de  S.  Juan  or  Narvaez,  Rio  Sombrio, 
Pta  Ma(idal(  mi;  south  shore,  Pla  de  Mariimz,  Pta  de  liada,  B.  de  Nuuez 
Vaona,  jLJns.  de  Roxas ;  below  the  entrance  on  the  Pacific  are  Pta  de  Jlijosa 
and  Boca  de  Alara.  Ml,  Carmelo  and  sierra  of  S.  Antonio  are  in  the  north- 
east and  south-east,  just  beyond  the  limits  of  my  copy.  -     ' 


rmiTnER  op  colnett. 


Mt.' 


fore'  On  leaving  port  the  sloop  steered  for  Xootka, 
but  she  ct)uld  not  make  the  port,  anil  was  driven  soudi- 
wai'd.  Finally  on  August  13th  she  gave  U})  the  eflort 
and  turned  her  prow  toward  Monterey,  where  she 
anchored  on  the  '2d  of  September.  Her  consort,  the 
San  Carlos,  as  we  have  seen,  arrived  at  the  same 
port  on  the  15th,  and  Quimper  and  Fidalgo  reached 
San  Bias  together  in  November.^ 

Only  one  vessel  besides  those  of  the  Spanish  expe- 
dition just  described  is  known  to  have  visited  tho 
Northwest  Coast  in  1790;  that  one  was  tho  Arc/o- 
naut,  in  which  Captain  Colnett  after  his  release  sailed 
from  San  Bias,  probably  in  August.  lie  had  on  board 
the  crews  of  both  vessels,  and  an  order  for  the  de- 
livery of  the  Princess  Royal  at  Nootka,  but  on  reach- 
ing that  port  he  did  not  find  the  sloop.  He  behoved 
the  Spaniards  had  deceived  him  intentionally;^"  but 
we  have  seen  that  unforeseen  circumstances  had  com- 
pelled Quimper  to  sail  soutliward  earlier  than  had  been 
intended,  and  he  had  probably  passed  Colnett  on  tho 
way.  It  was  said  that  the  irate  Englishman,  not- 
withstanding his  distress,  obtained  a  valuable  lot  of 
furs  before  he  left  Nootka."  However  this  may 
have  been,  Colnett  left  the  coast  and,  miraculously  as 
he  thinks,  arrived  safely  at  ]\Iacao.  The  next  year  ho 
received  his  sloop  from  Quimper  at  the  Hawaiian 
Islands.  Thus,  though  the  Spaniards  had  obtained  a 
few  skins  in  the  course  of  their  explorations,  the  fur- 

*The  full  act  of  possession  is  given  in  the  diary.  Neah  Bay  is  errone- 
ously stated  by  Grccnliow,  Davidson,  and  others  to  bo  the  Poverty  Cove  of 
the  American  traders,  but  Gray's  Poverty  Cove  was  on  tho  northern  shore. 
See  last  chapter;  also  Jlaswell'n  Loij,  MS.,  93.  Grecnhow,  Or.  and  Cat.,  also 
implies  that  the  name  Canal  de  Giiemes  was  given  by  Quimper,  and  states 
that  he  returned  to  Nootka,  though  this  author  seems  to  have  seen  the  orig- 
inal diary. 

^Quimper,  Segundo  reconocimknto  de  la  entrada  de  Fuca  y  rosta  comprcn- 
dida  iidre  ella  y  la  de  Nootka,  hecho  el  uiio  de  ll'JO,  MS.,  in  Viai/(s  al  Nortn 
de  Cal.,  No.  11.  To  this  diary  'and  table  is  added  a  long  account  of  the 
Nootka  region,  its  people,  language,  etc.,  including  an  account  translated 
from  one  prepared  by  Mr  Ingraham  of  the  Columbia  in  ITS'J. 

^"iWnetl'n  To//.,  101.  He  says  that  the  orders  of  the  .Spanish  commander 
(Quimper),  which  he  saw  when  he  met  him  later,  showed  that  it  had  been  im- 
possible to  meet  him  at  Nootka;  but  this  is  not  very  intelligible. 

"  Cuadra,  in  Vaucouver'a  Voy.,  i.  38^. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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Photographic 

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EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCUL  EXPEDITIONS. 


trade  had  been  practically  suspended  for  the  year. 
Captain  Kendrick  might  have  reaped  a  rich  harvest 
in  the  Lady  vVashington,  but  he  was  never  in  liaito, 
and  lost  the  season  by  remaining  in  China  engaged 
in  other  schemes." 

Commander  Elisa  had  remained  at  Nootka  with  the 
garrison;  and  his  ship,  the  Concepcion,  had  wintered 
there.**  On  February  4,  1791,  the  San  Carlos  was 
despatched  from  San  Bias  under  the  command  of 
Alferez  Ramon  Antonio  Saavedra  y  Guyralda,  with 
Juan  Pantoja  y  Arriaga  as  piloto,  arriving  at  Nootka 
after  a  long  and  stormy  passage  late  in  March.  Elisa 
had  orders  to  complete  his  exploration  of  the  coast  from 
Mount  St  Elias  in  the  north  to  Trinidad  in  the  south." 
He  accordingly  transferred  himself  to  the  smaller 
vessel,  left  Saavedra  in  charge  of  the  Concepcion  and 
garrison,  and  sailed  on  May  5th.  The  San  Carlos 
was  accompanied  by  the  schooner  Santa  Satnrnina,  or 
Ilorcasitas,  under  Josd  Maria  Narvaez."  The  winds 
compelled  the  explorers  to  direct  their  course  south- 
ward instead  of  to  the  north,  as  they  intended.  About 
fifteen  days  were  spent  in  a  careful  examination  of 

"Haswell,  Log  of  the  Columbia,  MS.,  7,  says  he  'began  to  make  his  vessel 
a  brig.  Th-s  operation  being  under  his  directions,  took  such  a  length  of  time 
that  he  lost  bis  season. '  Greenhow  tells  us  Kendrick  '  had  been  engaged,  since 
1780,  in  various  speculations,  one  of  ^vhich  was  the  collection  and  transporta- 
tion to  China  of  the  odoriferous  wood  called  sandal,  which  grows  in  many  of 
the  tropical  islands  of  the  Pacific,  and  ia  in  great  demand  throughout  the 
Celestial  Empire.  Vancouver  pronounced  the  scheme  chimerical ;  but  expe- 
rience has  proved  that  it  was  founded  on  just  calculations.'  Kelley,  letter  of 
January  1,  1810,  in  Thornton's  Or.  Hist.,  M8.,  89,  incorrectlv  states  that  Ken- 
drick had  remained  over  from  1789,  ^nd  in  the  winter  of  1790  built  a  Fort 
Washington  at  Mawinah,  making  a  trip  into  the  Fuca  Sea  later.  All  this  ia 
a  confused  allusion  to  earlier  and  later  evonte. 

"Navarrete,  Vial/en  Ajnie.,  115,  says  tlmt  the  two  vessels  suflFered  much, 
until  the  Princeaa  had  to  be  sent  south  with  32  sick  men,  suffering  with 
scurvy,  etc.  But  this  does  not  agree  at  all  with  the  facts  as  shown  by 
Quimper's  diary,  since  it  is  hardly  possible  that  the  sloop  went  back  to 
Nootka  in  the  winter  after  reaching  San  Bios  in  November  1790. 

'•  Particularly  the  entrada  de  Biicareli,  strait  of  Fonte,  port  Cayuela,  boca 
de  Carrasco,  strait  of  Fuca,  entrada  de  Heceta,  and  port  of  Trinidad. 

''The  presence  of  this  schooner  at  Nootka  is  not  explained;  neither  is  it 
Rny where  stated  what  had  become  of  the  North  Wcxl  Amrrica,  or  Oer'nidis 
of  1789.  Later  the  Santa  Satuminn  and  Horcasitas  are  mentioned  as  diatioct 
vefebela. 


MOVEMENTS  OF  ELISA. 


245 


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Eusa's  Map,  1701. 


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Cayuela,  or  Clayoquot,  and  the  adjoining  region." 
Then  the  snow  entered  the  strait  of  Fuca,  and  on 
^lay  29th  anchored  in  Quimper's  ]iort  of  Cordoba, 
■while  the  schooner  first  explored  the  Boca  de  Car- 
rasco,  in  Barclay  Sound.  From  Cordoba  the  boat  was 
first  sent  out  under  the  second  piloto,  Jos6  Verdia,  to 
survey  the  Haro  Channel;  but  the  hostile  actions  of 
the  natives,  some  of  whom  were  killed,  caused  the 
party  to  return.  On  June  1 6th,  however,  Narvaez 
having  arrived,  the  schooner  and  launch,  prepared  for 
defence,  again  entered  the  channel,  and  continued 
their  search  in  this  and  subsequent  entrances  until 
August  7th.  What  they  accomplished  is  best  shown 
by  the  accompanying  copy  of  their  chart. 

In  the  south-east  Elisa  added  nothing  to  Quimper's 
survey  beyond  discovering  that  the  bight  of  Caamano 
was  the  entrance  to  an  unexplored  southern  channel; 
but  eastward  and  north-westward  a  very  complete 
examination  was  made  of  the  complicated  maze  of 
i:dands  and  channels,  into  the  great  gulf  of  Georgia, 
which  was  named  the  Gran  Canal  de  Nuestra  Seuora 
del  Rosario  la  Marinera,  and  up  that  channel  past 
Tejada  Island  to  50°."  Several  inlets  extending  east- 
ward and  north-eastwaid  into  the  interior  were  dis- 
covered, which  might  afford  the  desired  passage  to 
the  Atlantic,  but  their  exploration  had  to  be  post- 
poned for  a  later  expedition.  Several  names,  such  as 
San  Juan,  GUemes,  Tejada  Island,  and  Port  Los 
Angeles,  are  retained  on  modern  maps  as  applied  by 
Llisa,  while  others  given  by  him  and  Quimper,  such 
as  Rosario,  Caamano,  Fidalgo,  and  C(5rdoba,  are  still 

'"Pnntoja,  with  the  launch,  from  the  11th  to  the  19th,  explored  what  ia 
ciillod  the  north-west  in(;uth  of  the  [)ort.  The  names  applied  were  bocas  de 
isddretlra.  gulf  of  San  Ju<n  Uatit-gld,  canal  do  ^an  Antonio,  port  >a)»  Isiilro, 
ip  and  .S'(i/»  Pedro,  hay  San  Rnfael,  canul  do  San  Francisco,  Iwwia  de  San 
Sdliiininii,  caiiul  do  San  Juan  Ncpomucuno,  and  tho  gieat  jiortH  of  liucniPii 
aiid  Oiralile.  'i'lie  schooner  had  meanwhile  explored  the  northern  mouth 
and  several  branches,  but  no  names  are  given. 

"On  Vancouver's  map  the  name  was  applied  to  the  channel  lietween 
Tejada  Island  and  the  main,  wliy  is  not  ktiown ;  and  for  some  eijually  mys- 
terious reason  the  name  was  nj^uin  transferred  in  later  years  by  Eng.ish  geog- 
raphcra  to  the  narrow  soutiieru  strait  tluit  sti.l  bears  it. 


■^\ 


ELISA'S  NOMENCLATURE. 


247 


Elba's  Map  of  Nootka  Coast,  17!)1. 


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in  use,  but  not  as  originally  applied.  The  expedition 
left  the  strait  in  August,  on  account  of  prevalent 
scurvy  among  the  men.  It  is  not  strange  that  on  his 
return  to  Nootka  from  the  labyrinth,  Elisa  wrote  to 
the  viceroy:  "It  appears  that  the  oceanic  passage  so 
zealously  sought  by  fondgners,  if  there  is  one,  cannot 
be  elsewhere  than  by  this  great  channel."  I  append 
here  another  part  of  Elisa's  map,  showing  the  outer 
coast  from  above  Nootka  down  to  the  entrance  of  the 
strait.  It  includes  not  only  his  own  surveys  but  those 
of  earlier  Spanish  voyagers." 

In  Elisa's  absence,  perhaps  before  his  departure, 
the  Aranzazu,  commanded  by  Juan  B.  Matute,  ar- 
rived at  Nootka  from  San  Bias,  presumably  with 
supplies   for   the   garrison.     There  was,  however,  a 

Eressing  need  of  certain  articles  which  she  had  not 
rought,  and  to  get  these  and  also  the  men  who  had 
been  left  sick  in  California,  the  vessel  made  a  trip 
to  Monterey  and  back,  Matute  leaving  some  of  his 
mechanics  in  the  north  temporarily.  He  sailed  about 
May  26th,  was  at  Monterey  June  12th  to  28th, 
and  was  back  again  in  California  befote  the  end  of 
August. 

All  that  I  know  of  this  trip  is  derived  from  frag- 
mentary correspondence  in  the  California  archives  of 
the  year,  showmg  Matute's  presence  and  the  nature 
of  his  mission.  He  brought  from  the  north  despatches 
which  were  sent  to  Mexico  overland;  and  he  seems 

'*The  only  sonrces  of  information  about  this  voyage,  wholly  unknown  to 
Greenhow  and  other  writers  on  north-west  disL„  »cry,  are  a  riaunU  of  Pantoja'a 
original  diary  in  Naranrle,  I'imies  Apdr.,  114-21,  and  an  extract  from  the 
same  diary  in  Jiepl'i  q/'the  United  Staten,  97-101,  from  a  certified  copy  of  the 
original  in  the  Hydrograpliio  Bureau  in  Madrid.  The  map  which  I  have 
copin.d  ia  from  the  same  source.  The  parts  not  copied  are  the  soutliem  slioro  of 
tiie  strait  and  for  a  short  distance  belG~v  Cape  Flatter} ,  or  Point  Martinez,  on 
tlie  Pacific  shore  (as  in  Quimper's  map,  already  describe' );  also  sketch  charts 
of  Clayocuat,  Los  Angeles,  JJuena  Esperanza,  Nuca,  and  San  Rafael.  The 
only  name  in  the  extract  from  the  diary  not  on  the  map  is  Zayas  Island. 
See  also  mention  of  the  exp'^dition  in  Imnila  Gifjido,  If  forme,  141:  'En  el 
tcrcero  (reconocini'ento)  pract  cado  el  aflo de  01,  se  intern^  la  goleta  Sntuni'ma 
que  llev6  en  su  con»erva  el  Teniente  do  navio  D.  Francisco  Eliza,  mandando 
el  paquebot  S.  Cdiioi  hasta  (I  gran  canal  quo  llamaron  do  Nuestra  Seflora  del 
Rosario. '  A  mention  in  the  c  iary  of  Kendrick's  arrival  at  Nootka  on  July  I'Jth 
may  indicate  that  one  of  Elisi's  vessels  returned  before  August. 


MALASPDfA'S  VOYAGE. 


240 


also  to  have  brought  despatches  of  some  importauco 
from  Mexico  to  the  northern  commantler." 

Still  another  Spanish  expedition  arrived  at  Nootka, 
on  the  13th  of  August,  or  just  about  the  time  of 
Elisa's  return  from  the  strait  of  Fuca.  The  corvettes 
Descubierta  and  Atrevida,  under  the  command  of 
Alejandro  Malaspina,  engaged  in  a  scientific  exploring 
voyage  round  the  world,  arrived  at  Acapulco  at  the 
end  of  1790  or  beginning  of  1791.  Whether  Malaspina 
had  intended  to  visit  the  Northwest  Coast  or  not 
does  not  appear,  but  here  he  received  from  the  Span- 
ish government  a  copy  of  the  memoir  in  which  M. 
Buache  of  Paris  haa  lately  attempted  to  support  the 
genuineness  of  Maldonado'3  discoveries,  with  orders 
to  verify  the  existence  or  non-existence  of  the  strait 
which  Maldonado  pretended  to  have  found.  The  two 
vessels  sailed  from  Acapulco  on  the  1st  of  May,  the 
Atrevida  being  under  the  command  of  Jos6  do  Busta- 
niante  y  Guerra;  and  land  was  first  sighted  on  the 
23d  of  June,  in  the  region  of  Mount  Edgecombe. 
Of  their  explorations  on  the  Alaskan  coast  suffice  it 
to  say  that  nostrait  was  found;  and  when  about  the 
1st  of  August  they  entered  the  waters  of  the  North- 
west Coast,  the  weather  permitted  no  observations 
until  on  August  13th  they  anchored  at  Nootka. 

The  observatory  was  at  once  set  up  on  shore,  and 
fifteen  days  were  spent  in  a  scientific  survey  of  the 
adjoining  region.  The  only  narrative  extant  contains 
not  a  word  about  the  Spanish  garrison  or  its  com- 
mander, or  any  vessels  except  those  of  the  expedition. 
The  diaries  and  scientific  observations  of  Malaspina's 
voyage  have,  however,  not  been  published,  and  we 
have  only  one  account  by  an  officer  of  the  expedition.'" 


k\i 


i  M.  . 


'M»cA.  Cal.,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  x.  1-2,  9,  22.  32,  30,  45-6,  140.  Elisa's 
letters  are  dated  April  iOth,  and  Saavedra's  May  26th,  so  that  tlie  Aranza'.u 
sailed  from  Nootka,  if  she  did  not  an-ive  tliere,  after  Elisa's  departure  for  his 
exploring  trip.  September  5th.  The  viceroy  orders  the  governor  of  California 
to  supply  all  demands  from  Nootka. 

^"MahiH/iiiia,  Viaqe  1701,  in  Navarrctf,  Viwjes  Ap6r.,  268-320.  It  is  iin 
abridged  diary  by  one  of  tlie  officers,  and  so  far  as  Alaska  is  concerned  con- 
tains information  that  is  tolerably  complete.     In  Jd.,  9G-8,  is  on  account  of 


iil^' 


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ft; 


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250 


EXPLORING  AND  COMMERaAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


If  we  may  credit  Seuor  Navarrete,  the  original  man- 
uscripts were  very  complete,  and  their  publication 
would  have  been  a  credit  to  the  government;  still  it 
is  certain  that  their  chief  value  would  not  have  been 
in  connection  with  what  we  term  here  the  Northwest 
Coast.  Malaspina  sailed  on  the  28th  of  August,  and 
ho  made  no  ooservations  of  interest  or  importance 
until  he  reached  California." 

Of  Elisa  and  his  garrison  and  vessels  for  the  rest 
of  the  year  nothing  appears  in  the  records,  except 
that  the  Sail  Carlda  and  Santa  Saturnina  returned  to 
San  Bias.  Viceroy  Revilla-Gigedo  says:  "Although 
various  craft  of  England  and  the  American  colonics 
frequented  the  adjacent  coasts  and  ports,  some  of  them 
entering  Nootka,  nothing  occurred  to  cause  unpleas- 
antness or  damage;  and  our  new  establishment  was 
always  respected  by  them,  and  provided  with  all  that 
was  needed  by  the  other  San  Bias  vessels,  which 
brought  at  the  same  time  the  supplies  for  the  pre- 
sidios and  missions  of  Alta  California."" 

Some  of  the  Boston  owners  were  not  yet  discour- 
aged at  the  comparative  failure  of  their  first  fur- 
trading  enterprise;  and  the  Columbia  Rediviva  was 
fitted  out  for  a  new  voyage,  still  under  the  command 
of  Captain  Gray,  with  Mr  Haswell  as  first  mate.  The 
Columbia  sailed  from  Boston  on  the  28th  of  Septem- 
ber 1790,  and  after  an  uneventful  trip  anchored  at 
Clayoquot  on  tlie  5th  of  June  1791.  "Thence  she 
proceeded,"  says  Greenhow,  "  in  a  few  days  to  the 
eastern  side  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  on  which,  and 
on  the  coasts  of  the  continent  and  islands  in  its  vicin- 

the  originnl  MSS.,  maps,  plates,  etc.,  and  the  reasons  of  their  non-publica* 
tion.  Mulaspinn  fell  into  disgrace  with  the  government  in  some  political 
mutters,  and  this  caused  n  suspension  of  publication  until  it  was  deemed  too 
late.  AH  that  was  known  to  Greenhow  and  other  writers  on  the  subject 
came  from  a  brief  account  by  Navarrete,  in  Siitil  1/  Mex.,  Viage,  cxiii.-xxiii.,  in 
which  Malospina's  name  was  not  mentioned.  On  a  map  in  Jd.,  atlas,  No.  3, 
Mahispiua's  course  above  Nootka  is  laid  down. 

-'  For  Malaapinii's  visit  to  Monterey,  where  he  arrived  the  13th  of  Septem- 
ber, sou  JIIkL  L'.iL,  i.  chap,  xxiii.,  this  series. 

**Iii:vi,ia  Oiyedo,  In/oriue,  131. 


■ 


HASWELL'S  LOO. 


9S1 


ity,  she  remained  until  Septcrubcr,  engaged  in  trading 
and  exploring.  During  this  time,  Gray  explored  many 
of  the  inlets  and  passages  between  the  54th  and  the 
5Gth  parallels,  in  one  of  which — most  probably  the 
same  afterwards  called  by  Vancouver  the  Portland 
Canal — he  penetrated  from  its  entrance,  in  the  lati- 
tude of  54  degrees  33  minutes,  to  the  distance  of  a 
hundred  miles  north-eastward,  without  reaching  its 
termination.  This  inlet  he  supposed  to  be  the  Rio  do 
Keyes  of  Admiral  Fontd;  a  part  of  it  was  named  by 
him  Massacre  Cove,  in  commemoration  of  the  nmrdor 
of  Caswell,  the  second  mate,  and  two  seamen  of  his 
vessel,  by  the  natives,  on  its  shore."'^ 

My  copy  of  Mr  Haswell's  log  begins  on  the  14th 
of  August  1791,  just  before  the  ship  arrived  at  what 
was  called  Hancock  River,  an  indentation  on  the 
northern  end  of  Queen  Charlotte,  or  Washington 
Island.'**  Here  he  met  the  Hancock,  Crowell  master, 
from  Boston.'*'  The  Columbia  sailed  on  the  19th,  and 
touching  at  a  few  points  for  skins,  directed  her  course 
southward  between  the  great  island  and  the  main 
without  noticeable  adventure,'"  except  meeting  the 
Hope,  Captain  Ingraham,  from  Boston,  on  the  22d  in 
53°  2',  and  arrived  at  Clayoquot  on  the  29th.  As 
they  entered,  two  Spanish  vessels  were  seen  passing 
southward,  doubtless  Malaspina's  corvettes,  which  had 

**  Gmenhotc's  Or.  and  Col.,  229-30.  He  cites  the  log  of  the  Columhia  from 
September  28,  1700,  to  February  20,  1792.  Ho  says  tlie  disaster  hapi>enc(i  on 
August  22i],  but  it  must  have  been  earlier. 

''//(WifcW'ft  Lo'j  of  (he  Columbia  liediviva  and  A  dvfnture,  1701-2,  MS.  This 
companion  diary  to  the  same  ofliccr's  voyage  of  the  JauIij  Waxhbigtnn  in  1788-9 
Avas  obtaine<l  from  the  same  source ;  see  page  1 87  of  this  volume.  The  lii-st  pa rt 
of  the  log  is  missing,  the  entries  Ixiginning  with  August  14,  1791.  It  extends 
to  the  arrival  of  the  Columhia  in  China  the  7th  of  December  1792,  but  a  part 
is  devote«l  to  the  movements  of  the  Adventure,  under  llaswell's  command. 
It  is  a<locuni«.'i(tof  great  interest  and  value,  and  includes  a  numl)erof  charts. 
The  original  contains  albo  views  of  several  places,  the  author  having  much 
s'all  with  tho  pencil. 

^^Kelley,  Discov.  N.  W.  Coaxt,  3,  calls  her  the  Hannah,  and  says  she 
an-ivcd  at  Brown  Sound,  in  5."/  13',  on  August  l.")th. 

'"  The  names  used  are  as  follows :  Port  'J  empcft;  MnxiiacreCotr;  Miirdorrrx' 
Cape,  o4°  4;j';  \Vashin<]toii  /"laud,  rA"  5';  llanrocl:  I'iv-r,  54°  .">';  Cape  Ihuirock, 
tyV  \';  f'a/.e  Lookout,  54"  24';  Coi.  siica  village;  T'Ochcond.llh,  :.',V  37';  iir.d 
Cijte  Ilaswell,  52°  5',  All  are  on  or  about  the  north-custern  part  of  the 
isLmd. 


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252 


EXPLORINO  AND  COMMTIRaAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


sailed  from  Nootka  the  day  before;  and  within  the 
sound  they  found  Cai)tain  Kendrick,  their  former 
commander,  leisurely  engaged  in  repairing  his  sloop 
at  a  place  he  had  named  Fort  Washington. 

A  week  later  Gray  sailed  again  for  a  cruise  to 
winter  quarters,  which  it  was  intended  to  establish 
at  Bulfinch  Sound,  the  year's  trade  having  proved 
only  moderately  successful,  because  at  the  best  places 
ho  had  been  preceded  by  Kendrick,  or  Ingraham,  or 
Crowell.  After  being  carried  south  by  adverse  winds, 
and  narrowly  escaping  shipwreck  near  Cape  Flattery, 
they  returned  to  Clayoquot  on  the  1 8th  of  September, 
and  resolved  to  winter  there  instead  of  making  new 
attempts  to  reach  a  harbor  farther  north.*"  Kendrick 
was  still  there,  but  soon  departed.  A  spot  near  the 
native  village  of  Opitseta  was  selected  for  winter- 
quarters;  and  before  the  end  of  September  a  house  was 
built,  cannon  were  mounted,  and  the  frame  of  a  small 
sloop  was  landed  from  the  ship.  The  keel  was  laid 
on  the  3d  of  October,  and  from  that  time  the  work 
was  carried  on  as  rapidly  as  the  short  dark  days  and 
rainy  weather  would  jicrmit.  The  natives  were  very 
friendly;  there  was  good  shooting  of  geese  and  ducks 
for  the  officers,  plenty  of  hard  work  for  all  in  felling 
trees  and  sawing  planks,  and  no  special  excitement  in 
camp  until  after  the  end  of  the  year. 

Joseph  Ingraham,  formerly  mate  of  the  Lady  Wcish- 
ington,  left  Boston  in  command  of  the  brig/Zope**  before 
Gray,  on  September  16,  1790.  "On  the  1st  of  June, 
Ingraham  left  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  on  the  29th 
of  the  same  month  he  dropped  anchor  in  a  harbor  on 
the  south-east  side  of  Queen  Charlotte's  or  Washing- 
ton's Island,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Magee's 
Sound,  in  honor  of  one  of  the  owners  of  his  vessel. 
On  the  coasts  of  this  island,  and  of  the  other  islands, 

"  Kelley  says  ho  returned  on  the  20th,  and  that  on  the  Iflth  he  had  anchored 
at  the  village  of  Alishewat,  on  the  north  shore  of  Fuca  Strait. 

"  Fitted  out  by  Tliomas  H.  Perkins  of  Boston,  who  had  been  in  Canton 
in  1787.  D(titoninNoi-thWest,'il^.,5.  Perkina  was  also  interested  with  Magee 
in  building  the  Margaret. 


aoesBs 


KEJCDRICK  Oy  THE  COAST. 


253 


and  the  continent  adjacent  on  the  north  and  cast,  lie 
spent  the  summer  in  tradin<j,  and  collectin<;  informa- 
tion as  to  the  geography  and  natural  history,  and  tho 
iang'.ages,  manners,  and  customs,  of  the  inhabitants, 
on  all  which  subjects  his  journal  contains  minute  and 
interesting  details;  and  at  the  end  of  the  season  ho 
took  his  departure"  with  fifteen  hundred  skins  "for 
China,  where  he  arrived  on  the  1st  of  December, 
I791."» 

Captain  Kendrick,  on  the  Lady  Washington  trans- 
formed into  a  briw,  arrived  on  the  coast  from  China" 
on  the  13th  of  June.  His  landing  was  at  Barrel 
Sound,  where  the  natives  attempted  to  capture  him, 
but  were  repulsed  and  many  of  them  killed.  Not 
being  ver}'  successful  in  trade  in  the  north,  the 
captain  turned  his  course  down  the  coast  on  the 
12th  of  .K«'y  and  entered  Nootka.  The  Span- 
iards aided  in  towing  the  brig  into  port,  and  were 
most  hospitable  in  every  way,  but  the  Yankee  com- 
mander was  suspicious,  went  on  up  to  his  old  an- 
chorage of  Mawinah,  and  having  obtained  about 
eight  hundred  sea-otter  skins,  left  the  sound  by 
the  northern  passage,  preferring  not  to  risk  a  second 
exposure  to  the  guns  of  the  fort.**  He  next  went 
down  to  Clayoquot,  where  he  was  also  fortunate 
in  obtaining  many  furs  before  Gray's  arrival.  After 
some  repairs,  conducted,  according  to  Haswell,  in  his 
usual  leisurely  manner,  Kendrick  sailed  for  China  on 
the  29th  of  September.^     During  this  visit  the  cap- 

** Oitenhow's  Or.  ami  Cat.,  220-7.  He  cites  Ingraham's  MS.  journal  anil 
an  extract  from  it  in  the  MoHHOchuselts  Hist.  Col.,  1793.  Kelley,  Ducov. 
N.  Pr.  Cixut,  3,  Bays  lugraham  arrived-  appai'ently  at  Clayoquot,  on  July 
23d.  Haswell,  Log,  MS.,  5,  says  that  the  Iiopevfas  almost  ready  to  leave  the 
cuast  when  hor  boat,  with  Mr  Crup,  was  met  on  August  22d.  Crup  hinted 
that  they  had  been  very  successful  in  getting  furs.  Marcband,  Voy.,  ii.  333, 
met  Ingraham  at  Macao.     He  mentions  the  lo03  skins. 

'"  Delano.  Narrative,  43,  aided  Kendrick  in  fitting  out  his  vessel  at  Lark 
Bay,  near  Macao,  in  March. 

*'  This  was  Kendrick's  version.  In  an  extract  from  the  diarv  of  FJlisa's  voy- 
age, liqply  of  the  United  States,  100-1,  it  is  said  that  Kendrick  entered  'with 
lighted  linstocks;'  could  not  understand  when  hailed  ;  but  later,  whrn  he  had 
rcachctl  his  anchoraee,  and  was  ordered  not  to  trade  or  anchor  in  Simuiah 
ports,  he  obayed,  asid  departed  next  dav  by  the  noi'thcrn  passage. 

*'JIa«w€W«  LogoflU  Vclambia,  MS.,  7-10,  14,  10. 


,:1 


I 


154 


EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


tain  socms  to  have  purchased  larfjo  tracts  of  land  in 
the  Nootka  region,  from  the  chiefs  Macjuiiiiia  and 
Wicananish,  obtaining  their  marks  on  his  dcodw.'"  I 
shall  speak  again  of  these  land  titles.  Greonhow  and 
others  were  perhaps  in  error,  as  we  shall  see,  in 
statinjj  that  Kondrick  never  returned  to  America 
after  this  year." 

'^  Kenilrick's  docda  are  given  literally  by  Hull  .T.  Kcllcy,  Dlseov.  N.  W. 
CooKt,  and  are  worth  rcpnxlucing,  as  follows:  July  '20,  I  Till.  Deed  to  John 
Kcndrick.  (I).  'A  certain  Harbor  in  said  Nootka  Sound,  culled  ChoAlnctooK, 
In  which  the  brigantine  Lady  H'onhiii'iton  lay  at  onclior  on  the  'iOtli  July 
1V9I,  mth  all  the  land,  rivers,  creeks,  liarlwrs,  islands,  etc.,  with  all  the  pro- 
duce of  both  sea  and  land  appertaining  thereto.  Unly  the  saiil  J.  Kcndrick 
dues  grant  and  allow  the  said  Mnr|uiuna)i  to  live  and  tisli  on  the  saii)  ten-i- 
tory,  as  usual.  Tlu)  above  named  territory  known  by  the  Indian  name  Chan- 
tactooH,  but  now  hy  the  name  of  Sn/e  llctreat  Harbor.  [Signed]  Ma(|uiiuuvh, 
his  X  mark  [l.  s.];  Warclosman,  his  x  mark  [l.  a.],' and  four  other  natives. 
'Witnesses,  John  Williams,  .lohn  Redman,'  and  cloven  others.  'A  true  copy 
from  the  original  deed.  Attest,  J.  Howell.'  (2).  A-iguat  o,  1791,  'A  certain 
Harbor  in  said  Aliassct,  called  by  the  natives  Cheiicrk'nUtn,  in  which  the  brig 
Lwli/  IViiKhinjlou  lay  at  anchor  August  5,  1701,  which  is  situated  in  lititudo 
49  deg.  50  m.  N.  and  long.  127  dog.  8  m.  w. ,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Sound 
Aliasset,  being  a  territorial  distance  of  eighteen  miles  square,  of  which  t!io 
harbor  of  Clienerkintan  is  the  centre,  with  all  the  lands,  minerals,  etc. 
[.Signed]  Nory-Youk,  his  x  mark  [l.  a.],'  and  throe  others.  Witnesses  as  Ixv 
fore.  {'^).  August."),  1701,  'A  certain  Harbor  in  New  Chattel,  culled  by  the 
natives  Hootsee-ess,  1  ,  now  called  Port  Montgomery ...  in  49  dog.  40  ni.  .v . . . 
on  the  south  side  of  ..no  Sound  of  Ahassefe,  now  called  Massachusetts  Sound. . . 
eighteen  miles  square,  of  which  the  harlwr  of  Hootsee-ess. .  .is  the  centre, 
etc.  [Signed]  Tarasson,  his  x  mark  [l.  a.],'  and  three  others.  Witnesses  as 
above.  (4).  August  0,  1791,  'The  head  of  Nootka  Sound,  called  by  the  na- 
tives Taahees. .  .with  the  land  nine  miles  round  said  Tashees,  etc.  [Signed] 
Caarshucomook,  his  x  mark  [l.  a.],  and  Hannopy.'  (.")).  August  11,  1791, 
*  A  territorial  distance  of  eighteen  miles  north,'  south,  east,  and  west  from  the 
village  of  Opiaitar  as  a  centre,  in  49°  10'.  'The  above  territory  known  by  the 
name  of  Clyoquot.'  Signed  by  Wicananish  and  five  others.  Boston,  October 
30,  1838.  Sworn  certificates  of  Samuel  Ycndell  and  James  Tremere,  sailors  on 
the  Colum/nii  and  Je^'crnoH  in  1791,  to  the  effect  that  they  knew  personally  of 
the  purchases  of  lands.  June  20,  183.5,  sworn  certificate  of  John  Young  at 
Hawaii,  that  he  had  often  heard  Kcndrick  speak  of  his  purchase,  and  liail 
seen  his  deeds.  Witnessed  by  Henry  A.  Peirce  and  Hall  J.  Kelley.  May  1 1 , 
179j,  to  May  28,  1798,  extracts  from  letters  of  J.  Howell,  Captain  Kendrick'a 
clerk,  transmitting  and  mentioning  the  deeds.  March  1,  1793,  letter  of  Kcn- 
drick from  the  island  of  King  Kong  to  Thomas  Jetferson.  He  mentions  the 
purchase,  and  incloses  copies  of  the  deeds  to  remain  in  the  department  of 
Btute.  He  says  his  title  was  recognized  by  the  Spaniards,  by  being  excepted 
in  a  deed  of  lands  at  Nootka  from  Mof^uina  to  Cuodra.  He  thinks  the  acqui- 
sition a  most  important  one  for  the  United  States.  KoUey  says  another  large 
tract  between  47"  ami  50°  was  purchased  by  Kcndrick  for  his  company,  nil 
the  purclioscs  extending  some  240  miles.  The  company's  territory  embraced, 
according  to  Kelley,  all  of  Cuodra's  Island  not  so!  I  to  Kcndrick  and  to  Spain. 
Of  course  Kelley  deems  this  purchase  the  strongest  possible  foundation  for 
a  title  in  the  United  States.  In  a  letter  of  January  1,  1870,  in  Thornton's 
Or.  Hist.,  MS.,  Kelley  writes  on  the  same  subject.  Ho  says  the  original  deeds 
are  in  Ingraham's  Journal,  in  the  United  States  Department  of  State,  and  for 
printed  copies  refers  to  U.  S.  Goxk  Doc.,  16 th  Con;/.,  1st  Sr^a.,  H.  liept.  No.  43. 

**Oreeithow'8Ur.andVal.,22S-d)iit\irgi3,iixJJuiU'ajiIerchaiUit'May.,xiv.5'i5, 


r 


I 


A  FllEXCn  VESSEL. 


2M 


Two  other  American  trailliii;- vessel;*  are  named 
by  Grcenhow  as  having  visited  tlio  coast  this  year, 
the  Jefferson,  Roberts,  fiom  Boston,  and  the  M((r- 
(/aret,  5lagee,  from  ^Jo..  ^'^orlc;  but  the  latter  was  a 
Boston  ship  of  the  next  >\;ar,  and  we  have  no  details 
of  the  other's  voyage."  It  is  probable  that  England 
was  represented  ir  he  fleet  of  './"Jl"  by  the  (mice, 
Captain  William  Douglas.  And  now,  for  the  first  time 
since  Lo  Perouse's  adv<'iit,  /tie  French  apnc'ared  on  the 
scene,  in  the  person  ot  t'.tiennc  Mardiand,  who  sailed 
from  Marseilles  on  December  14,  17'J0,  on  the  Soli<le 
for  purposes  of  trade;  first  sight-d  the  Northwest 
Coast  in  the  vicinity  of  57°  on  the  7th  oi  ^^.ugust,  and 
on  the  2l8t  reached  the  northern  parts  of  Queen 
Charlotte  Islands.  A  «"areful  survey  and  map  of 
Cloak  Bay  and  Cox  Channel  was  made  in  the  shiii's 
boat  by  Captain  Chanal;  and  by  the  same  olliccr, 
aided  by  the  surgeon  Roblet,  material  was  obtained 
for  a  long  description  of  the  natives  and  their  customs. 
Success  in  trade  was  very  slight,  the  Americans 
having  left  but  few  furs.  A  briji:  and  boat  were  seen 
on  the  2Gth,  showing  no  colors,  but  thought  to  be  Eng- 
lish." From  the  28th  to  the  31st  Chanal  made  in 
the  shallop  an  exploration  of  the  coast  farther  south 
as  far  as  Rennell  Sound,  as  shown  with  the  northci-n 
survey  in  the  appended  copy  of  his  map.  Obtaining 
few  skins,  Marchand  sailed  for  Barclay  Sound,  where 
he  arrived  on  the  6th  of  September;  but  before  he 
could  enter  he  saw  a  ship,  doubtless  the  Columbia, 

"Greenhow,  "Jr.  and  Cat.,  220,  cites  the  ^fassach^u^  sUs  I  flit.  Col.,  IT'.'J, 
aa  containing  a  tleacription  of  Hobcrts'  visit  to  certain  islands  in  the  Soufh 
Pacific.  In  1838  James  Trciiico  certified  that  he  was  on  the  Jcjernuii,  Captain 
Robinson,  which  sailed  from  Loston  in  November  1789,  and  was  at  IVootka 
in  1791. 

^"Delano's  JVar.,  43,  The  author's  brother  accompanied  Douglas.  Has- 
well  tells  us  that  Douglas  sailed  from  Cliina  in  company  with  Kcndriok,  bat 
that  they  afterward  scijaratcd,  so  that  ho  may  possibly  have  visited  the  coast. 
The  Indians  at  Clayoquot  told  Elisa  in  May  that  Kendrick  and  Douglas  ii.id 
lately  left  the  sound,  but  this  could  not  have  been  true.  Marchand,  I '"/'•'  •'• 
390,  was  told  by  Ingraham  at  Macao  that  he  ha<l  left  on  the  coast  two  bii'/s 
and  a  schooner,  the  latter  having  had  two  of  her  men  killed  by  natives  of 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  They  had  left  a  Ixiat  to  collect  skins  on  tho  coast 
during  the  winter,  and  were  to  return  m  the  spring. 

•'  Proliably  the  American  brig  Jlope, 


V'^ 


t 


i!   i 


I    i 


ii 


256 


EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


in  whose  log  the  sight  of  a  ship  in  the  south-west  ia 
noted,  bound  apparently  down  the  coast,  and  was  dis- 
couraged from  further  efforts  to  trade.     He  resolved 


Mabchahd'b  Map,  1701. 

to  make  haste  to  China  and  sell  his  few  blcins  for 
as  much  as  the  rival  traders  coming  later  would  get 
for  a  larger  quantity;  and  he  turned  from  the  coast 


I 


MAllCHAND'S  VOYAGE. 


287 


the  night  of  the  8th,  arriving  at  Macao  by  way  of 
the  Sandwich  Islands  in  November,  and  finding  no 
market  for  his  furs  after  all. 

The  fruit  of  Marchand's  unsuccessful  trading  voy- 
age, so  far  as  my  present  topic  is  concerned,  was  a 
description  of  the  north-western  portions  of  Queen 
Charlotte  Islands  by  Chanal  and  Robloc,  considerably 
more  complete  and  extensive  than  that  of  Dixon  or 
any  other  earlier  navigator,  particularly  in  its  presen- 
.  tation  of  the  natives  and  their  institutions.  The  orig- 
inal log  and  narratives  were  developed,  however,  into 
a  ponderous  work  of  six  volumes,  covering  a  broad 
scope  of  South  Sea  discovery.  Count  C.  P.  Claret 
Fleurieu,  the  French  scientist  and  geographer,  was 
the  editor  of  the  work.  As  an  introduction  he  gave 
a  summary  of  explorations  on  the  Northwest  Coast 
of  America  down  to  the  time  of  Marchand.  It  was 
a  paper  read  before  the  National  Institute  of  Sciences 
and  Arts  in  1798;  and  although  not  free  from  errors, 
was  worthy  of  much  praise  as  one  of  the  earliest  and 
most  complete  essays  on  the  subject.  Then  the  editor 
presented  the  relation  of  Marchand's  voyage — that 
is,  the  diaries  of  Chanal  and  Roblet,  for  he  did  not 
have  access  to  Marchand's  own  narrative  at  all — 
not  literally,  but  in  the  third  person,  a  very  slight 
foundation  of  the  original  with  a  vast  superstructure 
of  editorial  comment.  There  is  infinitely  more  of 
Fleurieu  than  of  the  navigat:)rs,  the  voyage  being  in 
fact  but  a  pretext  for  a  work  on  South  Sea  discovery 
and  geography.  The  editor  was  an  able  man  and  a 
brilliant  writer;  but  he  often  wrote  carelessly  and 
fell  into  occasional  errors.  At  the  time  of  its  pub- 
lication the  work  had  considerable  value  on  account 
of  its  comprehensive  treatment  of  various  subjects; 
but  now,  so  far  at  least  as  present  matters  are  con- 
cerned, it  adds  nothing  to  the  information  obtainable 
from  better  sources.^ 

**Marchand,  Voyage  autour  du  Monde,  r»vdnnt  Jes  anvfen  1790,  17D1,  el 
1792,  par  L'tienne  Aliirchand,  prMdi  d'unt  inlroducUon  hintorique ;  aunuel  o» 
Hmt.  M.  W.  Coaat,  Vol.  I.    IT 


Wi 


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Mi 


smmmmam 


S58 


EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


Not  less  than  twenty-eight  vessels,  and  probably 
a  few  more,  visited  the  north-west  coast  in  1792. 
More  than  half  of  the  number  were  engaged  in  the 
fur-trade,  under  the  flags  of  France,  Portugal,  Eng- 
land, and  the  United  States.^  Five  of  them  came 
expressly  to  make  geographical  explorations.  The 
rest  brought  government  commissioners  on  diplomatic 
missions,  or  supplies  for  garrison  and  national  vessels, 
or  despatches  to  commanders.  Let  us  first  follow  the 
movements  of  the  traders: 

We  left  Captain  Gray  with  the  Columbia  in  winter 
quarters  at  Clayoquot,  hard  at  work  on  a  new  sloop, 
the  material  for  which  had  been  brought  in  part  from 
Boston.  Fort  Defence  and  Adventure  Cove  were 
the  local  names  applied,  most  of  the  men  living  in 
the  house  on  shore.  In  February  a  plot  of  the 
Indians  to  seize  the  ship  was  discovered,  and  kept 
the  Americans  in  great  anxiety  for  many  days. 
Months  of  friendly  intercourse  had  removed  all  fear 
of  native  treachery,  and  the  plot  might  have  been 
successful  had  the  Indians  not  attempted  to  bribe  an 
Hawaiian  servant  to  wet  the  primings  of  all  fire-arms 
on  a  certain  night.  All  but  this  boy  were  to  be  killed, 
was  his  story.  By  moving  the  ship  to  a  less  exposed 
position,  strengthening  the  defences,  and  a  general 
discharge  of  the  cannon  into  the  woods  at.  random, 
the  attack  was  prevented  on  the  night  appointed ;  and 

a  joint  (lea  recJwrches  sur  lea  terresaus' rales  de  Drake,  etc.  Paris,  an  vi.-viii. 
(1798-1800),  8vo  5  vols.,  4to  1  vol.  The  Introduction  is  in  vol.  i.  pp.  i.-cci.; 
Voyage  of  Marchand,  i.  1-204,  and  ii. ;  Geographical  observations  and 
notes,  iii.  1-318;  Tables  of  latitude,  longitude,  etc.,  iii.  31&-403;  Additions 
to  the  relation  notes,  etc.,  iii.  405-74;  Natural  history,  iv.  1-494;  vi.  316; 
Researches  on  Drake's  Discoveries  (in  Southern  Pacific),  v.  317-74;  Examina- 
tion of  Roggeween's  voyage,  v.  375-499 ;  List  of  voyagers  and  authors  cited,  v. 
601-18;  Index,  v.  519-59;  Proposed  changes  in  the  nydrographic  uomencla> 
ture  of  the  world,  vi.  1-82 ;  Metric  decimal  syt  tem  applied  to  navigation,  vi. 
85-149;  Maps  and  plates,  vi.  pi.  i.-xiv.  The  matter  relating  to  the  north- 
west coast  is  found  in  vol.  i.  288;  ii.  273;  iii.  80-92,  300-5;  v.  160-88;  ^^. 
pi.  i.,  general  map;  pi.  iii.,  De  I'lale's  map  of  1752;  pi.  viii.,  Norfolk  Bay; 
pi.  ix..  Cloak  Bay  and  Cox  Sti-ait;  pi.  x.,  west  coast  of  Queen  Charlotte  Islands 
(copied  on  p.  256,  this  chapter). 

"la  Sulily  Mexit-nna,  Vlage,  112,  it  is  stated  that  the  whole  number  of 
trading  vessels  was  22,  of  wliich  eleven  were  English,  eight  American,  two 
Portuguese,  and  one  French ;  but  this  must  be  an  exaggeration,  so  far  as  th« 
Euglislt  vessels  were  concerned. 


MEETING  OF  GRAY  AND  VANCOU\'ER. 


2o9 


thereafter  a  strict  watch  was  kept,  the  friendly  rela- 
tions of  the  past  being  broken  off.  On  the  23d  of 
February  the  new  sloop,  named  the  Adventure,  the 
second  vessel  built  within  the  territory,  was  launched ; 
and  by  the  2d  of  April  both  vessels  were  ready  to 
sail  for  their  spring  harvest  of  furs,  the  new  sloop 
under  the  command  of  Mr  Haswell.*" 

The  vessels  parted  at  Clayoquot,  the  Columbia  going 
southward.  On  the  29th  of  April,  Gray  met  Van- 
couver just  below  Cape  Flattery,  and  gave  that  com- 
mander an  account  of  his  past  discoveries,  including 
the  facts  that  he  had  not  sailed  through  Fuca  Strait 
in  the  Lady  Washin(jiton,  as  had  been  supposed  from 
Meares'  narrative  and  map,  and  that  he  had — just 
before  the  meeting  in  this  same  trip,  I  suppose — 
"been  off  the  mouth  of  a  river,  in  the  latitude  of  46° 
10',  where  the  outset,  or  reflux,  was  so  strong  as  to 
prevent  his  entering  for  nine  days.""  The  log  of  the 
Columbia  on  this  trip  has  been  lost,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  valuable  fragment  covering  the  time  from 
the  7th  to  the  21st  of  May."  On  the  former  of  these 
dates  Gray  discovered  and  entered  the  port  in  lati- 
tude 46°  58',  called  at  first  Bulfinch  Harbor,  but  later 
in  the  same  year  Gray  Harbor,  which  name  it  has 
retained."    On  the  10th  he  left  this  port,  where  he 


'M 


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^^HaguxlVs  Log  of  the  Columbia,  MS.,  23-35.  Benjamin  Harding,  the 
boatswain,  died  on  March  21at. 

*•  Vancouver's  Voy.,  i.  2i;j-10.  Here  also  is  mentioned  the  plot  of  the  In- 
dians at  Clayoquot,  under  Wicananish.  Haswell,  Log,  MS.,  66-7,  mentions 
the  meeting  with  Vancouver  is  told  him  by  Gray  at  their  first  meeting. 
Except  this  meeting  with  the  English  navigator,  nothing  is  known  of  Gray's 
movements  until  May  7th;  but  as  he  may  not  have  left  Cliyoquot  for  some 
days  after  April  2d,  and  nine  days  were  spent  off  the  river's  mouth,  it  is  not 
likely  that  those  r.uvements  were  of  any  special  importance. 

"  This  was  an  extract  made  in  1816  by  MrBulfincli.  one  of  the  owners,  from 
the  2d  volume  of  the  log,  which  subsequently  disappeared.  The  Ist  volume, 
down  to  February  1792,  was  consulted  by  Groenhow,  as  we  have  seen.  Tiie 
fragment  was  printed  in  1839  in  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,2oth  (Jong.,  3<l  Sess.,  II.  Re/it. 
No.  101,  and  may  bo  found  in  Oreenliow's  Or.  and  Tre/.,  23.3-7,  434-6,  and  also 
in  wny  other  books,  government  reports,  and  newspapers  treating  on  the 
later  complications  of  the  famous  Oregon  question. 

*'  fiumnch  Harbor  is  the  name  used  in  the  log ;  but  Haswell  in  his  log 
used  the  other  name  in  June  of  the  same  year;  and  so  does  Vancouver  in  the 
same  year.  There  was  a  Bulfinch  Sound  where  Gray  and  Ha.=weU  met,  and 
11  was  at  the  meeting  probably  that  the  change  was  agreed  upon. 


:     1} 


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260 


EXPLORING  ANT  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


was  attacked  by  the  Indians,  and  killed  a  number  of 
them,"  and  next  day  passed  over  the  bar  of  the  port 
which  he  had  before  been  unable  to  enter,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  great  river.  This  was  the  Entrada  de 
Heceta,  discovered  in  1775  by  Heceta,  who  named  its 
points  San  Roque  and  Frondoso;  the  Deception  Bay 
behind  Point  Disappointment  of  Meares  in  1789. 
Earlier  in  this  year  it  had  been  seen  by  Gray  him- 
self and  by  Vancouver,  but  now  it  was  entered  for 
the  first  time,  and  named  the  Columbia  River,  from 
the  vessel's  name,  the  northern  and  southern  points 
being  called  respectively  Cape  Hancock  and  Point 
Adams.  The  first  anchorage  was  ten  miles  within 
the  entrance,  and  on  the  14th  the  ship  went  some 
fifteen  miles  farther  up,  where  she  was  stopped  by 
shoals,  having  taken  the  wrong  channel.**  Gray  then 
dropped  down  the  stream,  noting  the  Chinook  village, 
and  landing  in  the  boat  at  one  point,  was  visited  by 
many  natives  in  their  canoes,  and  obtained  a  good 
quantity  of  furs.  Rough  weather  did  not  permit  the 
ship  to  recross  the  bar  till  the  20th,  and  next  day 
our  fragment  of  the  log  comes  to  an  end. 

This  achievement  of  Gray,  which  Americans  ch*.  pq 
to  regard  as  the  'discovery  of  the  Columbia,  figured 
very  prominently,  as  we  shall  see,  in  the  interna- 
tional discussions  of  later  years.**     From  the  river 

*^Ha8welVs  Log,  MS.,  67.  The  fight  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Columbiana 
log,  aud  may  therefore  be  an  error  of  Haswell. 

*^  Haswell  says  they  'went  up  about  30  miles  and  doubted  not  it  was  nav- 
igable upwards  of  a  hundred. ' 

*'  I  shall  have  occasion  iu  this  and  later  volumes  to  name  the  works  in 
which  Gray's  voyage  is  described  or  mentioned ;  but  none  of  them  add  any- 
thing to  the  original  log  which  I  have  cited ;  and  the  errors  made  axe  not 
BuiBciently  important  to  be  noted.  Captain  Robert  Gray,  who  had  been  in 
the  United  States  naval  service  during  the  revolutionary  war,  died  in  ISOO, 
leaving  a  widow  aud  four  children  in  straitened  circumstances.  In  1848  a 
petition  in  their  behalf  was  presented  to  congress,  and  a  committee  report, 
never  acted  on,  was  obtained  in  favor  of  a  pension  of  $500  and  a  township  of 
land  La  Oregon.  In  1 850  a  new  memorial  was  introduced  in  behalf  of  Mrs 
Gray,  and  a  bill  in  her  favor  was  passed  by  the  house,  but  I  do  not  know 
whether  it  ever  became  a  law  or  led  to  any  practical  result.  The  discovery  of 
the  Columbia  was  the  great  service  to  the  United  States  on  which  the  claim 
was  founded.  Congrtanional  Globe,  1850-1,  pp.  34,  203,  595,  612.  In  18G0  Mi 
Thornton  presented  to  the  state  of  Oregon  a  silver  niudal  which  ho  represented 
to  have  b.eu  sauck  off  iu  1703  in  commemoration  of  the  discoveries  made  ou 


THE  COLIBrBIA. 


261 


W-' 


!';'. 


Gray  sailed  northward  to  Naspatee,  above  Nootka, 
and  thence  to  Pintard  Sound,  apparently  what  was 
known  later  as  Queen  Charlotte  Sound.  At  ^"toth 
places  he  was  attacked  by  the  Indians,  and  was  obi  ged 
to  kill  many  of  them.*^  As  the  Columbia  left  the 
sound  she  met  the  Adventure,  and  both  vessels  pro- 
ceeded to  Naspatee,  where  they  anchored  on  the  1 8th 
of  June.  Gray  had  collected  seven  hundred  sea-otter 
and  fifteen  thousand  other  akins.*^ 

Meanwhile  Captain  Haswell  in  the  Adventure  had 
made  a  northern  tour  after  leaving  Gray  at  Clayoquot 
on  the  2d  of  April.  He  had  no  startling  adventures 
beyond  the  ordinary  and  expected  perils  of  such  a 
navigation.  In  trade  he  was  less  successful  than  had 
been  anticipated,  though  first  in  the  field,  for  the 
natives  said  that  many  vessels  were  coming,  and  de- 
manded exorbitant  prices,  two  overcoats  for  a  skin 
being  at  many  places  a  current  rate;  and  only  two 
hundred  and  thirty-eight  skins  were  purchased.  On 
the  7th  of  May  he  met  Captain  Magee  of  the  Mar- 
garet, with  news  from  home;  and  early  in  June  he 
visited  the  grave  of  Mr  Caswell,  his  former  associate, 
who  had  been  buried  at  Port  Tempest,  but  whose  re- 
mains had  been  removed  by  the  Indians.  With  the 
aid  of  a  chart,  by  which  Haswell's  course  miglit  be 
traced,  his  log  would  be  of  great  value  from  a  geo- 
graphical point  of  view,  for  he  describes  many  ports 
and  gives  skccches  of  some;  but  most  of  the  places 
named  he  had  visited  before,  and  furnishes  slight 
means  for  their  identification.    His  course  was  first 


the  voyage.  Oregon,  Journal  of  Senate,  1800,  app.,  37^0;  nad  this  medal  has 
often  been  spoken  of  in  newspapers,  etc.  It  was,  however,  the  medal  inado 
in  coppor  and  bronze  before  Gray  started  from  Boston  in  1788;  but  it  is  not 
impossible  that  a  few  were  struck  off  in  silver  later. 

"In  Sutil  ji  Mexicann,  I'iwje,  24,  we  arc  told  that  on  the  3d  of  June  the 
Indiana  from  the  nortli  came  to  Nootka  to  complain  that  a  vessel  had  attack<Kl 
them,  killing  seven  and  wounding  others,  besiiles  taking  by  force  all  tlicir 
furs,  which  they  had  been  unwilling  to  sell  at  the  price  oU'ered.  This  was 
doubtless  the  first  of  the  two  ligiits  alluded  to  by  Ilaswull. 

**//(MurU'i>  Lo<j,  MS.,  06-7.  A  chart  or  sketch  is  given  of  Dtiljii\ch  Sound, 
with  Chiclcteset  at  the  eastern  point  of  entrance,  NaKjialce  or  Columbia  CoJC 
and  }Vait  Point  at  the  western  point,  and  Ctoonuck  at  the  head,  or  north. 


i:, 


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EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS, 


up  the  outer  coast,  into  Dixon  Entrance,  and  back  to 
Cape  Scott;  then  up  the  strait  to  the  same  latitude 
as  before,  and  back,  the  whole  amounting  to  a  double 
circumnavigation  of  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  with  an 
examination  of  the  mainland  coast.  Names  from  the 
log  are  appended.*® 

*^  Jfagwell'i)  Log  of  the  Adventure,  MS.,  .35-GC.  The  following  are  the  names 
used,  with  approximate  dates  and  latitudes:  April  .3d,  Cechuhl  Cove,  in  Com- 
pany Bay  [Barclay  Sound  ] ;  a  Higua  chief  of  Hichnht;  7th-8th,  pastClayocpiot, 
Point  Breakers,  and  Nootka;  9tU,  Jlope  Dry,  lut.  4!)°  j',  long.  VlT'l^';  ICth- 
l'2th,  still  in  sight  of  Nootka  and  Ahalsell  Sound  [Msiieranza  Inlet;  a  chart  is 
given  of  the  two  sounds  and  connecting  passages,  which  I  repro<lucc];  13tli, 


Haswell's  Map  of  Nootka,  1792. 

CO"  IC;  Woody  Point,  five  leagues  s.  E. ;  Port  Lincoln,  a  large  sound  with  good 
harlK)rs,  in  50"  -!5',  long.  1'28°  30'  [Quatsimi  SoumlVJ;  llth,  .")0°  4!>'.  six  leagues 
s.  of  outwardmost  island  off  C.  /nijraham.  [Cape  Scott];  17th,  Washinglion 
Island  u.id  Vajie  IlaswcH  [Cape  St  James],  52^  10';  liarrel  Sound;  18th,  ^i'A'  .'>'; 
ToDscomlolth  tribe,  subject  to  Ciininiiah,  on  the  strait  dividing  the  island ; 
anotlier  strait  where  the  coast  turns  w.,  in  about  .")3'  '20'  [Skiddegate  Channel] ; 
19th,  near  Tudents  village  [Cloak  Bay  and  Cox  Channel?] ;  ilat,  round  the  n.  \v. 
point  of  the  island ;  23d,  Shoal  Inlet,  or  Neden,  lat.  W  9',  long.  132"  45',  seven- 
teen leagues  E.  of  'Tadi'nts;  C.  Coolidue,  seventeen  leagues  w.  s.  w.,  in  .54°  15', 
long.  134°  13'  [?] ;  C.  Lnokoid,  eighteen  leagues  E.  N.  e.  [Cape  Ch.acon  on  x.  sido 
of  strait?];  24th,  lliuicock  Hiver,  54° 5',  long.  132°  18'  [chief,  Cntlar;  a  chart  is 
given,  with  names  Ila^ihul  Hi'  id.  Sand  Point,  ami  Muhnhoet  [V^irago  or  Maza- 
redo  Sound,  or  Masset  Harbor,  ou  n.  side  of  the  isL-ind];  Lejonee  is  in  this 


r 


GRAY  TELLS  VANCOUVER. 


The  two  vessels  sailed  together  from  Naapatee  on 
June  24th,  bound  for  the  north;  but  two  days  later, 
when  they  had  entered  the  great  strait  and  were 
just  above  52°,  opposite  Loblip  Sound,  the  Columbia 
struck  a  rock  and  was  considerably  damaged.  They 
went  on,  however,  for  Derby  Sound,  but  lost  each 
other  on  the  29th.  The  Adventure  went  on  and 
waited  at  Derby  Sound  for  her  consort,  Haswell 
fearing  that  she  had  sunk.  Then  she  continued  her 
trip  through  Dixon  Strait  and  up  the  Alaskan  coast 
to  about  57°,  in  the  region  of  the  modern  Sitka.  Has- 
well touched  at  many  of  the  places  visited  in  the 
former  trips;  obtained  only  seventy -five  skins;  met 
six  other  trading-vessels  at  different  points;  and  re- 
turning down  the  outer  coast  met  Gray  on  the  3d  of 
September  at  Port  Montgomery,  on  the  south-western 
shore  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island.  Meanwhile  the 
Columbia,  her  leak  increasing  after  the  parting,  had 
returned  to  Naspatee  and  attempted  some  repairs, 
with  the  aid  of  Captain  Magee;  then  she  went  to 
Clayoquot  and  soon  to  Nootka.  Here  the  Span- 
iards rendered  every  possible  assistance  and  cour- 
tesy/" and  when  his  ship  was  again  in  condition  Gray 
sailed  for  the  north  to  meet  Haswell,  as  just  related. 
Both  sailed  on  the  13th  of  September  and  reached 
Nootka  seven  days  later.     Here  they  met  Vancouver 

region ;  2Sth-29th ,  past  shoal  off  f.  Lookout ;  Sea-Uon  rtoclcn,  54°  .30',  long.  1 .30°  o."/ ; 
Cape  Lookout  W.  by  N.;  gales;  A  damn  Strait  near;  SOtli,  viiul  and  haze  iiboiit 
the  shoal;  May  lst-'2d,oft'Taik'nts;  cliief,  C'M»;(ea;  4th,.s.of  Tooscondolth;  ."itli, 
St  Tammoiiie  (Jove  and  I'oil  Muiilyvrnfrii,  o2°  '2o'  [on  \v.  side  of  the  islandj; 
7th,  Barrel  Inlet  and  O -ai/  Cove  meeting  tlie  MarijaiH,  Captain  Magee; 
I'itli,  near  C  Haswell  and  in  mouth  of  StraU  of  Font  ftliat  is,  the  passage 
between  Queen  Clmrlotte  and  tlie  main];  course  toN.;  l.ith,  52'4,'i';  opposite 
Cumsuah's  village  [Cumshmva  Island  .ind  Harbor?];  KJth,  'J'oo.irO!iil(it//i  Saninf 
[Skiddcgate  JJay?];  //o/x?  Cow  n>  ar  on  x.;  lOtli,  o'.i'  7';  20tli,  over  to  mainhm  I 
and  Jfatr/irs  Island  anil  Sound,  a  very  ileej)  sound  running  s.  E. ;  22d,  Ihrli'i 
Sound  and  Allni  Cove.;  25th,  sailed  for  Jircrii  Sound,  but  wind  prevented; 
off  C.  Lookout;  2Cth,  off  Tadents;  27th,  54^  .W;  2Sth,  abreast  of  /Jinlrr-H 
Core;  30tli,  Dow/las  Island,  54"  42';  .Slst,  C.  Lookout  e.  h.  e.  and  Miirdorers' 
Cape  N.  4  \v. ;  .Tune  Ist,  54' 27';  passed  Murderers' Cape ;  2(1,  Port  Tenifx't 
ami  Caswell's  grave;  7th,  Brown  Sound;  8th-9th,  coasted  down  to  5;}'  l.Y;_ 
1  Itli,  Barron  llill  Bay,  52"  59';  15th,  past  Ingraham  Cape  ami  islandu  to  Woody 
Point;   17tli,  met  (iray,  just  out  of  Piiitard  Sotiiid;  arrived  at  .\<i:</iii/('t'. 

JJ  l>"or  which,  liowever,  Cray  ami  Ingraham  furiiislied  some  valuable  testi- 
mony, on  events  of  1789,  in  their  letter  of  August  'M. 


h    f    ■;;■ 


! 


i!l. 


264 


EXPLOriNG  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


again,  and  gave  him  an  account  of  their  discoveries. 
On  the  22d  they  sailed  for  Neah  Bay,  the  Nunez 
Gaona  of  the  Spaniards,  within  the  strait  of  Fuca, 
which  port  it  took  them  four  days  to  reach.  Here  the 
sloop  Adventure  was  sold  to  Commander  Cuadra  for 
seventy -five  choice  sea-otter  skins,  and  the  Columbia 
went  across  the  strait  to  Poverty  Cove,  to  obtain 
wood,  water,  and  masts.  From  this  port  the  ship 
sailed  on  the  3d  of  October  for  home,  touching  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands  and  anchoring  at  Macao  on  De- 
cember 7,  1792." 

Gray's  is  the  only  one  of  the  trading  voyages  of 
the  year  that  is  at  all  fully  recorded,  though  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  the  logs  of  other  vessels  may  yet  come 
to  light.  The  other  trips,  as  incidentally  mentioned 
by  Haswell,  Vancouver,  and  the  Spanish  voyagers, 
may  be  briefly  disposed  of  here:  Ingraham  in  the 
Hope  had  returned  from  China;  was  at  Nootka  on 
the  3d  of  August,  on  which  date  he  wrote  a  letter  to 
Cuadra;  was  in  company  with  the  Adventure  August 
21st  to  27th  about  the  northern  end  of  Queen  Char- 
lotte Island;  returned  to  Nootka  the  11th  of  Septem- 
ber; sailed  for  Fuca  Strait  on  the  20th;  returned  in 
company  with  the  Princesa  on  the  2d  of  October, 
and  soon  sailed  for  China. ^'^  James  Magee,  on  the 
Margaret,  Lamb  first  mate,  sailed  from  Boston  Oc 
tober  25,  1791,*^  and  reached  the  Northwest  Coast, 
just  below  Cape  Scott,  April  24,  1792;  he  first 
anchored  at  Gray  Cove,  on  Queen  Charlotte  Island, 
where  he  had  been  ten  days  when  Haswell  met  him 

^^Hagicell'a  Log  of  the  Columbia  and  Advfiiiture,  MS.,  68  et  seq.  JaSutil 
y  Mex'icana,  I'iagc,  1 1'2,  it  is  stated  that  Gray  collected  3000  skins. 

^'^Snlit  I)  Mexicana,  Vinqe,  116;  Haswell s  Log,  MS.,  83,  9*2;  Vancouver'a 
Voy.,  i.  400,  410.  Greenhow,  Or.  and  Vol.,  237,  tells  us  that  'Ingraham 
Buliseqiieiitly  entered  the  navy  of  the  United  States  as  a  lieutenant,  and  was 
one  of  the  o'.iicers  of  the  il'-fated  brig  Pikeriiig,  of  which  nothing  was  ever 
hoard  after  licr  di'parturc  from  the  Delaware  in  August,  1800.' 

^'  In  NUch'  L'egWer,  xviii.  417,  William  Smith,  afterward  famous,  is  said  to 
have  made  his  first  voy.-ige  round  the  world  in  the  Magiirt,  Captain  Ma.'jee, 
whicli  loft  Boston  the  17th  of  Octol)cr  1701 — probably  the  Margaret.  Both 
this  vessel  and  tho  Hope  left  Boston  iu  1702  according  to  Tufts'  List. 


t 


MISCELLANEOUS  VOYAGES. 


Mt 


on  the  7th  of  May;  on  account  of  his  ilhioss  Mr 
Lamb  was  in  command.  The  vesKsel  was  a  fine  one 
and  well  fitted  for  the  cruise,  but  thus  far  had  ob- 
tained few  skins.  In  July  he  was  with  Gray,  for 
whom  he  brought  letters,  at-  Naspateo;  and  ho  is  last 
heard  of  at  Nootka  late  in  September."  R.  D. 
Coolidge,  perhaps  the  same  man  who  had  been  mate 
of  the  Lady  Washington  in  1789,  now  commanded  the 
Grace  of  New  York.  He  came  from  China,  and  was 
in  company  with  Haswell  in  the  north  in  August." 
Captains  Rogers,  Adamson,  Barnett,  and  Douglas 
were  reported  in  July  by  the  northern  natives  to  be 
on  the  coast,  but  nothing  further  is  known  of  them."* 
William  Brown  commanded  the  Butterworth,  an  Eng- 
lish trader."  The  English  brig  Tliree  Brothers  was 
commanded  by  Lieutenant  Alder  of  the  navy.  The 
schooner  Prince  William  Henry,  Ewen,  from  London, 
and  the  brig  Halcyon,  Barclay,  from  Bengal,  are 
named  in  Vancouver's  list.  He  also  names  the  Boston 
vessels  Lady  Washington,  Kendrick ;  Hancock,  Crowell ; 
and  Jefferson,  Roberts;  the  first  two  were  on  the  coast 
in  1791,  and  perhaps  again  this  year,  though  I  find 
no  other  evidence.  The  English  sloop  Prince  Le 
Boo,  Sharp  master,  is  mentioned  as  having  been 
at  Nootka. '^  The  cutter  Jacked,  of  London,  Captain 
Stewart,  was  on  the  northern  coast  in  August,  and 
at  Nootka  in  September.*^'  The  brig  Jenny,  Captain 
James  Baker,  came  from  Bristol,  bringing  two  Sand- 
wich Island  women  to  Nootka,  and  arriving  on  the 
7th  of  October;  sailing  later  for  England,  she  was 

^Ilaaipell's  Lofi,  MS.,  54-6,  86,  91;  Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Viofje,  116.  Green- 
how,  Or.  and  Col.,  228,  says  that  the  Maiyarct  was  from  New  York,  and 
implies  that  she  made  a  trip  in  1790-1,  which  seems  impossible. 

^'^IlaswtWs  Log,  MS.,  83-4.  Vancouver,  Voy.,  iii.  498,  names  Costidge  aa 
master  of  a  brig. 

'^HcmwelVa  Log,  MS.,  74-5. 

*'Greenhow,  Or.  and  Cal.,  223,  names  Brown  as  one  of  the  most  enter- 
prising of  the  English  traders,  to  whom  Vancouver  was  indol)ted  for  uscfid 
information.  In  Sulil  y  Mfxicana,  Viaiie,  IIC,  the  Butterworth  is  described 
as  an  English  frigate  of  .30  guns  that  brought  despatclies  to  Vancouver. 

^  I'micottvcr's  Voy.,  iii.  498;  SutU  y  Mexicana,  Viage,  116.  The  latter 
makes  it  the  Prince  Leon,  Captain  Spar. 

»»iy«su.e«'«  Log,  MS.,  83,  91 ;   Vancouver's  Voy.,  iii.  498. 


i'i 


H\li 


1:1 


ha 


■  y  '1 


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il: ' 


\^<^ 


'm 


■in 


2G0 


EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCT^M  EXPEDITIONS. 


found  by  Broughton  on  November  Gth  anchored  in 
the  Columbia  River.**  The  Venus,  Shepherd  com- 
niandcr,  from  Bengal,  was  met  by  Vancouver  in  the 
chaimel  north  of  Queen  Charlotte  Sound  on  August 
17th;  she  had  touched  at  Nootka."  The  Florinda, 
Thomas  Cole  commander,  'the  most  miserable  thing 
that  ever  was  formed  in  imitation  of  the  Ark,'  loft 
Macao  in  March,  arrived  on  the  coast  in  July,  and 
was  met  next  day  at  Tadents  by  Haswell,  who  found 
her  overrun  by  natives,  who  but  for  his  arrival  would 
soon  have  made  her  a  prize.**  The  Portuguese  Felice 
Aventurero,  formerly  Meares'  vessel,  came  back  this 
year  under  Francisco  Viana;  she  left  Macao  in  May, 
lost  part  of  her  crew  at  Prince  William  Sound, 
touched  later  at  Queen  Charlotte  Island,  and  thence 
came  down  to  Nootka  before  September. ''''  A  Captain 
Mear,  possibly  the  illustrious  John  Meares,  com- 
manding an  unnamed  snow  from  Bengal,  was  met  in 
Dixon  Strait  in  July."  Another  Portuguese  trader 
was  the  Fenix,  Captain  Josd  Andres  Tobar,  or  as 
Vancouver  says,  the  Fciiis  and  St  Joseph,  Captain 
John  de  Barros  Andrede;  she  was  on  the  island 
coast  in  August,  at  Nunez  Gaona  in  September,  and 
sailed  for  China  from  Nootka  on  the  last  of  Septem- 
ber. Her  supercargo  was  Mr  Duffin,  formerly  of 
the  Argonaut,  and  she  carried  to  China^  one  of  Van- 
couver's officers  with  despatches.  Finally  I  have  to 
mention  a  French  vessel,  whose  business  is  not  clearly 
explained;  this  was  the  Flavia,  of  about  five  hun- 
dred tons,  commanded  by  M.  Magon,  Dupacy  second 

«"  Vanronver^n  Voy.,  i.  415;  ii.  72;  iii.  498.  Grav,  IliM.  Or.,  14,  speaks  of 
the  Jevnct,  Captain  Baker,  from  Bristol,  'Rhode  Isi.and.' 

"'  Vanrovver'a  Voy.,  i.  37o;  iii.  408.  'Chepens'  is  the  captain's  name  in 
Sulil  y  Mfixkaiia,  Vinge,  116. 

'^KiJasweWaLotj,  MS.,  70. 

^Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Viage,  115-16;  HasirelPa  Log,  MS.,  74-80.  He  saya 
Viana  was  first  mate,  Ugon,  a  Frenchman,  being  captain.  Vancouver,  Voy., 
iii.  498,  calls  Viana's  ship  the  Iphigenia. 

'^^llanwelVa  Log,  MS.,  80.  Mear  had  come  from  Alaska,  and  had  met 
Viana's  vessel  in  distress.  Perhaps  Mear  was  Vancouver's  (iii.  498)  Moor, 
commanding  a  snow  from  Canton. 

'5  VaiicvHvcr'H  I'o.i.,  i  40.3,  409-10;  iii.  498;  TlmwcWH  Log,U%.,  83-4,91. 
Gray  m«it  tlie  Ftnix  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  October. 


SPANISH  VOYAGES. 


m 


captain,  and  Torcklor  supercargo;  slic  arrived  at 
Nootka  on  the  2Gth  of  May,  her  nii.ssion  being,  as 
was  represented,  to  buy  furs  for  the  Asiatic  market 
and  to  seek  news  of  the  expedition  of  La  Perouse."* 
Meeting  Haswell  on  tlie  north  end  of  Queen  Cliar- 
lotte  Island  in  August,  Magon  represented  liis  vessel 
OS  bound  from  L'Orient  Sound  to  Kamcliatka  with 
supplies,  intending  to  touch  at  Unalaska.  The  super- 
cargo was  a  Russian;  from  him  the  Americans  re- 
ceived a  very  welcome  gift  of  liquors.*' 

It  was  deemed  essential  to  Spanish  interests,  for 
reasons  to  be  more  fully  noticed  later,  to  complete  as 
speedily  as  possible  the  exploration  begun  by  Fidalgo, 
Quimper,  and  Elisa  in  1791.  Accordingly  two  expe- 
ditions were  despatched  early  in  1792.  The  transport 
Aranzazu,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Jacinto 
Caamauo,  carrying  supplies  for  California  as  well  as 
Nootka,  sailed  from  San  Bias  the  20th  of  March, 
and  arrived  at  Nootka  the  14th  of  May.  Her 
California  cargo  was  transferred  to  the  Conccp- 
cion,  which  had  been  in  the  north  for  two  years, 
and  which  under  Elisa's  command  touched  at  Mon- 
terey the  9th  of  July  on  her  way  to  San  Blas.*^ 
Caamano  had  instructions  to  explore  the  coast  up 
to  Port  Bucareli,  and  to  search  for  Fonte  Strait; 
he  started  on  his  trip  the  13th  of  June,  arrived 
at  Bucareli  on  the  25th,^''  and  after  a  survey  of 
that  northern  port  he  anchored  on  July  20th  at  tlio 
entrance  of  Dixon  Strait,  which  he  very  properly 
named  Entrada  de  Perez.  From  this  time  until  the 
end  of  August  was  made  the  first  otficial  exploration 
of  the  northern  end  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island,  and  of 

"' '  Este  punto  nos  pareci6  muy  Becundario  respecto  A  la  derrota  que  habia 
empren  Jido. '  Sulil  y  Mexicana,  Viwje,  20. 

^^  JJa-iu'eU's  Log,  MS.,  81.  Tho  Flavia  was  also  met  by  Coamafio  June 
29th,  at  Port  Bucareli.  He  was  then  seeking  uewa  of  La  PtSrouse.  Caamafw, 
Expi'd.,  326. 

^Ilisl.  Cal.,  i.,  cha^i.  xxiv.,  this  series. 

'^^Rcmlla  Oiijedo,  L-firme  J  J  df  Ahril  1703,  144.  '  ic  other  authorities 
are  hopelessly  couf  uaed  respecting  these  two  dates. 


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208 


EXPLORING  AND  COMMKRCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


the  eastern  coast  of  the  strait  dividing  that  island 
from  the  main.  The  Aranzazu  was  too  large  and  un- 
wieldy for  such  work,  and  the  weather  was  not  favor- 
able; yet  the  survey  was  a  tolerably  complete  one. 
Several  of  Caamailos  names  have  been  retani6d;  and 
from  his  charts  Vancouver  derived  much  of  his  pub- 
lished information  about  tlieso  regions.'"  A  copy  of 
his  chart  on  a  small  scale  is  appended.  On  a  chart 
that  had  been  obtained  from  Colnctt,  Fonte  Strait 
was  located  just  above  53°,  at  the  entrance  between 
what  are  now  Pitt  and  Princess  Royal  Islands;  but 
though  Caamano  did  not  roach  the  head  of  those 
channels,  he  was  certain  from  the  tides  that  they  fur- 
nished no  interoceanic  passage,  and  he  changed  the 
name  from  Fonte  to  Monifio.  Intercourse  with  the 
natives  is  somewhat  minutely  described,  but  the  only 
noticeable  adventure  was  the  capture,  by  treachery,  of 


"  Caairafio'g  exploration  it,  shown  on  a  small  scale  on  map  No.  3,  in  Sutil  y 
ifexicana,  Viage,  atlas.  The  ioUowiiig  is  a  geographical  summary  of  the 
voyage  in  tho  strait:  July  20th,  Fort  Floridahlanca  [Cloak  Bay],  51"  20',  on 
the  north  end  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island,  and  south  of  Ldmjara  Island  [North 
Island];  an  anchorage  east  f  the  island  seems  to  be  called  Navarro;  23d- 
2ttli,  on  tho  northern  or  Alaskan  coast  of  the  strait;  2Jth,  back  to  t!i6 
island  from  Pi  Invisible  region  sighted  ports  Estrada  and  Mazarredo  [all 
three  i.  nies  on  Vancouver's  maj),  called  on  some  modern  maps  Masset  iSpit, 
Massct  nrbor,  and  Virago  Sound;  one  of  the  latter  was  Ilaswell's  Hancock 
Ilivcr];  ••.h,  in  the  archipelago  of  Once  Mil  Vir<iene-<,  on  map  Port  Nar- 
va:z  anu  Iva  Island,  S.  and  N.  of  tlie  archipelago;  also  Port  Qniviixr; 
30th,  cnte,  '  the  Canal  del  Principe  [still  so  called],  between  the  islamls  of 
Calamiilad  'anks]  and  Enriqnez  [Pitt];  past  Iwiy  of  Oorosliza  and  Point 
Enuano  [a  pt  of  Canaveral,  also  nxentioiiud  by  Vancouver];  31st,  sought  in 
vain  Colnett'i  Port  Bala,  Point  Mala  Iiidiada;  passed  through  tho  strait 
[Nepcan  Soui  ],  between  the  islands  of  Compunla  [still  so  called]  and 
Enrifjucz,  into  anchorage  of  Sail  Roqiie,  or  Mai  fondo,  in  bay  of  San  Jos6 
[Wright  Sound,  or  mouth  of  Douglas  Channel];  August  1st,  ceremony  of 
taking  possession ;  2d,  piloto  sent  to  explore  tho  different  channels,  named, 
after  his  return  on  the  Cth,  Duca  y  Brazos  de  Mofdno,  53°  24'  [that  is,  tho 
channels  "f  Grenvillo,  Douglas,  Gardner,  etc.;  here  Colnett  had  placed  the 
strait  of  Fonte]:  one  of  them,  extendina;  N.  w.,  by  which  the  Indians  said  they 
went  to  Queen  Charlotte  Island,  was  followed  eighteen  leagues,  and  etilled — 
or  the  anchorage  at  its  mouth — port  Gastini  [Grenville  Channel],  with  island 
Sim  Miguel  [Farrant  Island?]  and  brazo  de  Maldonado,  on  maps  island  .S'a/j 
Es'.cvan  [still  so  called;  tho  island  of  Gil,  E.  of  Com;iaflia  Island,  on  Van- 
couver's map,  and  still  so  called,  was  doubtless  niimed  by  (/aamaflo];  7th-l  2th, 
further  explorations;  13th-29th,  detained  by  bad  weather;  30tli,  through 
the  Laredo  channel,  between  A  ridi-.iihal  Island  and  the  coast  [names  stdl 
ri'tained],  tho  southern  point  of  t'le  island  being  called  Santa  Ofrtriidis;  Slst, 
Point  Vintuyxen,  on  map  bocas  de  Cicnega;  September  1st,  San  Joaquin  Island 
[Scott  Island];  2d,  Brooks  Bay;  7th,  Nootka. 


MiVLDOKADO'S  OBSKRVATIONS. 


two  sailers.  Thoy  were  rescued  and  restored  by  a 
faction  ot  the  Indians  wlio  would  not  consent  to  such 
an  act  in  return  for  kind  treatment  by  the  Spaniards. 
In  addition  to  the  narrative,  and  to  tjeograpnical  de- 
scriptions, there  were  added  to  the  diary  some  obser- 


^^  W.^^'l" 

CM.  S.B, 


%.•>" 


^l«^"' 


ahosv  -j^.-m    f:i^ 


'^y-.   ^         n  IA.OC  BAhKI&OC  LACALAMIDAO 

rMte  JfuHfNO 

-=^       \  ^iC   


CaamaSo's  Map,   1792. 


vations  of  animals  and  plants,  by  Josd  Maldonado. 
Emerging  from  the  strait  south  of  the  great  islands, 
Caamano  anchored  on  the  7th  of  September  at 
Nootka,  and  remained  there  in  temporary  con?  nand 
of  the  garrison  until  Fidalgo's  arrival,  sailing  the  ,3d 


?i, 


,    I-'; 


270 


EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


of  October,  touching  at  Monterey  on  the  2  2d  of 
October,  and  arriving  at  San  Bias  Feburary  6, 1793." 
Viceroy  Revilla  Gigedo  had  already  made  prepara- 
tions for  an  expedition  under  Lieutenant  Maurelle  to 
complete  the  exploration  of  Fuca  Strait  when  Malas- 
pina,  returning  from  the  north,  proposed  to  make 
the  new  enterprise  a  branch  of  his  own,  furnishing 
officers  and  instruments.  This  proposal  was  accepted, 
and  two  schooners  were  transferred  to  Acapulco  for 
outfit.  They  were  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana,  com- 
manded by  Dionisio  Galiano  and  Cayetano  Valdds, 
with  Secundino  Salamanca  and  Juan  Vernaci  as 
lieutenants,  Joseph  Cordero  as  draughtsman,  and  a 
crew  of  seventeen  men  to  each  schooner.  They 
sailed  from  Acapulco  on  March  8th,  and  arrived  at 
Nootka  on  the  12th  of  May,  two  days  before  Caa- 
mano.  It  was  the  4th  of  June  when  they  started  for 
the  strait,  which  they  entered  next  day  and  anchored 
at  Nunez  Gaona,  or  Neah  Bay.  The  survey  of  the 
inland  waters  up  to  the  Tejada  Island,  or  rather  re- 
survey,  for  all  this  region  had  been  explored  by 
Quimper  and  Elisa,  lasted  until  the  26th.  On  the 
13th  the  Spaniards  first  met  a  boat  from  one  of  the 
English  vessels,  and  on  the  21st  Galiano  and  Van- 
couver met  personally,  showing  to  each  other  their 
charts  of  previous  discoveries,  and  agreeing  to  carry 
on  subsequent  explorations  in  company.  They  worked 
together  amicably  until  the  1 2th  of  July  in  the  chan- 
nels about  Desolation  Sound;  but  Vancouver,  while 
freely  giving  the  Spaniards  the  benefit  of  his  own 
labors,  would  not  accept  the  results  of  their  survey 

"  Coawiaffo,  Expedicion  de  la  corheta  Aranzazu  al  mando  del  tenlente  de 
vavio  D  Jacink)  Caamaiio  d  cojiiprodar  la  relacion  de  Fonte,  1793,  in  Col.  Doc, 
IikUI.,  XV.  3^3-03.  This  is  not  the  original  complete  diary,  but  a  rdsumA  with 
extracts.  A  less  complete  rdnumd  was  given  by  Navarrete,  Sulil  y  Mericana, 
Viaii<',  cxxiii.-xxxi.  113;  Bee  also  mention  in  /(/.,  Viane  Apdc,  66,  160-1; 
Viiiicouvtr'n  Voy.,  i.  398.  'He  appears  to  bave  displaye<i  much  skill  and  in- 
dustry ill  his  examinations,  as  Vancouver  mdirectly  testifies  in  hia  narrative: 
but  ho  effected  no  discoveries  calculated  to  throw  much  light  on  the  geography 
of  that  part  of  the  coast ;  and  his  labors  were  productive  of  advantage  only 
in  80  far  as  they  served  to  facilitate  the  movements  of  the  English  navigator, 
to  whom  his  charta  and  journals  were  exhibited  at  Nootka.'  OreenhowH  Or, 
and  Cal.,  241,  231. 


THE  SUTIL  AND  MEXICANA. 


271 


as  conclusive,  insisting  on  penetrating  to  the  head  of 
each  inlet  for  himself.  This  was  not  agreeable  to 
Galiano's  pride;  and  though  friendly  relations  were 
not  disturbed,  yet  on  account  of  difterences  between 
the  schooners  and  ships  in  speed  and  draught  it  was 
decided  to  part.  The  Spaniards  continued  their  survey 
in  a  very  careful  and  effective  manner,  came  out  into 
the  Pacific  by  a  northern  passage  on  the  23d  of 
August,  and  on  the  30th  anchored  at  Nootka.  The 
Sutil  and  Mexicana  left  Nootka  on  September  1st, 
and  were  at  Monterey  from  the  22d  of  October  to 
the  4th  of  Novemb'^r,  having  taken  a  glance  in  pass- 
ing at  the  Entrada  de  Hoceta,  so  as  to  be  sure  of 
its  identity  with  the  river  mouth  explored  by  Gray, 
of  whose  chart  the  Spaniards  had  a  copy.  They 
anchored  at  San  Bias  on  the  23d  of  November."  No 
detailed  description  of  their  movements  is  possible 
here;  their  explorations  below  Tejada  Island  added 
but  very  little  to  the  earlier  ones  of  Quimper  and 
Elisa,  to  whoso  maps,  already  given  in  this  chapter,  I 
refer  the  reader ;"  while  Galiano's  survey  farther  north 
is  shown  on  that  part  of  his  map  which  I  here  repro- 
duce."   I  may  add  that  Galiano  on  June  20th  was 

"(S'w<i7  y  Mexicana,  Relacion  del  vtage  hecho  por  las  goletas. .  .fn  el  aiio  de 
1793,  para  rcconocer  el  Estrerho  de  Fuca;  con  una  introduccion,  etc.,  Madrid, 
1802 ;  8vo,  with  small  folio  atlas.  The  atlas  contains  a  general  map  of  the 
whole  coast,  from  Baja  California  to  Alaska,  in  throe  sheets,  the  northern 
sheet  showing  the  explorations  of  earlier  Spanish  voyagers ;  also,  sheet  No.  7, 
presenting  a  plan  of  Cala  Do  Amigos  [Friendly  Cove],  at  Nootka;  No.  10, 
view  of  a  Nootka  festival;  No.  11,  view  of  Friendly  Cove  and  Sranish  fort; 
also  portraits  of  the  chiefs  Maquinna  and  Tctacu,  with  Maria,  wife  of  the 
latter.     See  also  Hist.  Cal.,  i.,  chap,  xxiv.,  this  series. 

'^  Several  of  Elisa's  names  are  omitted  on  Galiano's  map,  but  the  additions 
are  few.  Punta  de  Santa  Saturnina  becomes  Island  dc  Saf.unm  [as  it  has  re- 
mained, probably  a  typographical  eiTor,  on  the  later  map].  Tlio  islands  of 
Cepeda  and  Lilng:ira  becoiro  points  on  a  peninsula,  north  of  which  is  found 
the  entrance  to  tlie  Canal  de  Floricha  Blanca,  wliilc  the  place  of  the  southern 
entrance  is  taken  by  Ensenada  del  EnijaHO.  Seno  do  Oant'in  is  a  new  name  fjr 
the  bay  above  Point  Socorro ;  and  Punta  de  Loera  becomes  Ensenada  do  Locia. 
The  Punta  and  I^aguna  de)  Garzon  become  an  'ensenada'  of  the  same  name. 
The  'bocas'  of  the  Florida  Blanca,  Carmelo,  nnd  Moniflo,  being  explored  to 
their  heads,  beoome  'brazos';  and  the  name  of  the  last  is  changed  to  Mavir- 
redo.  Poliel  [.ii.'  "rror]  is  clionged  to  Forlier,  and  Cala  de  Dcscvliiko  is  adiled 
to  the  boea  do  \i  entuhuysen. 

' '  The  map  is  No.  2  of  the  original  atlas,  nnd  is  also  found  on  a  larger  scale 
in  Keply  of  the  United  States.     To  the  land  uortli  of  the  Salida  are  given,  on 


'I     1 


^i 


' !    i 


m 


272 


EXPLORING  AKt)  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


Gauako's  Map,  1792. 


ii 


•    i 


SPANISH  AKD  ENGLISH  ACCOUNTS. 


273 


off  the  mouth  of  the  river  afterward  called  Frascr, 
noting  the  signs  of  its  existence,  though  assured  later 
by  Vancouver  that  no  such  river  existed." 

Thus  Galiano  and  Valdes  had  sailed  through  Fuca 
Strait  and  come  out  into  the  Pacific,  proving  the  ex- 
istence of  another  great  island,  and,  what  was  much 
more  important  to  them  and  their  nation,  that  none 
of  the  strait's  many  channels  afforded  the  desired  or 
dreaded  passage  to  the  Atlantic.  This  was  the  last 
Spanish  exploring  expedition  on  these  coasts,  and  the 
only  one  whose  results  were  published  b}-  order  of  the 
government.  The  journal  and  maps  appeared  in  1802, 
with  a  most  valuable  introductory  resume  of  preceding 
voyages  by  Martin  Fernandez  de  Navarrete;  but  ex- 
cepting the  introduction,  this  work  attracted  very 
little  attention,  being  obscured  by  the  previous  ap- 
pearance of  Vancouver's  great  work.  So  far  as  the 
exploration  of  1792  is  concerned,  however,  the  differ- 
ence between  the  Spanish  and  English  works  is  very 
slight,  except  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  printer's 
and  engraver's  arts.  Mr  Greenhow's  contrast  between 
Galiano's  "meagre  and  uninterestinsf  details"  and  Van- 
couver's  "full  and  luminous  descriptions"  is  purely 
imaginary,  while  his  severe  criticism  of  Navarrete 
has  no  better  foundation  than  the  occurrence  of  a  few 
unimportant  errors  and  the  occasional  display  (jf 
national  prejudice,  which  is  far  less  marked  than  i.^ 
the  bitter  feeling  against  all  that  is  Spanish  to  be 
noted  in  English  and  'French  writers  of  the  time. 
Indeed  Navarrete's  essay  was  intended  as  a  reply  to 
the  sneers  of  Fleurieu  and  other  foreign  writers. 

No.  3  of  the  atlas,  already  copied,  the  namca  islandsi  of  GaUann  and  I'alili'/i. 
The  portit)n  in  fine  line8  in  the  north  Mas  taken  by  Galiano  from  Vancouver, 
and  also  the  portion  in  the  south,  not  copied,  representing  Admiralty  luk-t 
and  Hood  Channel. 

'■" '  Estdbamos  ya  en  agua  casi  dulce,  y  veamos  flotar  grucsos  madcros  con- 
fimidndonos  estos  indicios  en  la  idea  de  que  la  Boca  que  llnmiilmuios  de  1  lot  da- 
blanca  era  la  de  un  rio  caudaloso.'  SiUil  y  Mtx.,  Vhnje,  G5.  'They  ^■ee^K■d 
much  surprized  tliat  we  had  not  found  a  river  said  to  exist  in  the  region  wo 
had  been  exploring,  and  named  by  one  of  their  officers  Rio  Blanclio. .  .wliich 
river  these  gentlemen  had  sought  for  thus  far  to  no  purpose.'  I'mnounr'a 
l^oy.,  i.  ^14.  Tims  it  is  possible  that  Elisa  in  1791  had  also  sctu  s.^ua  ol  vl.  river. 
IIIST.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    18 


.  ^     ! 


4'^     M 


^iiii^. 


\  f 
I  : 


It.  i 


274 


EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


An  English  exploring  expedition  under  the  com- 
mand of  George  Vancouver  was  despatched  for  the 
North  Pacific  in  1791.  Vancouver's  instructions, 
dated  the  8th  of  March,  were  to  make  a  thorough 
survey  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  of  the  north- 
western coast  of  America  from  30°  to  60°,  the  latter 
with  a  view  of  finding,  if  possible,  a  passage  to 
the  Atlantic,  and  of  learning  what  establishments 
had  been  founded  there  by  foreign  powers.  He  was 
also  notified  that  he  might  be  called  on  to  receive 
certain  property  at  Nootka,  of  which  the  Spanish 
minister  had  ordered  the  restoration  to  British  sub- 
jects, according  to  the  convention  of  1790.  He  com- 
manded the  sloop  Discovery,  carrying  twenty  guns  and 
one  hundred  men,  and  as  consort  the  tender  Cfiatham, 
with  ten  guns  and  forty-five  men,  under  Lieutenant 
W.  R.  Broughton.  The  vessels  sailed  from  Falmouth 
on  the  1st  of  April,  proceeded  to  the  Pacific  by  way 
of  Cape  Good  Hope,  and  left  the  Sandwich  Islands 
for  America  on  the  16th  of  March  1792. 

It  was  on  the  1 7th  of  April  that  the  coast  of  New 
Albion  was  sighted  just  below  Cape  Mendocino.  The 
trip  up  the  coast  to  Cape  Flattery,  in  good  weather 
and  with  all  conditions  favorable  for  observation,  lasted 
twelve  days,  and  several  new  names  were  applied.'" 

On  th^  27th  the  explorers  noted  "the  appearance 
of  an  inlet,  or  small  river,  the  land  behind  not  indi- 
cating it  to  be  of  any  great  extent;  nor  did  it  seem 
accessible  for  vessels  of  our  burden,  as  the  breakers 
extended"  quite  across  the  opening.  It  was  correctly 
identified  as  Meares'  Deception  Bay.  Two  days  later 
Captain  Gray  was  met  on  the  Columbia,  and  from  him 
Vancouver  learned  that  the  Lady  Washington  had  not, 
under  his  command  at  least,  sailed  through  the  strait 

'*  The  new  names  were :  Rocly  Point,  at  Point  Trinidad ;  Point  and  Bay  of 
Saint  Oeorge  and  Dragon  Iiocks;  Cape  Orford,  from  the  earl  of  that  mime 
(Greenhow  8  criticism,  (Jr.  and  Col.,  232,  that  Vancouver,  though  inclined  to 
think  the  cape  identical  with  Aguilar's  Cape  Blanco,  'did  not  scruple'  to 
name  it  Orford,  is  aucccssfully  overthrown  by  Twiss,  Or.  Quest.,  13ft-l); 
Point  OrenviUe,  f'x>m  the  lord  of  that  name;  and  Duncan  Rock,  from  the  fur- 
trader. 


If 


THE  RIVER  AND  THE  STRAIT. 


275 


of  Fuca,  as  had  been  reported — a  statement  that 
caused  much  satisfaction,  since  it  left  a  grand  field  for 
discovery  open  to  himself,  as  he  incorrectly  supposed. 
He  also  learned  from  Gray  that  the  latter  had  found 
a  great  river  in  the  south;  but  this  did  not  trouble 
him,  because  Gray  had  been  unable  to  enter  it  by 
reason  of  the  currents,  and  because  "I  was  thoroughly 
convinced,  as  were  also  most  persons  of  observation 
on  board,  that  we  could  not  possibly  have  passed  any 
safe  navigable  opening,  harbour,  or  place  of  security 
for  shipping  on  this  coast,  from  Cape  Mendocino  to 
the  promontory  of  Classett;  nor  had  we  any  reason 
to  alter  our  opinions,  notwithstanding  that  theoretical 
geographers  have  thought  proper  to  assert,  in  that 
space,  the  existence  of  arms  of  the  ocean.  .  .and  ex- 
tensive rivers."  This  record  of  failure  to  find  the 
Columbia  River  was  repeated  ad  nauseam  (Britanni- 
cam)  by  American  writers  in  later  controversies,  and 
this  chapter  would  perhaps  be  regarded  as  incomplete 
without  it: 

Entering  the  strait  the  last  day  of  April,  they  fol- 
lowed the  southern  shore  to  Port  Discovery,  which 
became  a  station  for  refitting  and  for  explorations  in 
the  surrounding  region."  From  this  station  Van- 
couver, Menzies,  Puget,  and  Johnstone  set  out  on  the 
7th  of  May  in  yawl,  launch,  and  cutter.  In  this  and 
subsequent  trips,  lasting  about  a  month,  the  whole 
south-eastern  extension  of  the  inland  sea  was  discov- 
ered, fully  explored,  and  named,  as  shown  by  the 
annexed  copy  of  Vancouver's  map.''^  The  record  of 
adventures  and  observations,  though  full  of  interest 

''''New  Dungeness,  a  sandy  point  resembling  Dungeness  in  the  Engliuh  Chan- 
nel (Quimper's  Point  Santa  Cruz),  and  Mount  Baker  in  the  far  distance,  dis- 
covered by  Lieutenant  Baker,  were  the  only  new  names  applied  west  of  Port 
Discovery;  and  Loh  Anyelea  vfaa  the  only  Spanish  name  put  later  on  Van- 1 
couver's  map  of  the  southern  shore. 

"The  map  also  shows,  besides  Vancouver's  southern  discoveries  of  Ad- 
miralty Inlet,  Iloo'l.  Canal,  and  Pugtt  Hound,  the  northern  parts  explored 
before  by  Elisa  and  Quimper.  See  map  already  given.  Mount  liainier,  beyond 
the  limits  of  my  copy,  was  so  named  for  Rear-admiral  Rainier  of  the  British 
navj".  Other  names  used  in  Vancouver's  text,  but  not  appearing  on  the  map, 
are  Marrow-stone  Point,  Oak  Cove,  FoulweaUitr  Blujj',  Jluzel  Point,  Jlealoror 
tion  Point,  and  Cypress  Island. 


'■  •   i 


!   I 
.1111: 


876 


EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


i^? 


1 H  a  ^i  w 


fellingham 
"  Bay 


'^•*S„, 


Vancocveu's  Map.  1792. 


'$  ■■ 


s. 


THE  EXGLISH  NAVIGATORS. 


277 


FelUngharu 


y 


In  its  details,  cannot  of  course  bo  reproduced  hero, 
even  en  resume.  On  the  king's  birthday,  the  4th  of 
June,  at  Possession  Sound,  formal  possession  was 
taken  in  the  name  of  his  Britannic  majesty  of  ail  the 
countries  round  about  these  inland  waters,  including 
the  outer  coast  down  to  39°  20';  and  to  the  inland 
coasts  and  islands  above  45°  was  given,  in  honor  of  the 
king,  the  name  of  New  Georgia,  This  act  of  posses- 
sion, like  previous  acts  of  similar  nature  by  the  Span- 
iards at  half  a  dozen  points  within  the  strait,  of  course 
had  no  possible  force  under  the  Nootka  convention; 
but  the  men  got  an  extra  allowance  of  grog,  and  no 
harm  was  done. 

Next  the  English  navigators  penetrated  the  north- 
ern channels;  but  what  they  found  in  the  gulf  of 
Georgia,  or  Canal  del  Rosario,  has  already  been  clearly 
enough  laid  before  the  reader  in  the  charts  of  Elisa 
and  Gahano.™  From  June  22d  to  July  12th  the  Eng- 
lishmen were  in  company  with  the  Spanish  explorers, 
as  noted  in  a  former  part  of  this  chapter.  Though 
grievously  disappointed  on  learning  that  he  was  not, 
as  he  had  believed,  the  discoverer  of  this  north- 
western Mediterranean,  with  its  coasts  and  islands, 
Vancouver  fully  reciprocated  the  courtesies  shown  by 
the  strangers,  and  consented,  as  required  by  his  in- 
structions, to  a  joint  survey  and  mutual  inspection 
of  charts. 

The  operations  in  company  were  in  the  region  of 
Desolation  Sound,  and  the  results  are  shown  on  the 
appended  section  of  Vancouver's  map,  which  with  its 

'•Tho  Spanish. names  retained  by  Vancouver  in  this  section  were  Canal 
del  Roaiiiio,  wrongly  applied  to  make  room  for  the  name  giilf  of  Georgia, 
and  Tcjada  Island,  mis|iiiutcd  Fcvada  Jind  Favidn;  but  ho  also  condescended 
to  leave  a  few  oth'.T  point^i,  previously  named  by  tlie  Spaniards,  without  any 
names  at  all.  His  clianges  were  as  follows:  Garzon  to  Hirch  Buy,  Point 
Ccpeda  to  Poiut  Roberts,  J.'oint  LAurara  to  Po\nt  Ora;/,  Florida  lilanra  to 
Durrard  fnlct,  Cannclo  to  Iloire  ^ioiind  (naming  also  Points  Ai/ciii.'ion  and 
Oore  or  Giiwer,  and  islands  of  rasnaije  and  Anvil  in  connection  with  the 
Bound),  Mazarredo  to  JervU  Canal,  with  Scotch  Fir  Point  and  Coiicha  to 
llarmood  Idaiid.  Points  Upwood  and  Marnliidl  were  added  lo  Tcjada 
Island,  and  Savai-y  Island  was  named.  Sturyeon  Bank  ia  also  named  iii 
th'e  text. 


'■•i-t- 


!     i 


\ 


IsjJSEs-.— 


I 


VANCOUVER'S  MOVEMENTS. 


279 


% 


r" 


names  may  be  compared  with  Galiano's  chart  of  the 


same  region 


Leaving  the  Spaniards  behind,  Vancouver  proceeded 
up  the  h)ng  channel, which  he  named  Johnstone  Strait; 
thence  he  sent  letters  to  Nootka  overland  by  Indians 
who  knew  Maquinna,  and  early  in  August  emerged 
into  the  Pacific,  not  by  the  narrow  channel  followed 
a  little  later  by  Galiano,  but  by  the  wider  passage 
named  in  ear-lier  years  Queen  Charlotte  Sound,  where 
now  the  Chatham  grounded  and  narrowly  escaped 
wreck.  From  the  9th  to  the  19th  of  August  the 
vessels  followed  the  coast  up  to  Fitzhugh  Sound,  and 
the  boats  were  sent  up  to  52°  18',  with  results  shown, 
on  the  accompanying  section  of  the  chart  Then, 
partly  by  reason  of  news  received  from  Captain  Shep- 
herd of  the  Venus  in  this  region,  the  commander 
turned  his  course  southward,  and  on  the  28th  of 
August  anchored  at  Nootka.  Here  he  found  the 
DcBclalus  store-ship  of  his  expedition,  which  had  ar- 
rived from  England  by  way  of  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
where  the  commander  Hergest  and  the  astronomer 
Gooch  had  been  killed  by  the  natives ;  and  also  the ' 
brig  Three  Brothers  of  London,  commanded  by  Lieu- 
tenant Alder  of  the  navy.  Galiano  and  Valdes  came 
in  the  next  day. 

The  stay  of  more  than  a  month  at  Nootka  was  not 
marked  by  any  occurrences  requiring  special  notice,  if 
we  except  certain  diplomatic  negotiations  between 
Vancouver  and  Don  Juan  de  la  Bodega  y  Cuadra, 
which  I  shall  notice  in  the  next  chapter.  Socially, 
relations  with  Cuadra  were  in  every  way  most  friendly; 
and  the  broad  territory  just  proved  an  island  by  the 
joint  English  and  Spanish  survey  was  named  the 
Island  of  Cuadra  and  Vancouver.  The  Aranzazu  soon 
arrived  from  her  northern  explorations,  and  her  charts 
were  placed  at  the  Englishman's  disposal.^^    Lieuten- 

*"  XL'S  onlj'  name  in  Vancouver's  text  not  on  the  map  is  that  oi  Alleviation 
Inland. 

^'It  is  noticeable  that  while  Vancouver  lays  down  the  island  coasts  from 
Rpaiiiah  cliavts  ho  does  not  note  the  fact  that  Nootka  is  an  island,  su  clearly 
sliowu  on  those  charts. 


t    i 


H  ■   il 


,'&  -1 


:!■  If       m 
ij,;. 


il*f  fi 


I 


'It 


!  n 


280  EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 


Vancouver's  Map,  1792. 


^ 


,1 , "  1 1 


VANCOUVER'S  NARRATIVE. 


281 


J 


>^>* 


ant  l^.Tiulgc  was  sent  with  dcspatclicH  to  England  I'ia 
China  on  a  Portuguese  trader;  and  on  tlic  13tli  of 
October  tlie  Discovery,  Chatham,  and  Dccdalus  sailed 
together  for  the  south.  On  the  way  down  the  coast 
Vancouver  made  some  observations  at  difterent  points 
for  the  purpose  of  rectifying  his  charts;  named  Mount 
St  Helens;  and  arrived  at  San  Francisco  on  Novem- 
ber 14th.  Lieutenant  Whidbey  on  the  Dcedulus  made 
a  survey  of  Gray  Harbor,*^  and  reached  Monterey 
the  22d  of  November.  Lieutenant  Broughton  in  the 
Chatham  entered  the  Columbia  River,  and  in  boats 
went  up  that  stream  about  one  hundred  miles,  to  the 
region  of  the  Cascades,  taking  possession  of  the 
country  for  his  king.  He  had  Gray  s  chart;  but  it  did 
not  appear  that  the  American  navigator  "either  saw, 
or  waa  ever  within  five  leagues  of  its  entrance,"  a  very 
fine  distinction  beinsf  drawn  between  the  river  and 
the  estuary  into  which  it  flows,^  Broughton  arrived 
at  San  Francisco  about  the  23d  of  November.  Of 
Vancouver's  experience  in  California  much  has  been 
.said  in  another  volume  of  this  series.®* 

The  narrative  of  Vancouver's  expedition,  including 
not  only  the  voyage  of  1722,  but  two  subsequent  ones 
of  1793-4,  to  be  described  in  their  place,  was  published, 
with  an  atlas  of  finely  engraved  maps,  in  1798,  and 
the  work  appeared  in  several  later  editions  and  trans- 
lations. It  was  doubtless  from  this  explorer's  text, 
and  particularly  from  his  maps,  including  much  mate- 
rial from  Cook,  the  Spanish  explorers,  and  the  fur- 
traders,  that  the  world  derived  most  of  its  knowledge 
respecting  the  Northwest  Coast  and  Alaska.     The 

^''Poiiit  Droion,  Point  Hanson,  and  Point  New  were  the  names  applied. 
A  chart  is  given  in  connection  witli  tlie  general  map. 

**Tho  survey  lasted  from  the  21st  of  October  to  the  10th  of  November. 
The  names  given  were  as  follows:  Baker  Bay,  Chenoke  Point,  Sjiit  Bank, 
Tongue  Point,  Point  George,  Young  Iliver,  Gray  ]5ay,  Orchard  River,  Pugct 
Island,  Manby  River,  Swaine  River,  Bilker  Island,  Point  SherilT,  \\'alker 
Island,  Mount  Coffin,  River  Poole,  Kniglit  River,  Uiry  Islan<l,  Oak  Point, 
I'oint  Warrior,  Rushleigh  River,  Call  River,  Manning  River,  ISello  Vuc  Poiiii, 
Menzie  Island,  Baring  Islnnd,  .Johnstone  Island,  Point  Vancouver  (the  eastern 

i)oint  of  the  survey),  Goose  Island,  Friendly  Reach,  Parting  Point,  and  Whid- 
jey  River.     A  chart  is  given  of  the  mouth. 
*'Sce  Hist.  Cat.,  i.  chap,  xxiv.,  this  series. 


M   i 


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unM 

ly 

i;!' 


ttt  EXPLORING  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPEDITIONS. 

work  deserved  much  of  its  great  reputation,  for  Its 
maps  were  the  best  thus  far  pubUshed,  and  the  na**- 
rative  was  accurate  and  comprehensive.  The  author 
had,  however,  some  disagreeable  weaknesses  of  char- 
acter, already  known  to  the  reader  from  events  con- 
nected with  his  visit  to  California.  His  statements  on 
many  topics  were  often  marked  by  an  unworthy  spirit 
of  unfairness  and  petty  injustice  toward  Spanish  and 
American  navigators,  a  defect  which  was  pointed  out 
and  exaggerated  by  Greenhow  and  others  in  the  dis- 
putes of  later  years.  It  was  Vancouver's  good  fortune 
that  the  geographical  names  applied  by  him  were 
generally  retained  instead  of  those  originally  g:  ven 
by  the  discoverers. 

A  work  published  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same 
style,  containing  the  Spanish  explorations,  would  have 
been  in  few  respects  inferior  to  the  work  in  question, 
and  would  have  taken  away  much  of  Vancouver's  ex- 
clusive fame.  The  logs  of  the  American  traders  would 
also  have  made  a  difference  in  his  lists  of  names  and 
des'nhitions.  Spain's  policy,  whatever  its  merits  from 
a  pol  it'  3al  point  of  view,  was  most  damaging  to  the 
glory  of  her  discoverers;  and  English  enterprise 
mad  J  Vancouver  a  very  fortunate,  as  he  was  a  very 
meritorious,  explorer.* 

Besides  the  exploring  craft  Aranzazu,  Sutil,  and 
Mexicana,  there  were  other  Spanish  vessels  on  the 
coast  this  year,  whose  movomcnts  it  is  well  to  record 
before    proceeding    to    matters    of  diplomacy:    The 

^A  voyage  of  (discovery  to  the  North  Paclfi''  Ocean,  and  round  the  vorld; 
in  v'hich  the  coast  of  norlh-ioeet  America  has  been  carefully  cxaniined  and  accii- 
rateji)  surveyed.  Undertaken  by  His  Majesty's  command,  principally  with  a  view 
to  ascertain  t/ie  existence  of  any  navii/able  communication  between  the  North 
Pacijic  and  North  Atlantic  oceoius;  and  j)erformed  in  ihe  years  1700-1705,  in  the 
'Discover;/'  sloop  of  war,  and  armed  tender  '  Chatham,'  under  the  command  of 
Captain  George  Vancoucer,  London,  1708;  4to,  3  vols,  and  folio  atlas;  also, 
London,  1802,  8vo,  6  vols. ;  Vancouver,  Voyagede  Ddcomvrtes,  etc. ,  Paris, an  viii; 
4to,  3  vols,  and  atlas ;  also,  Paris,  1802;  Svo,  6  vols.  The  text  contains  several 
engravings  of  views  on  the  coast,  and  tho  atlas  has  many  n-.ifrinc  views  in 
addition  to  maps.  That  part  of  the  narrative  relating  to'^''aJic  mvcr's  opera- 
ti  Tw  (ju  t'le  N'orthwest  Coast  during  this  first  voyage  is  iound  in  vol.  i.  196- 
432;  ii.  62-85. 


■IL 


] 


|"J«IS  i 


W 


SPANISH  VESSELS. 


283 


Santa  Gertrndis,  cominaiulod  l)y  Alonso  do  TorroH, 
and  having  on  board  ]3on  Juan  do  la  Bodega,  com- 
mander of  San  Bias  and  S[)ani.sli  conunissioner,  sailed 
the  1st  of  IMarch  and  arrived  at  Nootka  at  the  end 
of  April,  where  she  was  soon  joined  by  the  schooner 
Activa,  Captain  Salvador  Mencndez  Valdes,  which 
had  been  delayed  until  the  middle  of  IMarch  at  San 
Bias.  Elisa  in  the  Concepcion  left  Nootka  in  Juno, 
arriving  at  Monterey  the  9th  of  July,  while  Cuadra 
seems  to  have  acted  as  commander  of  the  garrison 
during  the  absence  of  Caamano  in  thoAranzazu  on  his 
northern  trip  of  exploration  until  September.  Mean- 
while Lieutenant  Salvador  Fidalgo  left  San  Bias 
the  23d  of  March  in  the  Princesa,  and  proceeded 
direct  to  the  port  of  Nuilcz  Gaona,  in  the  strait  of 
Fuca,  where  he  arrived  early  in  May,  ft»unded  a  regu- 
lar post,  with  the  necessary  buildings  and  fortifica- 
tions,^ and  remained  until  September,  when  by  order 
of  Cuadra  he  abandoned  the  settlement  and  trans- 
ferred all  the  material  "to  Nootka,  where  he  succeeded 
CaamafiO  as  commander,  and  retained  his  vessel,  with 
probably  the  newly  purchased  Adventure.  The  Santa 
Gertnidis,  under  Torres,  had  returned  southward, 
touching  at  Monterey  in  August.  Cuadra  left  Nootka 
in  September,  touched  at  Nunez  Gaona  to  leave  orders 
for  Fidalgo,  and  arrived  at  Monterey  in  the  Activa 
on  October  9th.  The  only  other  vessel  of  the  year 
was  the  schooner  Horcasitas,  which  had  perhaps 
been  in  the  north  since  the  preceding  year,  returning 
to  California  either  with  Elisa  or  with  Cuadra,  anil 
which  now  sailed  again  for  Nootka  in  November, 
carrying  despatches  from  Cuadra  to  Fidalgo,  sent  in 
consequence  of  orders  from  the  viceroy  which  had 
been  brought  up  to  Monterey  from  San  Bias  by  the 
Saturnina.^ 

'"Evans,  Hist.  Or.,  MS.,  67,  tella  us  that  pieces  of  masonry  arc  still  found 
at  Neah  Bay. 

^UU-vUla  Oi'jedo,  Informe,  130-9;  Sutil  y  Mexkana,  Vinge,  10,  29,  103,  113; 
Hint.  <'al.,  i.,  chap,  xxiv.,  this  series;  IlaswdVs  Voi/.,  MS.,  80-7,  92;  Van- 
couver's Voy.,  i.  40S-10. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

END  OF  CONTROVERSY  AND  EXPLORATION. 

« 

1792-1800. 

The  Policy  of  Spaik — Delay  for  Exploration — The  Viceroy's  Ideas — 
Instrpctjons  to  the  Commissioner  —  Cuadra's  Investigations — 
Vancouver's  Mission  —  The  Commissioners  at  Nootka  —  English 
Claims — Spanish  Offers — Agreement  to  Disagree— Convention  op 
1793 — Damages  Paid — Revilla-Gigedo's  Report — Vancouver's  Sec- 
ond Voyage — The  Garuison — Saa\'edra  Succeeds  Fidaloo — The 
Trading  Fleet  of  1793 — Cuadra  Succeeded  by  Alava — Trip  of  the 
•Aranzazu'  to  Californli — Cap'vain  John  KEironicK — Vancouver's 
Third  Voyage— Traders  of  1794 — Treaty  of  1794 — The  Controversy 
Ended — Alava  and  Pierce  —  Final  Abandonment  of  Nootka  in 
March  1795 — The  Title — The  'Phcenix'  of  1795 — Broughton's 
Visit — Dorr,  the  Yanicee  Trader  of  1796 — Rowan  and  the  'Elisa' 
of  1798 — Cleveland's  Cruise — The  'Betsy'  of  1800. 

Spain  had  in  a  sense  been  forced  by  England  to 
relinquish  her  exclusive  claims  to  territory  in  the 
north-west,  or  at  least  she  had  not  deemed  herself  in 
condition  to  fight  for  what  appeared  likely  to  prove  a 
mere  matter  of  pride ;  for  as  we  have  seen,  Spain  had 
no  desire  for  northern  possessions  except  as  a  moinis 
of  protection  for  those  in  the  south.  If  there  v, :  no 
interoceanic  passage,  then  a  broad  frontier  without 
good  ports  was  all  that  was  desirable;  consequently 
an  accurate'  knowledge  of  the  coast  was  of  the  first 
importance,  and  we  have  seen  with  what  unusual 
energy  the  exploration  was  pushed  forward  in  1790-2 
by  the  successive  expeditions  of  Fidalgo,  Quimper, 
Elisa,  Malaspina,  Caamano,  and  Galiano.  Should  the 
strait  bo  found,  then  Spain  had  an  equal  chance  with 
England  to  occupy  the  necessary  points;  and  as  for 

(284) 


mm 


mSt^ 


JUAN  FRANCISCO  DE  LA  BODEGA  Y  CUADRA. 


285 


exclusive  control,  there  was  yet  room  for  diplomacy, 
and  always  for  war  as  a  last  resort.  Meanwhile  delay 
was  essential  and  by  no  means  difficult.  By  the  spirit 
of  the  Nootka  convention  the  whole  coast  above  San 
Francisco,  or  at  least  above  Cape  Mendocino,  for  there 
was  an  equitable  right  to  a  broad  unoccupied  frontier, 
was  open  for  trade  and  settlement  equally  to  Spain 
and  England,  each  having  also  free  access  to  the  set- 
tlements of  the  other,  though  literally  the  limit  fixed 
was  neither  San  Francisco  nor  Mendocino,  but  the 
"  parts  of  the  coast  already  occupied  by  Spain,"  which 
might  very  plausibly  be  interpreted  to  mean  Nootka; 
'ind  so  the  Spanish  government  decided  to  interpret 
it,  at  least  as  a  basis  for  future  negotiations.  It  is 
not  unlikely  that  many  Spanish  officials,  and  even 
the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  may  have  taken  this  view  of  the 
matter  in  good  faith. 

By  royal  orders  of  December  1790  the  carrying- 
out  of  the  Nootka  convention,  so  far  as  the  restora- 
tion of  property  and  the  fixing  of  boundaries  were 
concerned,  was  committed  as  a  matter  of  form  to 
the  viceroy,  with  a  recommendation  that  Juan  Fran- 
cisco de  la  Bodega  y  Cuadra  should  be  the  Spanish 
commissioner,  and  that  the  boundary  between  the  ex- 
clusive possessions  of  Spain  in  the  south  and  the 
territory  free  to  both  powers  in  the  north  should  bo 
fixed  at  48°,  Nootka  being  divided  between  the  two.* 
Cuadra  was  accordingly  appointed  and  summoned  to 
Mexico  to  receive  instructions  early  in  1791.  Quim- 
per's  late  explorations  had,  however,  furnished  a  more 
definite  idea  of  the  northern  strait  than  the  Spaniards 
had  before  pcs.^CHsed,  and  Revilla  Gigedo  took  the 
liberty  to  introduce  some  changes  in  the  royal  recom- 

*  'Que  lo8  ingleses  .^cupaaea  en  Nootka  los  tcrritorios  situados  al  Norte,  y 
noBotros  ka  du  la  parto  del  Silr,  fijdndose  en  los  48  grades  de  laHtud  In,  linca 
divisoria  de  los  estaLIeuimientos  de  nucstra  legitima  pertenensia,  y  de  Lis 
coDiunes  para  h, .  ^  ;iproJidad,  uso  y  comercio  de  ambas  nacionca. '  By  Nootka 
Is  meant,  I  suppose,  the  legion  extending  north  and  south  from  tlie  sound.  IJy 
this  arrangement  each  nation  would  have  an  establislimcnt  on  J.ootka  Sound 
free  of  access  to  vesyils  of  the  other,  but  the  Euyliah  cjuld  not  trudo  or  scUle 
below  48'. 


\'    f 


I    i 


!■■'!■ 


ENO  OF  CONTROVERSY  AXD  i:-XPLORATION. 


mendations;  he  believed  it  would  be  best  to  give  up 
Nootka  altogether,  and  to  make  the  strait  of*  Fuca 
the  dividing  line,  transferring  the  Spanish  establish- 
ment to  a  convenient  site  on  that  strait,  Cuadra  was 
instructed  accordingly,  and  the  purport  of  his  instruc- 
tions was  made  known  to  the  home  jtov^  rvie.ct."  The 
viceroy  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  r?  ,att  i  .  ^  and  made 
the  fullest  possible  investigation  respert'n;^  the  occur- 
rences of  1789,  closely  examining  all  available  witnesses 
on  the  points  mentioned  in  Meares'  memorial,  and 
communicating  the  results  of  his  investigation  both 
to  Cuadra  and  to  the  government.  He  was  satisfied 
that,  as  the  English  had  been  dispossessed  of  no  lands 
or  buildings  at  Nootka,  nothing  was  to  be  restored, 
according  to  the  first  article  of  the  convention,  and  he 
flattered  himself  that  the  English  would  be  therefore 
the  more  ready  to  obtain  thu  port  of  Nootkii  by  ac- 
ceding to  the  terms  proposed.  Fully  acquainted  .vith 
the  facts  of  the  case  and  with  the  viceroy's  .ic*^'9 
Cuadra  sailed  for  Nootka  in  March  1792,  au''!  at  the 
same  tirae  Fidalgo  was  sent  to  found  a  sett'";KTe.K  at 
Nunez  Gaona,  within  the  strait.^  At  Noot^.a.  -;  hilc 
waiting  for  the  English  commissioner,  Cu^ul^a  ras 
able  to  make  some  further  investigations  about  tho 
controversy  of  1789,  and  was  so  fortunate  as  to  meet 
captains  Gray,  Ingraham,  and  Viana,  who  testified 
in  writing  that  British  subjects  had  not  been  dispos- 
sessed of  any  lands  or  houses  whatever,  thus  fully  con- 
firming his  own  previous  conclusions  and  tbof=e  of  his 
superior  officer.* 

In  his  instructions  of  the  8th  of  Marc  "a    791  Cap- 

*In  a  report  of  the  27th  of  March  1791.  A  reply  in  a  roy-^  der  of  the 
2nth  of  June  postponed  a  definite  dcci.sion  on  the  changes,  but  lei  tho  viceroy 
to  infer  that  they  wouhl  bo  approved.  Kovilla-Gigedo  also  f.ivored  a  north 
and  south  line  f;oin  some  f.oi"*.  on  i^o  !;*^,,iit  up  to  00°,  to  keep  the  English 
from  penetrating  the  interr^"  ur. !  reaoi)';,j,'  New  Mexico,  but  it  is  not  clear 
that  Cuadrn's  instructiona  i..uladod  thi'?  'c,.l  .re. 

^A  clear  though  brief  account  of  t'>.■^<^■  ;;i.'vttcrs  is  given  in  Revilla-Oigedo, 
Ill/or  me,  l.'JS  et  seq.,  with  rlcrencc  to  much  original  correspondence  that  la 
not  accessible. 

*  Gray  and  Iiir/raham's  Letter  of  Awjitst  5,  1702,  in  Oreenhow'a  Or.  ami  Col., 
414-17.  This  letter  and  that  of  Vianr.  are  mentioned  in  Vancouver's  Voy.,  i. 
389  et  seq. 


Cap. 


TH?i:  COMMISSIOXERS  AT  NOOTKA. 


287 


tain  Vancouver  had  been  informed  that  he  niis^ht  in 
the  course  of  his  voyage  be  called  upon  to  receive 
from  Spanish  officers  the  property  at  Nootka,  which 
his  Catholic  majesty  had  agreed  to  restore;  but  he 
was  to  await  further  instructions  on  the  subject. 
Such  additional  instructions  were  dated  the  20th 
of  August  1791,  and  were  sent  by  the  Dcsdalus!, 
Lieutenant  Richard  Hergest,  together  with  an  order 
from  Count  Florida  Blanca  to  the  commander  at 
Nootka.  Hergest  was  authorized  to  receive  the 
property  himself  if  he  did  not  find  Vancouver  at 
Nootka ;  but  he  was  killed  by  savages  at  the  Sand- 
wich Islands.  Thomas  New  succeeded  to  the  com- 
mand, and  on  reaching  Nootka  in  July  preferred 
to  await  the  arrival  there  of  his  superior  officer. 
Vancouver  was  meanwhile  exploring  in  the  strait, 
where  he  heard,  both  from  Galiano  of  the  Sutil  and 
Shepherd  of  the  Venus,  that  Cuadra  was  waiting  to 
comply  with  the  terms  of  the  treaty;  and  he  finally 
arrived  at  Nootka  at  the  end  of  August. 

Vancouver's  instructions  were  to  receive,  and 
Cuadra's  to  deliver,  "the  buildings,  and  districts, 
or  parcels  of  land . .  .  which  were  occupied  by  his 
majesty's  subjects  in  the  month  of  april,  1789,  agree- 
able to  the  first  article  of  the  late  convention."  Cuadra 
had  very  properly  tried  to  learn  what  lands  and  build- 
ings were  intended;  Vancouver  took  it  for  granted 
without  investigation  that  the  port  of  Nootka,  and 
probably  Port  Cox  also,  were  simply  to  be  trans- 
ferred, with  whatever  structures  might  exist  there, 
from  Spanish  to  English  possession.  Such  a  sur- 
render of  the  post  of  Nootka  had  never  been  hinted 
at,  so  far  as  is  known,  in  the  European  negotiations; 
there  was  not  a  word  in  either  treaty  or  instructions 
to  support  Vancouver's  theory;  but  he  would  have 
nothing  but  an  absolute  surrender  of  the  place. 
Cuadra  at  once  presented  his  evidence,  showing  that 
as  British  subjects  had  been  dispossessed  of  no  lands  or 
buildings  whatever,  there  was  nothing  to  be  restored 


I'    )i 


!  I  „ 

''A  jf 

•  i  i' 

:    1  ■; 


I  I 


m 


END  OF  CONTROVERSY  AND  EXPLORATION. 


under  the  treaty ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  submitted 
his  proposition,  offering  to  give  up  Nootka  and  retire 
to  Fuca,  making  all  south  of  the  strait  exclusively 
Spanish,  and  leaving  all  north  of  Nootka  free  for  tho 
entrance  of  both  powers.  Subsequently  he  offered  to 
give  up  the  small  lot  of  land  on  which  Meares  had 
built  his  house,  and  even  to  leave  at  Vancouver's 
command,  without  prejudice  to  Spanish  rights,  all  tho 
structures  of  the  port,  retiring  to  Fuca  to  await  tho 
decision  of  the  respective  courts.  But  Vancouver 
would  enter  into  no  discussion,  and  did  not  even 
attempt  to  defend  his  own  position  or  oppose  that  of 
Cuadra,  so  far  as  the  events  of  1789  were  concerned; 
he  must  have  Nootka  or  nothing.  In  this  he  was 
wrong,  as  he  was  probably  well  aware,  though  Mr 
Duffin,  arriving  from  China,  furnished  stronger  evi- 
dence on  his  side  than  had  ever  existed  before.  As 
to  boundaries,  he  said  he  had  no  powers,  that  matter 
having  been  settled  by  the  treaty;  "and  in  this  he  was 
right.  Perhaps  he  acted  wisely  also  in  refusing  to 
accept  anything  less  than  a  full  surrender  of  the  port, 
if  he  had  reason  to  think  his  government  expected 
such  a  surrender.  Of  course  Cuadra  was  not  willing 
and  had  no  authority  to  make  the  surrender;  there- 
fore the  two  commissioners,  whose  relations  through- 
out were  most  friendly,  agreed  to  submit  the  question 
anew  to  their  respective  governments,  Nootka  re- 
maining in  the  mean  time  a  Spanish  port." 

^Vancouver's  Vbij.,  i.  384-409;  Eevilla  Oigedo,  fn/orme,  137-9, 161-3,  with 
brief  atatemcnta  in  Hutu  y  Mexicana,  Vi<tye,  ll^lG,  and  IhimveWa Lor;,  MS., 
90;  also  an  account  by  Howell,  supercargo  of  the  Manjaret,  who  acteJ  ca 
translator,  quoted  from  Ingraliam's  JoumaJ,  by  Greenhow,  Or.  and  Cat.,  245. 
Vancouver  complains  of  Cuadra 'o  vacillation  in  tho  matter,  perhaps  with  some 
reason,  but  probably  because  he  chose  to  understand  tho  Spaniard's  polite 
phrases  at  verbal  interviews  as  implying  assent  to  his  claims ;  he  says  that 
Cuadra  agreed  on  tho  12th  of  September  to  leave  him  in  full  possession,  tho 
Spanish  flag  being  struck  and  the  British  raised  in  its  place,  while  each  should 
Bend  his  objections  to  his  government,  but  next  day  in  a  letter  changed  his 
mind.  Such  an  agreement  on  Cuadra's  part  seems  improbable,  though  ilovilla- 
Gigedo  repeats  Vancouver's  complaint  without  disputing  its  accuracy  in  tliia 
respect.  But  it  seems  that  the  complaint  as  carried  by  Broughton  to  Mexico 
wos  also  t)iat  Cuadra  did  not  chojigo  hia  mind  until  Vancouver  had  worked 
for  several  days  unloading  his  vessel ;  t'  ...  the  latter's  expodition  had  been 
detained  for  a  whole  year;  and  that  the  viceroy's  instructions  had  been  ob- 


mm 


w 


r 


DAMAGES  DETERMINED. 


289 


Vancouver  sent  an  officer  with  despatches  to  Eng- 
land via  China  on  a  Portuguese  trader;  and  later  from 
Monterey,  where  his  most  agreeable  social  relations 
with  Cuadra  were  continued,  Lieutenant  Broughton 
was  taken  on  the  Activa  to  San  Bias,  from  which 
point  he  went  to  England  by  way  of  Mexico  to  an- 
nounce the  result  of  his  superior's  mission,  and  ask 
for  new  instructions.  Meanwhile  a  royal  order  was 
received  in  Mexico  requiring  that  under  no  condition 
should  Nootka  be  surrendered.  The  viceroy  made 
haste  to  despatch  the  order  to  the  north  by  the  Satur- 
nina,  fearing  it  might  be  too  late,  but  it  found  Cuadra 
in  California,  and  was  sent  at  once  to  Fidalgo  at  Nootka 
by  the  Horcasitas,  which  returned  in  time  to  accom- 
pany the  Activa  southward  early  the  next  year. 

No  details  have  ever  been  published  of  European 
negotiations  'U  the  Nootka  question  after  the  sign- 
ing of  the  convention  of  1790,  but  something  is  known 
of  final  results.  Don  Manuel  de  las  Heras  and  Mr 
Rudolph  Woodford  were  the  commissioners  appointed 
to  determine  the  amount  to  be  paid  British  subjects  as 
a  compensation  for  their  losses  caused  by  the  seizure 
of  their  vessels  in  1789.  The  commissioners  agreed 
upon  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  ten  thousand  dollars 
in  coin  in  full  payment  of  all  claims,  and  a  convention 
to  that  effect  was  signed  at  Whitehall  on  February 
12,  1793;  it  was  ratified  the  same  day  by  the  British 
monarch,  and  presumably  the  money  was  paid  without 
delay,  greatly  to  the  satisfaction  of  Meares  and  his 
associates,  who  if  they  got  half  the  amount  named, 
though  their  original  claim  had  been  six  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  had  every  reason  to  be  content." 

acure,  causing  needless  delays  and  great  losses.  In  his  desire  to  prevent  a 
rupture,  Cuadra  may  liave  gone  beyond  his  plain  instructions  and  duty;  but  if 
80,  the  fault  was  a  slight  one  and  was  repaired  immediately.  Fairness  to  op- 
ponents was  not  one  of  Vancouver's  characteristic".  Bustamante,  Siiplemento, 
164,  tells  us  that  D.  Mariano  Mozifto,  who  accompanied  the  Spanish  expedition 
as  botanist,  wrote  an  '  historia  de  ella  de  una  manera  digna  de  leersc, '  not  pub- 
lished. 

*TUo  Spanish  text  of  the  convention  of  February  12,  1793,  is  given  in 
Calvo,  liecwil  de  Trait^n,  iii.  304-5. 

TTIST.  N.  W.  Coh»t.  Vol.  I.     19 


% '  ■  I 


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290 


END  OF  CONTROVERSY  AND  EXPLORATION. 


It  was  on  April  12,  1793,  that  Viceroy  Re  villa 
Gigedo  dated  the  report  which  I  have  so  often  cited. 
It  is  by  far  the  best  summary  extant  of  all  the  trans- 
actions pertaining  to  the  Spanish  occupation  of  the 
Northwest  Coast.  The  r  jthor  presents  at  the  end  his 
conclusions  respecting  the  policy  that  Spain  should 
follow  in  the  future.  The  late  explorations  were,  in  his 
opinion,  very  nearly  conclusive  as  to  the  non-existence 
of  any  interoceanic  strait;  yet  the  coast  from  Fuca 
south  to  San  Francisco,  and  especially  the  Entrada  de 
Heceta,  or  Columbia  River,  required  a  closer  exami- 
nation than  had  yet  been  made,  and  he  had  already 
taken  steps  to  organize  an  expedition  for  that  purpose. 
It  was  evident  that  British  subjects  desired  to  form 
establishments  on  the  northern  coasts,  ostensibly  for 
the  profits  of  the  fur-trade,  but  really,  as  he  believed, 
with  a  view  to  interference  with  the  Spanish  control 
of  the  Pacific  and  to  the  profits  of  illicit  trade  with 
Spanish  settlements.  He  did  not  think  the  fur-trade 
would  long  continue  to  yield  extraordinary  profits; 
and  while  it  might  be  well  to  encourage  Spanish 
traders  to  enter  the  field  as  rivals  of  the  English, 
Americans,  and  Portuguese,  he  did  not  favor  the  for- 
mation of  any  such  great  company  enjoying  govern- 
ment support  and  exclusive  privileges  as  had  been 
recommended  by  Martinez  and  others.  Neither  did 
he  deem  it  desirable  or  possible,  by  reason  of  the  im- 
mense expense  involved,  to  take  and  keep  actual  pos- 
session of  the  northern  coasts  merely  to  prevent  such 
occupation  by  foreigners.  What  should  be  done  in 
that  direction  was  to  strengthen  the  Californian  pre- 
sidios, and  to  occupy  the  port  of  Bodega,  for  which 
orders  had  already  been  issued.''  If  another  port 
should  be  found  above  Bodega  it  might  be  necessary 
to  occupy  that  also ;  moreover,  if  the  Columbia  River 
should  be  found  to  aiford  either  the  long  sought  pas- 
sage to  the  Atlantic,  or  even  access  to  the  province 

'For  what  was  doae  in  this  direction,  see  //ist.  Cal,,  i.,  cliap.  xxiv.,  this 
Beries. 


FIDALGO  AT  NOOTKA. 


201 


of  New  Mexico,  that  stream  would  of  course  have  to 
be  fortified  by  Spain,  which  could  be  most  advan- 
tageously effected  probably  by  a  land  force  from  New 
MexiCO,  acting  in  concert  with  a  maritime  expedition. 
If,  as  was  most  likely,  there  was  a  long  harburless 
coast  above  Bodega,  the  Californiaii  posts  alone  would 
call  for  attention,  and  would  furnish  the  best  and 
only  available  safeguard  against  English  or  Russian 
encroachments.  As  to  Nootka,  the  viceroy  says: 
"  I  am,  then,  of  opinion  that  we  should  cede  to  the 
English  wholly  and  generously  our  establishment 
of  Nootka,  since,  so  far  as  the  way  of  thinking  of 
the  English  commander  Vancouver  and  his  emissary 
B  rough  ton  could  be  ascertained,  it  seems  that  they 
desire  and  aspire  to  wave  the  British  flag  over  that 
port  without  recognizing  that  of  Spain,  moved  rather 
by  the  idea  or  vainglory  of  sustaining  what  by  reason 
of  opposition  they  have  made  a  point  of  honor  than 
by  motives  of  interest  or  advantages  which  are  truly 
problematic  in  connection  with  the  fur-trade."^ 

Vancouver's  vessels  came  back  from  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  in  the  spring  of  1793;  the  Chatham,  now 
commanded  by  Puget,  after  having  spent  a  week  in 
Port  Buena  Esperanza,  anchored  at  Nootka  on  the 
15th  of  April,  remaining  t)iere  a  month  for  repairs, 
and  then  departing  for  a  cruise  of  exploration  on  the 
northern  coast.  Vancouver  in  the  Discovery  sighted 
Cape  Mendocino  on  April  26th,  anchored  at  Trinidad 
from  May  2d  to  the  5th,  and  then  jjroceeded  up  the 
coast.  He  arrived  at  Nootka  on  the  20th  of  May, 
being  received,  as  Puget  had  been  before  him,  with 
every  courtesy  by  Commander  Fidalgo.  The  San 
Carlos  was  at  anchor  there,  and  had  brought  letters 
from  Cuadra  and  the  viceroy;  but  there  were  as  yet 
no  despatches  from  Europe,  and  Vancouver  started 
for  the  north  after  a  stay  of  only  three  days,  joining 

^Hevilla  Gigedo,  In/orme  13  de  Abril,  1793,  in  BiiKtnmnnfi',  Suplemenfn  d 
lo8  Tree  Sigloa  de  Cavo,  iii.  112-64.  Among  the  meaaures  recommended  by 
the  N-iceroy  were  also  a  reorganization  of  the  Pious  Fund  and  a  transfer  of 
the  San  Bias  department  to  Acapuluo. 


END  OF  CONTROVEESY  AND  EXPLORATION. 


Puget  on  the  26th.  The  highest  latitude  reached 
was  about  56°  30';  the  only  noticeable  adventures 
were  the  poisoning  of  some  of  the  men,  one  fatally, 
by  eating  mussels,  and  the  wounding  of  two  men  m 
an  attack  by  hostile  Indians;  and  the  geographical 
results  ot  the  expedition,  as  far  as  my  territory  is 
concerned,  are  shown  on  the  accompanying  copy  of 
the  chart.  A  few  names  were  retained  as  applied 
by  earlier  navigators,  and  the  unshaded  portion  was 


ISLE  D£  ZAYA*  /    I  -      \       <\ 


Nortir 


STA.UtLAHUARA 


ILE  D£  ZAYAST/    '  "=•     \      \\ 


■^loikelyne 
'FLUunlwrt 


^ 


rPt.HopliIni 


'{  ijjii**-  llfurj^' 


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831         /'zMi/ryf'y-:iZV:x''"^^ 


VAKOOuvKR'a  Map,  1793. 

laid  down  from  Caamano's  chart.  The  country  from 
Gardner  Canal,  in  53°  30',  up  to  57°  was  named  New 
Cornwall,  while  that  extending  southward  to  New 
Georgia,  at  about  50°  30',  was  called  New  Hanover, 
form^  possession  being  t^ken  of  course  in  the  name 
of  the  British  king.  On  the  20th  of  September  he 
turned  southward,  passing  along  the  outer  side  of 
Queen  Charlotte  Island,  and  anchoring  at  Nootka 
on  the  5th  of  October.  No  despatches  from  Mexico 
or  Europe  had  arrive  '  since  his  departure,  and  after  a 
stay  of  three  days  he  again  put  to  sea  for  California, 


len  m 
)hical 


M 

f 

< 

5a, 

DECLINE  OF  INTEREST. 


293 


his  fancied  wrongs  in  which  country  have  been  do- 
scribed  in  another  volume.' 

No  other  narrative  or  log  of  a  voyage  on  the 
northern  coast  in  1793  is  known  to  be  extant;  and 
therefore  all  that  is  known,  which  is  very  little,  about 
the  movements  of  other  vessels,  and  Nootkfo  events 
generally,  comes  from  Vancouver's  journal.  Fidalgo 
and  his  men  of  the  garrison  had  passed  a  most  dreary 
winter,  confined  within  doors  by  almost  incessant 
rains,  and  shaken  by  a  violent  earthquake  on  the  17th 
of  February;  yet  "notwithstanding  the  badness  of 
the  season,  he  had  found  means  to  erect  a  small  fort 
on  Hog  Island  that  mounted  eleven  nine  pounders, 
and  added  greatly  to  the  respectability  of  the  es- 
tablishment." In  May  the  8an  Cdrlos  arrived  from 
San  Bias  under  Alfc'rez  Ramon  Saavedra.  the  vessel 
to  replace  the  Princesa  at  the  Nootka  station,  and 
Saavedra  to  succeed  Fidalgo  in  the  command.  The 
latter  sailed  soon  for  the  south,  and  touched  at  San 
Francisco  on  his  way  to  San  Bias  the  21st  of  June.^" 

Exceedingly  meagre  is  our  information  respecting 
the  trading  fleet  of  this  and  the  following  years. 
The  era  of  exploration  and  diplomacy  on  the  North- 
west Coast  had,  in  a  sense,  passed  away;  there  were 
no  longer  international  disputes  giving  importance 
to  items  of  testimony,  and  thus  revealing  the  names  of 
visitors;  there  were  no  more  exploring  expeditions  to 
meet  the  trading  craft  in  out-of-the-way  places,  and 
to  seek  information  o  the  masters  about  their  voyages 
and  discoveries.  The  fur-traders  had  the  field  to  them- 
selves, and  for  the  most  part  they  have  left  no  record. 
The  Buttcrworth,  Prince  Le  Boo,  and  Jackal — two  of 
which  vessels  had  been  on  the  coast  the  year  before, 
all  belonging  to  the  same  English  house,  and  all 
imder  the  general  command  of  Captain  Brown — were 
met  by  Vancouver  in  Chatham  Sound  in  June ;  and 
Brown's  name  was  given  to  the  passage  leading  into 

•  rajicoMiw's  Voy.,  ii.  2.38-43.3. 

^"Arch.  Gal.,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xxi.  101;  Vwicouver'e  Voy.,  ii.  252-4. 


t 


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ml  ji 


lit  ill 


till 


394 


END  OF  CONTROVERSY  AND  EXPLORATION. 


that  sound."  On  his  return  to  Nootka, Vancouver  was 
informed  by  Saavedra  that  during  his  absence  the 
port  had  been  visited  by  the  French  ship  Flavia, 
perhaps  still  searching  for  La  P(jrouse,  "having  on 
board  a  very  valuable  cargo  of  European  commodities, 
which  was  carried  to  Kampschatka,  there  to  be  dis- 
posed of  to  the  Russians  for  furs,  with  which  a  cargo 
of  tea  was  to  have  been  purchased  in  China ;  but  their 
expedition  had  not  hitherto  answered  their  expecta- 
tions;" and,  moreover,  the  crew  were  disposed  to  be 
mutinous.  "Some  few  Americans  had  also  arrived  in 
our  absence,  but  in  a  most  deplorable  condition,  totally 
in  a  want  of  provisions,  naval  stores,  and  even  such  ar- 
ticles of  merchandize  as  were  necessary  for  trading 
with  the  natives."  Their  names  are  not  given,  and 
the  writer  is  almost  sure  to  have  exaggerated  their 
destitution." 

The  viceroy  had  intended  to  despatch  the  Activa 
and  Mexicana  in  April  1794  to  carry  out  his  projected 
exploration  of  the  coast  south  of  Fuca;"  but  though 
there  was  nothing  in  the  diplomatic  developments,  to 

"  Two  English  vessels  were  reported  to  bo  at  Bodega  in  January,  and  in 
March  two  English  vessels  caused  much  uneasiness  to  the  Spaniards  by  their 
suspicious  movements  on  the  coast  of  California ;  one  of  them,  which  touched 
at  Monterey  for  wood  and  water,  was  commanded  by  Captain  Brown,  who 
said  he  was  bound  for  Nootka,  and  the  other  was  understood  to  be  the 
Princess.  Probably  the  vessels  were  those  of  the  trading  fleet  met  by  Van- 
couver. Arch.  Cal.,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xxi.  94;  Prov.  Uec,  ii.  162;  St.  Pap. 
Sac.,  ii.  131-2. 

^*  Vancouver's  Voy.,  ii.  429,  324.  In  Tufts'  List  the  sloop  Union,  Boyd 
ooaster,  from  Boston,  is  mentioned  as  having  been  on  the  coast  in  1793,  besides 
the  Bhyajefferson,  Iloberts,  and  brig  Hancock,  Crowell,  which  left  Boston  in 
1792.  The  full  title  of  this  authority  is  as  follows;  List  of  American  Vessels 
engage'l  in  the  Trade  of  the,  Northtvest  Coast  of  America  for  Sea-otter  Skins 
from  1787  to  ISOO,  compiled  hy  William  Tvfts,  Esq.,  from  his  own  Memoranda, 
and  from  the  very  valuable  Notes  kindly  furnished  by  Captain  William  Sturgis, 
of  Boston.  Published  in  Swan's  N.  W.  Coast,  app.,  423-4.  It  was  prepared 
in  1857,  when  the  author  writes:  'The  foregoing  list  is  nearly  correct  as  it 
regards  the  vessels  engaged  in  the  early  traido  in  sea-otter  skins  by  American 
enterprise.  The  owners  in  all  cases  are  not  known.  There  may  have  been 
other  vessels  on  the  Coast  during  the  time  who  were  engaged  in  collecting 
the  smaller  skins  and  less  valuable  furs,  but  the  above  are  the  regular  North- 
west traders  for  sea-otter  skins.'  There  are  64  voyages  mentioned;  but 
some  well  known  Boston  ships  are  strangely  omitted,  possibly  because  their 
owners  were  rivals  of  Sturgis  and  his  partners. 

^^Eevilla  Oigedo,  Informe,  145-6,  including  '  Instrucciones  para  el  prolijo 
reconocimiento  de  la  entrada  do  Ezeta  y  rio  do  la  Columbia.' 


1 1  ii  'i  '• 


IP 

r  ■  r 


VICEROY  REVILLA  GIGEDO. 


295 


was 

the 
lavia, 
[g  on 
jitics, 

dis- 

argo 

their 

ecta- 

to  be 

ed  in 

otally 

h  ar- 

ading 

,  and 

their 


be  noticed  presently,  which  in  any  sense  removed  the 
necessity  of  such  an  exploration,  it  was  abandoned  for 
some  unexplained  reason,  perhaps  arising  from  the  war- 
like aspect  of  affairs  in  Europe."  Early  in  the  spring, 
however,  the  Aranzazu  was  despatched  under  Jos6 
Tobar  for  Nootka  with  the  year's  supplies.  Orders 
from  Spain  required  Re  villa  Gigedo  to  send  the  com- 
missioner back  to  Nootka  for  the  completion  of  the 
suspended  business  with  Vancouver,  an  agreement 
having  been  reached  by  the  two  courts  respecting  the 
points  in  dispute;  but  Don  Juan  Francisco  de  la 
Bodega  y  Cuadra  died  in  March,  and  the  viceroy  ap- 
pointed General  Josd  Manuel  de  Alava  to  succeed  him, 
both  as  commander  of  the  San  Bias  establishment 
and  as  Nootka  commissioner.  The  nature  of  the  new 
agreement  was  not  yet  known  to  the  viceroy,  or  at 
least  the  commissioner's  instructions  had  not  arrived; 
but  Alava  sailed  iti  May  on  the  Princesa,  Fidalgo  in 
command.  His  instructions  were  to  be  forwarded  as 
soon  as  they  should  arrive." 

The  Aranzazu  being  at  Nootka  in  the  middle  of 
June,  Saavedra,  the  commander  of  the  garrison, 
resolved  to  send  her  to  California  for  needed  supplies, 
particularly  medicines.  He  also  wished  to  secure  for 
his  garrison  the  men  that  Matute  had  left  in  Cali- 
fornia the  year  before;  and  h(  '  o  t  a  warning,  brought 
by  a  trader  from  China,  that  u,  British  ship  of  forty 
guns  was  coming  in  October."  For  some  unexplained 
cause,  instead  of  Tobar  our  old  American  friend  Cap- 

"It  is  posaible  that  one  of  the  three  Spanish  vessels  of  the  year  made  a 
survey  of  the  Columbia  and  closely  examined  the  coast  below,  but  there  is  no 
record  of  such  a  fact. 

"  May  10th,  viceroy  to  governor  of  California,  announcing  Alava 's  mission, 
and  bespeaking  attentions  in  California ;  tlie  20th  of  August  this  order  com- 
municated by  the  governor  to  presidio  commanders ;  and  replies  of  the  latter 
at  various  dates.  Arch.  Cat.,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xi.  171;  xii.  101-2,  149; 
Prov.  Pec,  iv.  117;  Vanco7tver's  Voy.,  iii.  301-2.  The  Princesa  did  not  touch 
in  California  on  her  upward  trip. 

■"  Saavedra,  Cartas  al  gobernador  de  California  sobre  Conas  de  Nootka,  1704, 
MS. ,  including  also  the  governor's  replies.  Among  the  supplies  demanded  were 
'  Gacetas  para  divertimos  en  la  inveruada. '  The  governor  assured  Saavedra 
that  there  was  nothing  to  be  feared  from  British  vessels,  as  a  treaty  of  friend- 
ship l:ad  been  concluded. 


1 

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■     '■     . 

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mm 


i 


n 


END  OP  CONTROVERSY  AND  EXPLORATION. 

tain  John  Kondrick — or  possibly  his  son  John— was 
sent  in  command  of  the  transport,  which  sailed  about 
June  15th  and  anchored  at  Monterey  on  July  2d." 
Kendrick  at  once  made  known  his  wants,  which  were 
supplied  as  far  as  possible,  though  the  men  desired 
had  already  been  embn^'kod  for  San  Bias,  and  there 
was  a  great  scarcity  of  some  of  the  articles  asked  for. 
Padre  Magin  Catald,  the  missionary,  came  to  Cali- 
fornia by  this  trip  of  the  Aranzazii,  eerving  as  chap- 
lain, and  was  not  willing  to  repeat  the  northern  trip. 
As  the  president  had  no  authori^  ^o  send  another 
father  unless  as  a  volunteer,  and  'le  Yankee  cap- 
tain was  horrified  at  the  prospect  v.i  liis  ci'ew  being 
deprived  of  their  panto  espiritual,  the  situation  was 
embarrassing;  but  finally  a  retiring  friar  consented 
to  serve  as  chaplain  on  the  Concepcion,  and  Gomez  of 
the  latter  sailed  with  Kendrick.^^ 

Captain  Vancouver  came  back'  to  the  American 
coast  this  year,  for  the  last  time,  to  complete  his  sur- 
vey of  Alaska  up  to  the  head  of  Cook  Inlet,  in  about 
61°  15';  after  this  was  accomplished  he  turned  south- 
ward, and  on  the  2d  of  September  the  Discovery  and 
Chatham  anchored  at  Nootka.  Alava  had  arrived  the 
day  before  on  the  Princesa.  Neither  commissioner 
had  any  idea  of  his  official  duties;  a  id  there  was 
nothing  to  do  in  that  direction  but  await  the  instruc- 
tions that  were  to  be  sent  to  the  Spaniard  before  the 
15th  of  October.  Vancouver  was  deeply  grieved  to 
learn  that  his  old  friend  Cuadra  was  dead;  but  Alava 
rivalled  his  predecessor  in  courtesy,  and  together  with 
Fidalgo,  Saavedra,  and  other  Spanish  officers.,  did  all 
in  his  power  to  make  the  stay  of  the  Englishmen 
agreeable ;  though,  because  Vancouver's  store  of  pow- 
der was  nearly  exhausted,  it  was  agreed  to  dispense 

"June  15th  is  the  dato  of  Saavedra'a  letters,  and  the  arriTal  at  Monterey 
is  recorded  in  Arch.  Cal.,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xii.  211. 

'* Kendrick,  Correspondencia  sohre  Coma  deNootha,  1794,  MS. ;  Catald,  Carta 
aobre  Nootka,  1794,  MS.  The  Aranzazu,  under  Tobar,  left  Nootka  on  the 
11th  of  September,  and  again  touched  at  Monterey  September  22d  to  28th 
on  her  way  to  San  Bias.  Vancouver^a  Voy.,  iii.  305;  Arch.  Cal.,  MS.,  Prov.  8t 
Pap.,  xii.  150. 


TRADING  CRAFT  AT  NOOTKA- 


297 


-was 
bout 
2d." 
wero 
sired 
,here 
for. 
:!ali- 
sliap- 
trip. 
ither 


with  ,the  customary  salutes.  Tho  observatory  was 
set  up  on  shore;  there  was  plenty  of  work  to  be  done 
in  refitting  the  vessels;  and  a  visit  was  made  to  the 
village  of  Maquinna,  up  the  sound." 

At  Nootka  Vancouver  found  the  following  trading 
craft :  the  Phoenix,  Captain  Hugh  ]\Ioor,  from  Bengal ; 
tho  Prince  Le  Boo,  Captain  Gordon,  from  China;  tho 
Jenny,  Captain  John  Adamson,  from  Bristol;  the  Ladi/ 
Washington,  Captain  John  Kondrick,  from  Boston; 
and  heard  of  tho  J>  ckal,  Captain  Brown,  from  China, 
on  the  northern  coast.  The  English  vessels  had  been 
very  successful  in  their  trade;  ami  the  American  brig 
was  laid  up  for  repairs.  Respecting  the  trading  fleet 
of  1794  nothinjj;'  more  is  known.*'  Mr  Greenhow  tella 
us  that  "neither  Kendrick  nor  his  vessel  ever  re- 
turned to  America  [after  1791,  as  is  implied]:  ho  was 
killed,  in  1790,  at  Karakakooa  Bay,  in  Owyhee,  by  a 
ball  accidentally  fired  from  a  British  vessel,  while 
saluting  him."^^  But  the  correspondence  with  the 
governor  of  California  in  1794  proves  this  to  be  all 
wrong,  so  far  as  the  date  is  concerned ;  and  still  less 
accurate  in  this  respect  is  the  statement  of  Mr  Sturgis 
that  the  accident  occurred  on  Kendrick's  birthday, 
in  1792.'"    The  fatal  shot  was  fired  perhaps  early  in 

1795,  though  the  Lady  Washington  was  at  Nootka  in 

1796,  perhaps  under  her  old  master;  and  certainly  be- 
fore 1801,  when  Delano  at  the  Sandwich  IsluaJs  heard 
of  the  disaster,  naming  no  date.  The  adventurous 
mariner,  if  we  may  credit  his  associates,  was  always 
so  wrapped  in  grand  schemes  as  to  be  behindhand 
in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life.  It  seems  he  could  not 
even  die  '  on  time.'*^     I  have  already  noted  the  possi- 

^^Vancouvf.r^a  Voyage,  iii.  299-316. 

'">  Messrs  Tufts  and  Sturgis  give  no  names  between  179.3  and  179G. 

*'Wree7t/iJi'.-'s  Or.  and  Col.,  229.  He  also  says,  p.  223,  that  Captain  Brown 
was  killed  by  the  na'dvea  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  January  1795. 

'"Sturgis  Lecture  on  the  Nurih-west  Fur-trade,  1S4G,  in  JIuiU's  Merch. 
Mag. ,  xiv.  635. 

"^  According  to  the  North  Amer.  Review,  xvi.  385,  a  son  cf  Kendrick  was 
with  his  father  and  remained  some  time  at  Nootka  in  the  Spanish  set  v:r- 
In  the  California  archives  a  John  Kendrick  is  named  as  supercargo  of  fv-- 
Elisa,  Rowan,  but  this  is  very  likely  an  error,  or  at  least  another  man  t* 


'1  i 


I   I 


:l    I. 


m: 


'  ^'11 


END  OF  CONTROVERSY  AND  EXPLORATION. 


bility  that  the  Kendrick  who  visited  California  may 
have  been  a  son  of  the  original. 

meant.  According  to  a  report  in  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  19th  Gong.,  .l^tSess.,  H. 
Rept,  No.  S13,  p.  14,  the  title-deeds  to  the  land  purchased  by  Kendrick  from 
the  Indians  were  deposited  in  the  office  of  the  United  States  consul  in  Canton. 
In  1796  the  lands  wcro  offered  for  sale  in  London  by  Mr  Barrel,  agent  for 
the  owners  of  the  Columbia.  The  author  of  Boston  in  ilie  Northwest,  MS.,  2-6, 
says:  'Captain  Kendrick  wrote  to  hia  wife  of  this  purchase,  also  of  de- 
positing the  original  title  in  Canton,  and  transmitting  the  duplicate  to  Wash- 
ington. It  was  never  seen  by  the  family,  and  the  letter  in  relation  to  it  was 
lost ...  by  fire. '  The  representatives  of  the  owners  of  the  vessels  applied  to  the 
U.  S.  government  for  a  uoniirraation  of  the  title,  but  a  conmiittee  of  congress 
rejwrted  that  though  the  claim  was  a  just  one  the  rightful  heu-s  had  not  ap- 
peared. Kendrick  bought  the  Washington  before  altering  her  into  a  brig. 
'  When  dying  ho  called  his  mate  into  the  cabin  and  pr .,  him  in  charge  of  the 
vessel,  with  instructions  to  proceed  direct  to  the  United  States.  Tlie  vessel  left 
the  islands,  but  was  never  heard  from  afterward  [therefore  this  must  have 
been  after  1796].'  And  thus  'were  lost  all  his  effects,  including  journals  and 
records.  'There  are  proofs  in  the  family  that  Captain  Kendrick  was  one  of 
the  famous  Boston  Tea  Party  in  1773,  and  that  he  was  with  Captain  Cook 
in  his  last  voyage  of  1776.'  Captain  Amasa  Delano,  Narrative  of  Voyages, 
Boston,  1817,  pp.  399-400,  who  met  Kendrick  at  Canton  in  17  1,  and  who 
in  1801  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  heard  of  his  death,  eulogizes  him  as  a 
navigator  with  but  few  equals,  noted  for  his  enterprising  spirit,  good  judg- 
ment, and  courage.  A  man  of  rare  merits,  his  faults  being  but  few  compared 
with  hia  amiable  qualities.  In  about  1839-40  Hall  J.  Kelley  became  inter- 
ested in  the  Kendrick  title,  and  was  instrumental  in  bringing  it  before  con- 
gress. From  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject,  Kelley' a  Disco o.  N.  ]V.  Coast,  I 
nave  already  cited  in  the  preceding  chapter,  note  33,  the  title-deeds  and 
some  correspondence.  This  writer  speaks  of  the  attempt  to  sell  the  lands  in 
London  in  1796,  when  advertisements  in  four  languages  were  circulated,  bear- 
ing impression  of  the  Columbia  medals.  Mr  Wardstrom,  in  a  work  on  True 
Colonization,  is  said  to  have  expressed  confidence  in  the  title,  giving  also  the 
pictured  medals.  Kelley,  Letter  of  January  1,  1870,  states  that  Kendrick's 
death  waa  on  the  4th  of  July  1793 ;  but  tho  correspondence  above  cited — if  Mr 
Howell,  as  represented,  sailed  fOr  China  with  tho  papers  after  the  captain's 
death — sroms  to  show  that  it  must  have  been  early  in  1795;  while  if  it  were 
not  for  the  date  of  Howell's  letters  I  should  place  it  ufter  1796.  The  follow- 
ing, in  which  the  reader  will  note  a  few  errors,  is  from  tho  New  York  Tribune, 
November  2o,  1871 :  '  The  name  of  Captain  John  Kendrick,  the  first  American 
explorer  to  the  north-west  Pacific,  is  one  whicli  our  history  can  hardly  afford 
to  lose.  The  young  and  daring  men  who  are  attached  to  tho  scientific  expe- 
dition in  that  quarter  to-day,  could  not  ask  a  worthier  figure  to  head  their 
t  ijials  than  this  upright  and  fearless  captain  whom  tradition  says  absolutely 
^new  noc  the  fear  of  savage  or  storm,  whom  no  disaster  could  daunt  or  suffer- 
ing subdue.  He  commanded  the  expiedition  sent  out  by  a  company  of  Boston 
merchants  to  the  Pacific,  vhich  Vt  an  actually  the  first  time  that  au  American 
ship  sailed  round  the  globe.  He  met  with  incredible  hardships  on  different 
voyages ;  two  sons  were  killed  by  Indians  before  his  eyes ;  yet  he  returned 
again  and  again  to  the  Pacific,  doing  great  service  in  exploring  tho  islands 
and  tho  coast  about  Vancouver's,  to  the  northward.  For  this  he  received  finally 
the  patent  of  a  large  tract  of  land  equal  in  extent  +j  nearly  the  whole  state 
of  Orecon ;  but  the  papers  were  lost  with  him  on  his  last  voyage,  and  his 
family,  after  a  few  efiorts,  gave  up  their  claim.  Ho  brought  home  mnps  of  the 
coast  and  pictures  of  savage  costume,  as  well  as  the  scenery,  painted  with  no 
small  skill  by  tho  ship's  painter,  a  man  who  had  talent  beyond  his  trade.  Yet 
there  is  scarcely  a  trace  left  of  this  gallant  navigator,  and  his  name  is  barely 
mentioned  in  any  record  of  nortli-wrrilcm  explorations.    His  services  were  so 


COLNETT'S  ASSERTIONS. 


299 


may 


ss.,  II. 
k  from 
lanton. 
ent  for 
2-6, 

of  de- 
Waah- 
it  was 

to  the 


On  the  IGth  of  October,  no  despatches  having 
arrived,  the  English  vessels  sailed  for  Monterey, 
where  they  arrived  on  the  2d  and  6th  of  November, 
and  were  joined  by  the  Princcsa  on  the  7th.  Four 
days  later  Alava's  instructions  came  from  Mexico; 
and  that  officer,  says  Vancouver,  who  had  received  no 
despatches,  "very  obligingly  confiding  to  me,  that  part 
of  his  instructions  which  stated,  that  no  further  alter- 
cation would  take  place  with  respect  to  the  precise 
meaning  of  the  first  article  of  the  convention  of . . . 
1790,  as  the  documents  transmitted  by  the  late  Seuor 
Quadra  and  myself,  had  enabled  our  respective  courts 
to  adjust  that  matter  in  an  amicable  way,  and  nearly 
on  the  terms  which  I  had  so  repeatedly  offered  to 
Seuor  Quadra  in  September  1792.  In  addition  to 
which  the  Spanish  ministers  set  forth,  that  this  busi- 
ness was  not  to  be  carried  into  execution  by  me,  as  a 
fresh  commission  had  been  issued  for  this  purpose  by 
the  court  of  London.'"  The  same  was  announced  to 
Governor  Borica  by  the  new  viceroy  of  Mexico,  with 
instructions  to  receive  the  person  acting  under  th's 
commission  into  their  presidios."'"'  Accordingly  Van- 
couver sailed  for  home  by  way  of  Cape  Horn  on  the 
2d  of  December,  reaching  his  destination  in  October 
1795.  This  famous  explorer  died  before  his  work 
appeared  in  print,  but  not  before  he  had  convinced 
himself  by  conversations  with  Captain  Colnett  that 

valued  that  the  city  of  Boston  gave  him  a  public  reception  on  his  return  from 
the  first  voyage,  and  a  medal  was  struck  in  honor  of  tlie  event.  A  few  of 
these  medals  are  still  preserved,  and  papers  relating  to  the  voyage  and  explo- 
rations are  in  the  state  department,  but  all  ciforts  of  historians  and  othere  to 
get  sight  of  them  have  yet  proved  useless.  The  work  of  setting  the  dauntless 
Kendrick  before  the  country  which  owes  him  so  much  has  been  undertaken 
by  loyal  and  loving  hands,  but  is  sadly  liampered  for  want  of  authentic  docu- 
ments.' 

'*  In  a  note,  p.  332,  Vaticouver  says  this  was  not  the  fact,  as  the  fresh  in- 
structions were  at  %g'u  ti'.ldresEed  to  him. 

"^^ReviUa  Gigedo,  Iiistruccion  rcservcula  d  8u  Sucesor  Braiici/ortc,  1794,  a 
MS.  in  tlie  libiary  of  congress  cited  by  Greenhow,  states  'that  orders  liad  been 
sent  to  the  commandant  [at  Nootka]  to  abimdon  the  place,  agreeably  to  a  royal 
dictamen;'  and  also  contains  advice  not  to  extend  the  Spanish  establishnicnts 
beyond  Nootka.  The  viceroy's  announcement  that  a  new  commission  hau 
been  issued  is  dated  tlio  16th  of  May  1794,  and  the  governor's  receipt  the  12th 
of  November.  Arch.  Cat.,  MS.,  Prov.  Hi.  Pap.,  xi.  172;  Prov.  Rec,  vi.  29. 


'(      \ 


IE  331;:; 

4^ 

I    I 


END  OF  CONTROVERSY  AND  EXPLORATION. 


i  hI 


IP  iil! 


! 

!  if 

1  j:;i( 


[m 


II 


I  -W 


!  ''Hi  i 


r 


I     ill' 


iiii 


the  latter  "had  been  extremely  ill  used,  and  that  no 
dependence  is  to  be  r'  d  on  the  accounts  given 
to  Seuor  Quadra,  or  Ti.^  self,  by  the  American  com- 
manders, who  are  stated  to  have  been  eye-witnesses 
of  most  of  the  transactions.  The  documents  and 
papers  which  Captain  Colnett  has  since  produced  to 
me,  fully  prove  that  the  Americans  wilfully  misrep- 
resented the  whole  affair,  to  the  prejudice  of  his 
c^iaracter,  and  the  interest  of  his  British  majesty's 
subjects."'^  Vancouver  was  very  williag  to  be  con- 
vinced of  American  perfidy,  and  the  reader  already 
knows  what  weight  is  to  be  attached  to  Colnett's 
testimony. 

Meanwhile  the  Nootka  controversy  had  been  defi- 
nitely settled  by  a  convention  signed  at  Madrid  on  the 
11th  of  January  1794,  by  the  British  and  Spanish 
ministers  St  Helens  and  the  Duke  of  Alcudia.  By 
the  terms  of  this  agreement  the  respective  commis- 
sioners were  to  meet  as  soon  as  possible  on  or  near 
the  spot  where  stood  the  buildings  formerly  occupied 
bj'^  British  subjects,  and  there  to  exchange  declaration 
and  counter-declaration  as  literally  prescribed  in  the 
document.  The  former  was  a  final  restoration  of  the 
buildings  and  lands  of  which  British  subjects  had 
been  dispossessed  about  April  1789,  and  the  latter  a 
formal  declaration  that  the  restoration  was  complete 
and  satisfactory.  "Then  the  British  officer  shall  un- 
furl the  British  flag  over  the  land  thus  restoxed  as  a 
sign  of  possession,  and  after  these  formalities  the  offi- 
cers of  the  two  crowns  shall  retire  respectively  their 
people  from  the  said  port  of  Nootka.  And  their  said 
majesties  have  furthermore  agreed  that  the  subjects 
of  both  nations  shall  be  free  to  frequent  the  said  port 
as  may  be  convenient,  and  to  erect  there  temporary 
buildings  for  their  accommodation  during  their  resi- 
dence on  such  occasions.  But  neither  of  the  two 
parties  shall  make  in  said  port  any  permanent  estab- 
lishment, or  claim  there  any  right  of  sovereignty  or 

"  Vaihcouver'a  Voy.,  iii.  31G  et  seq.,  491  et  seq. 


ABANDONMENT  OF  NOOTKA. 


Ml 


territorial  dominion  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other. 
And  their  said  majesties  will  aid  each  other  to 
maintain  their  subjects  in  free  access  to  the  said 
port  of  Nootka  against  whatever  other  nation  may 
attempt  to  establish  there  any  sovereignty  or  do- 


"27 


mmion. 

General  Alava  seems  to  have  passed  the  winter 
in  California.  On  the  13th  of  January  1795  tho 
Activa  sailed  from  San  Bias,  commanded  by  Lieu- 
tenant Cosmo  Bertodano,  and  having  on  board  Lieu- 
tenant Thomas  Pierce  of  the  marines,  the  newly 
appointed  British  commissioner.  One  month  later 
the  brig  touched  at  Monterey,  and  having  taken 
Alava  on  board  sailed  on  March  1st  for  the  north. 
We  have  few  details  of  the  acts  of  restitution  on  the 
23d  of  March,  change  of  fla^s,  and  final  abandonment 
of  Nootka;  but  the  formalities  were  clearly  prescribed 
in  the  treaty,  and  were  doubtless  closely  followed. 
Letters  were  left  with  the  Indians  for  subsequent 
English  or  Spanish  visitors,  explaining  what  had  boon 
done;  then  the  establishment  was  broken  up,  and  all 
movable  property  transferred  to  the  ships. 

Of  the  ActicaJs  return  I  have  no  record,  as  she 
did  not  probably  touch  at  any  California  port;  but 
the  San  Carlos,  bringing  Comandante  Saavedra  and 
his  men,  arrived  at  Monterey  on  the  12th  of  May. 
Some  of  the  garrison  remained  to  strengthen  the 
presidial  forces,  and  some  twenty  northern  Indians 
were  brought  down  to  be  baptized  and  to  settle  in 
California,  as  others  of  their  race  had  been  in  the 
preceding  years.  The  next  year  Maquinna's  sub- 
jects had  transferred  their  village  to  the  site  of  the 
abandoned  Spanish  post;  and  from  1795  to  1883,  so 
far  as  I  know,  there  has  been  no  settlement  of  wliito 
men  at  Nootka.    The  glory  of  the  place  had  departed, 

*' Nootka,  Acuerdo  d  convenio  entreEspailad  Inglaterra  para  la  ejecucion  del 
articulo  1"  de  In  convencion  'e  S8  de  oclubre  de  1790;  firmado  en  Madrid  el 
11  de  Ewro  de  1794,  in  '  -vo,  Beaieil  complet  dea  TraiUa,  iii.  306-8. 


i'.  i 


• 

.  ■  j 

':•■■:         i 

;'      1 

■  - 

■ 

i   ■  ■ 

t          '■       : 

«|[Hi 

i 

i'' 

■■:■  -i-     1 

.-. 

.1 

302 


END  OF  CONTROVERSX-  AND  EXPLORATION. 


I. 

t 


Ml 


■•»i 


but  its  name  was  often  on  the  lips  of  learned  partisans 
in  later  discussions.'* 

The  nature  of  this  final  settlement  of  1794-5  has 
remained,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  for  the  most  part  un- 
known to  writers  on  the  Northwest  Coast.  Lieutenant 
Broughton,  who  was  informed  the  next  year  by  letters 
from  the  commissioners  of  what  had  been  done,  chose 
to  reveal  in  his  narrative  only  the  restitution  of  the 
port  to  the  British;  and  most  English  writers  have 
since  stated  or  implied  uniformly  that  Spain  was 
obliged  to  give  up  Nootka  in  accordance  with  the 
treaty;  only  this,  and  nothing  more.  If  any  of  them 
knew  of  the  treaty  and  the  enforced  abandonment  by 
England  as  well  as  Spain,  they  maintained  a  discreet 
silence.  Mr  Greenhow,  the  leading  American  writer 
on  the  subject,  quotes  an  English  historian:  "It  is 
nevertheless  certain,  from  the  most  authentic  subse 
quent  information,  that  the  Spanish  flag  flying  at 
Nootka  was  never  struck,  and  that  the  territory  has 
been  virtually  relinquished  by  Great  Britain ;"  and  he 
deems  it  unlikely  that  under  the  circumstances  Eng- 
land should  have  required,  or  Spain  assented  to,  the 
surrender;  but  "more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
Spaniards  merely  abandoned  the  place,  the  occupation 
of  which  was  useless  and  very  expensive."^   Doctor 

''Arch.  Cal.,US.,Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xiii.  80,89;  Prov.Jiec.,\i.  37-46;  Gaeeta. 
de  Mexico,  vii.  2CG ;  Broughton- s  Voy. ,  50.  The  last  named  writer  simply 
learned  from  a  letter  received  at  Nootka  in  1790  '  that  the  Spaniards  had 
delivered  up  the  port  of  Nootka,  etc. ,  to  Lieutenant  Pierce  of  the  marines, 
agreeably  to  the  mode  of  restitution  settled  between  the  two  courts.' 

'^Oreenhow'a  Or.  and  Cnl.,  257-8,  citing  Belsham's  Hist.  Great  Brituiii, 
viii.  3.37.  The  second  clause  was  quoted  by  me  from  the  edition  of  1845 ;  but 
in  the  later  edition  of  1847  it  reads  as  follows:  'It  is  more  reasonable  to 
suppose  the  agreement  to  have  been,  that  the  lands  at  Nootka  should  be 
delivered  up  in  form,  to  save  thr  credit  of  the  British  ministry,  and  tliat  both 
parties  should  abandon  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  than  that  either 
should  have  persisted  in  its  original  demand  at  a  moment  when  their  cordial 
union  and  cooperation  was  so  desirable  for  both. '  He  also  quotes  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  Lieutenant  Pierce  from  Tcpic,  in  1795,  which  still,  as  will  be 
noticed,  gives  a  wrong  impression  about  the  final  settlement :  '  I  have  the 
honor  of  acquainting  your  grace,  that,  in  obedience  to  your  instructions,  I 
proceeded  from  Monterey  to  Nootka,  in  company  with  Brigadier-general 
Alava,  the  ofiBcer  appointed  on  the  part  of  the  court  of  Spain,  for  finally  ter- 
minating the  negotiations  relative  to  that  port;  where,  having  satisfied 
myself  respecting  the  state  of  the  country  at  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the 


NATIONAL  RIGHTS. 


303 


Twiss,  on  the  other  hand,  deems  the  statements  of 
Broughton,  Koch,  and  Mofras  as  conclusive  against 
that  of  Belsham,  and  behoves  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  place  was  restored  to  England.**  But  neither 
champion  had  the  least  suspicion  of  the  formal  aban- 
donment by  England,  or  of  the  mutual  agreements 
made  respecting  the  future. 

As  to  their  respective  rights  on  the  Northwest 
Coast,  no  controversy  ever  arose  between  England  and 
Spain  after  the  abandonment  in  1795.  Neither  party 
ever  attempted  to  found  a  settlement  or  to  exorcise 
any  rights  in  this  region  under  the  treaties  of  1790 
and  1794.  Neither  power  contemplated  the  forming 
of  any  permanent  establishment  on  the  coast.  Nor  did 
they  have  an  opportunity  to  show  their  policy  respect- 
ing settlements  founded  by  other  nations.  For  years 
the  country  was  practically  forgotten  by  all  but  the 
fur-traders.  It  is  possible  that  there  was  an  under- 
standing in  1794  that  the  stipulations  respecting 
Nootka  should  apply  to  the  whole  coast;  that  is,  that 
no  permanent  establishments  should  be  founded  any- 
where. It  is  almost  certain,  at  any  rate,  that  such 
would  have  been  the  position  plausibly  assumed  if 
either  power  had  subsequently  attempted  to  occupy 
any  part  of  the  territory  against  the  wishes  of  the 
other.  By  the  letter  of  the  treaties,  however,  both 
and  Spain 


England 


had  a  right  to  trade  and  settle 


Spaniards,  preparations  were  immediately  made  for  dismantling  the  fort  which 
the  Spaniards  liad  erected  on  an  island  that  guarded  the  mouth  of  the  harbor, 
and  embarking  the  ordnance.  By  the  morning  of  the  28th,  all  the  artillery 
were  embarked,  part  on  board  of  his  Catholic  majesty's  sloop  of  war  Active, 
and  part  on  board  of  the  San  Vdrloa  guardship.  Brigadier-general  Alava 
and  myself  then  met,  agreeably  to  our  respective  instructions,  on  the  placo 
where  formerly  the  British  buildings  stood,  where  wo  signed  and  exchanged 
the  declaration  and  counter-declaration  for  restoring  those  lands  to  his 
majesty,  as  agreed  upon  between  the  two  courts.  After  which  ceremony,  1 
ordered  the  British  flag  to  be  hoisted  in  token  of  possession,  and  the  general 
gave  directions  for  the  troops  to  embark.' 

^"Twiaa'  Or.Que>'t.,l'21-3,  citiag Mofras, Kxiilor.,  ii.  145,  and  Korh,  Hiytoire 
Ahrfgie  des  Traitis,  i.,  chap.  xxiv.  The  latter  says  of  the  explorations  of 
restoration :  '  Elles  furent  termindes  le  23  Mars  do  cetto  annde,  sur  Ics  lieux 
mOmes,  par  le  brigadier  espagnol  Alava,  et  lo  lieutenant  anglais  Poai"a  [Pierce], 
qui  (Schangferent  des  declarations  dans  le  golfe  do  Nootka  mfime.  Apris  (lue 
le  fort  espagnol  fut  ras(;,  les  espagnola  s'ombarquirent,  et  lo  pavilion  anglais  y 
fut  plaat(S  en  eigne  de  possession.' 


■11 


iijii,  J 


..' 


Ml' 


804 


END  OF  CONTROVERSY  AND  EXPLORATION. 


anywhere  above  Bodega,  subject  to  the  condition  that 
all  settlements  were  to  be  free  of  access  to  subjects  of 
either  power,  and  that  at  Nootta  there  should  be  no 
permanent  settlement.  Neither  nation  had  the  slisfht- 
est  claim  to  exclusive  possession  or  to  sovereignty; 
either  might  acquire  such  a  claim,  but  only  by  actual 
occupation  in  the  future.  The  old  formalities  of  taking 
possession  were  now  null  and  void;  the  Northwest 
Coast,  though  so  fully  explored,  was  open  for  settle- 
ment to  the  whole  world ;  exclusive  titles  were  matters 
for  future  creation.  For  some  years  no  nation  tooli 
steps  to  acquire  such  a  title ;  Spain  never  took  such 
steps.  The  theory  that  the  Nootka  convention — 
especially  as  supplemented  by  the  agreement  of  1794 
and  resulting  in  official  acts — was  nothing  but  a  series 
of  temporary  concessions  by  which  during  the  con- 
tinuance of  peace  Spain  merely  encumbered  her  ex- 
clusive title,  seems  to  me,  with  due  respect  to  the  able 
men  who  have  sustained  it,  an  absurdity.  Spain  re- 
tained no  title  which  she  could  transfer  to  another 
nation;  and  this  is  equally  true  whether  or  not  the 
treaties  of  1790  and  1794  be  deemed  to  have  been 
ended  by  a  subsequent  war  with  England. 

The  only  trading-vessel  of  the  year  of  which  any- 
thing is  known  is  the  Phcenix,  Captain  Moor,  from 
Bengal,  which  has  been  noticed  as  one  of  the  fleet  of 
earlier  years;  and  all  that  we  know  about  her  trip  is 
that  she  touched  on  the  California  coast  in  August, 
leaving  a  'Boston  boy'  in  that  country,  and  creating 
quite  a  ripple  of  excitement  among  the  people  on  guard 
against  an  attaclc  by  Great  Britam.'^ 

Captain  Broughton's  visit  to  the  coast  in  1796  has 
already  been  mentioned.  He  came  from  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  on  the  sloop  Discovery,  after  a  survey 
of  the  northern  Asiatic  coast,  arriving  at  Nootku 
Sound  on  the  15th  of  March,  remaining  two  months 
for  repairs,  visiting  Neali  Bay,  and  thence  proceeding 

*^Hxst.  Col.,  i.,  chap,  xxv.,  thia  series. 


iv: 


T''^  SHIP  OTTER. 


305 


to  California.  There  is  nothing  further  to  be  said  of 
his  visit,  except  that  he  found  the  Lady  Washington 
at  Nootka.**  The  only  other  traders  of  the  year  of 
which  we  have  any  definite  record  were  the  snow  Sea 
Otter,  Hill  master,  and  a  vessel,  perhaps  the  Dispatch, 
under  Captain  Newbury,  both  of  which  are  named 
by  Mr  Tufts  as  having  left  Boston  the  year  before, 
though  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  the  trading  fleet 
of  this  year  was  smaller  than  that  of  the  preceding."' 
There  are,  hov/ever,  a  few  vague  references  to  the 
northern  traders  in  the  California  archives,  reveal- 
ing also  apparently  that  a  Spanish  ship  was  sent  to 
northern  waters  this  year,  either  to  obtain  some  rem- 
nants of  property  at  Nootka  or  possibly  to  make  a 
secret  examination  of  the  Columbia,  nothing  but  one 
indirect  reference  being  extant  respecting  the  voyage. 
On  the  15th  of  July  Governor  Borica  writes  to  his 
comandantes :  "  The  American  captain  Dorr,  who  re- 
cently met  Don  Josd  Tobar,  commander  of  the  Sutil, 
at  Nootka,  reported  to  him  that  he  had  been  told  at 
Botany  Bay  by  the  English  captain  Barba  that  ho 
had  orders  to  attack  the  [Spanish]  expeditions,  and 
that  he  had  similar  orders  for  Broughton,  of  the 
Providence."^ 

There  is  nothing  more  about  the  Sutil,  but  Captain 
Ebenezer  Dorr,  commanding  the  Otter  of  Boston,  the 
first  American  vessel  that  ever  anchored  in  Cali- 
fornian  waters,  made  his  appearance  at  Monterey  in 
October,  doubtless  coming  from  a  fur-seeking  cruise 
in  the  north.  She  was  possibly  identical  with  the 
Sea  Otter  already  mentioned,  though  probably  not. 
Captain  Dorr  created  some  excitement  oy  leaving  in 
California,  against  the  will  of  the  officials,  a  number 

^^Broughton  (William  Robert),  A  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  North  Pacific 
Ocean,  London,  1804,  4to.  The  matter  relating  to  our  territory  is  on  pp.  48-58. 
The  commander  of  the  Lcidy  Washington  i3  not  named. 

"  Tvfts'  List.  Newbury's  vessel  is  called  a  schooner  and  not  named ;  but 
in  Niks'  Register,  xviii.  417,  it  is  said  that  the  Dispatch,  Newbury,  with 
William  Smith  on  board,  sailed  from  Boston  on  the  28th  of  October  1704, 
returning  in  June  1790. 

8M(cA.  C<d.,  MS.,  Prov.  Rer.,  iv.  148-9. 
HiBT.N.W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    20 


i  ,1  . 


'i  i'Ji'!  ,'i 


I- 


i;; 


END  OF  CONTROVEBSy  AKD  EXPLORATION. 

of  convict  stowaways  from  Botany  Bay,  as  related  in 
another  volume  of  this  series.*' 

From  1797  we  have  but  a  meagre  record  of  trading 
vessels  that  visited  the  Northwest  Coast.  It  is  not 
probable  that  the  names  even  of  half  the  number  are 
known.  It  is  fortunate,  from  an  historical  point  of 
view,  that  it  is  the  latest  rather  than  the  earliest 
period  of  the  fur-trade  whose  annals  are  so  incom- 
plete. In  1797  the  Sea  Otter  remained  on  the  coast, 
entered  the  Columbia,  and  it  is  said  that  Captain  Hill 
was  killed.  The  ships  Dispatch  and  Indian  Packet, 
commanded  by  Jonathan  Bowers  and  by  Rogers — 
Dorr  and  Sons  owners — and  the  ship  Hazard,  Swift 
master,  owned  by  Perkins,  Lamb,  and  Company,  are 
named  as  the  Boston  ships  of  the  year.^ 

The  fleet  of  1798  included  five  vessels  which 
cleared  from  Boston  the  year  before  with  trade 
cargoes  invoiced  at  from  seven  thousand  to  seventeen 
thousand  dollars,  as  shown  by  the  custom-house  rec- 
ords. The  Alexander,  under  Captain  Asa  Dodge, 
with  Charles  Winship  as  supercargo  and  part  owner, 
was  the  only  one  of  the  number  whose  invoice  was 
less  than  thirteen  thousand  dollars.  The  Hazard, 
Swift  master,  which  had  wintered  in  the  Pacific,  ac- 
cording to  Gray  entered  the  Columbia.  The  others 
were  the  Jenny,  Bowers  master;  the  Alert,  Bowles 
master;  and  the  Elisa,  commanded  by  James  Rowan. 
Of  the  adventures  and  achievements  of  the  fleet  we 
know  nothing."  The  cutter  Dragon,  Lay  master,  from 
China,  was  also  on  the  coast  this  year  or  the  year 
before.^ 

In  1799  there  was  one  voyage  recorded  in  a  printed 

'^See  Hkt.  Gal.,  i.,  chap,  xxv.,  of  this  scries,  which  and  the  following 
chapters  contain  also  information  about  the  war  between  Spain  and  Eng- 
land as  waged,  on  paper,  in  California. 

^^ Tufts' List;  Gray's  Hist.  Or.,  14;  Niles'  Register,  xviii.  417. 

'^Boston  in  the  Northwest,  MS.,  71;  Custom-house  record,  in  Id.,  76-7. 
In  Tufts'  List  no  vessels  are  named  for  1798,  but  the  Elisa  is  accredited 
to  the  next  year,  perhaps  con'ectly;  she  was  oyraed  by  Per^una,  Lamb, 
and  Company. 

'« Cleveland's  Nar.,  46.  94. 


I]| 


CAPTAIN  CLEVELAND. 


307 


narrative,  that  of  Richard  J.  Cleveland,  a  young 
commercial  adventurer  from  Salem,  Massachusetts. 
He  bought  the  Dragon  at  Canton,  changed  her  name 
to  the  Caroline,  and  fitted  her  out  for  a  fur-trading 
oruise.  He  sighted  land  on  March  30th  at  Norfolk 
Sound,  and  most  of  his  operations  were  on  the  Alaskan 
coast;  but  he  finally  came  down  to  Queen  Charlotte 
Islands,  and  with  a  valuable  lot  of  furs  he  reached 
the  Sandwich  Islands  in  July,  and  Macao  in  October.  *• 
Cleveland  met  five  other  traders.  The  Ulysses,  Cap- 
tain Lamb,  which  left  Boston  with*  a  cargo  valued  at 
fourteen  thousand  dollars,  had,  arrived  in  February, 
"but  the  success  which  ought  to  have  resulted  from 
so  early  an  arrival,  was  defeated  by  a  mutiny  of  long 
and  ruinous  duration."*"  The  Elisa,  Captain  Rowan, 
had  wintered  probably  at  the  Islands  and  had  arrived 
on  the  trading-grounds  in  February.  When  Cleve- 
land met  Rowan  on  the  9th  of  April  he  had  been 
very  successful,  and  "was  on  his  way  to  the  south- 
ward to  complete  his  cargo,  and  then  to  leave  the 
coast.  He  mentioned,  that  ten  vessels  would  prob- 
ably be  despatched  from  Boston  for  the  coast  this 
season."  In  May,  Rowan  made  his  appearance  at  San 
Francisco,  the  Elisa  being  the  first  American  vessel  to 
anchor  in  that  port.  She  carried  twelve  guns,  and 
John  Kendrick — probably  not  our  old  friend  of  that 
name — was  understood  to  be  her  supercargo.  Rowan's 
letter  of  the  27th  of  May,  promising  to  pay  cash  for 
needed  supplies,  to  depart  at  once,  and  to  touch  at 
no  other  port,  is  still  preserved  in  the  California 
archives.  Cleveland  met  him  again  in  October  at 
Macao,  and  was  told  of  his  visit  to  the  Spanish  coast.*' 

"CfereZond's  Narrative  of  Voyages  and  commercial  enter prwes.  Cambridge, 
1842, 12mo,  2 vols.,  pp. 45-6, 51,  C9^94;  alsoiV.  Am.  Review,  xxv.  458,  in  whicli 
the  vessel  is  termed  an  English  one.  The  na.Ties  used  by  Cleveland,  as  ap- 
plied to  tribes,  chiefs,  and  places  are:  SkittigaUs,  Coneyawu,  Cumraashaw, 
Tytantes,  Tatiskee  Cove,  Noriih  Island,  Kiganny,  Poiiit  Rose,  North  Island, 
Eltargee,  and  Kow. 

*" Cleveland's  Nar.,  90;  Boston  in  the  Northwest,  MS.,  76.  Owned  by  Lamb 
and  others.   Tkifta'  List. 

'^Hist.  Cal.,  i.,  chap,  xxv.,  this  series;  Cleveland's  Nar.,  74,  102;  Tufts' 
List.  .      , 


■  (  f3 


I   I 


I 


-•t  ^     fi 


i  I 


i  r      jl 


I'lj! 


308 


END  OF  CONTROVERSY  AND  EXPLORATION. 


I 


Two  other  Boston  ships,  the  Hancock,  Crocker,  and 
the  Dispatch,  Breck,  were  met  by  Cleveland  near  Nor- 
folk Sound  early  in  June,  having  arrived  on  the  coast 
rather  too  late  to  insure  successful  voyages  the  present 
season."  The  English  ship  Cheerful,  Captain  Beck, 
had  also  not  obtained  many  furs,  having  moreover 

f  rounded  on  a  sand-bank  and  been  attacked  by  the 
ndians.**    And  finally  Mr  Tufts  names  the  Canton 
ship  Dove,  commanded  by  Duffin. 

The  fleet  of  1800,  as  named  by  Tufts,  consisted  of  the 
Alert,  Bowles,  owned  by  Lamb;  the  Jenny,  Bowers; 
and  Rover,  Davidson,  owned  by  Dorr  and  Sons;  the 
Alexander,  Dodd  master,  Bass  owner;  the  Hazard, 
Swift,  Perkins;  and  the  Dove  of  Canton,  commanded 
by  Duffin. 

The  Betsy,  a  Boston  brigantine  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Charles  Winship,  is  the  only  other 
trader  of  1800  of  which  we  have  any  record.  She  had 
left  Boston  the  preceding  year,  and  after  a  trip  in  the 
north,  of  which  nothing  is  known,  touched  at  San 
Diego  for  supplies,  remaining  at  anchor  in  that  port^ — 
the  first  American  vessel  to  enter  it — from  the  25th  of 
August  to  the  4th  of  September.  It  is  not  unlikely 
that  a  full  record  of  her  movements  would  show  the 
Betsy  to  be  the  pioneer  in  a  new  field  of  west-coast 
enterprise,  that  of  contraband  trade  and  fur- hunting 
on  the  shores  of  the  two  Califomias,  in  addition  to 
legitimate  trade  farther  north;  or  at  least  Captain 
Winship  may  have  been  engaged  in  exploring  the  new 
field,  in  which  his  brothers  subsequently  reaped  so 
rich  a  harvest.  He  obtained  the  desired  assistance  at 
San  Diego,  with  the  usual  warning  to  touch  at  no 
other  Spanish  port;  but  later  he  anchored  at  San 
Bias,  again  in  great  need.  Presently  a  Spanish  man- 
of-war  entered  the  port,  and  the  Yankee  craft,  fearing 
doubtless  a  confiscation  of  her  contraband  furs,  put 


*^  Cleveland' g  Nar.,  83-4;   Tufta'  List.    Both  ships  were  owned  by  Dorr 
and  Sons. 

^if  Cleveland's  Nar.,  89;  Tufts'  List. 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  WINSHIP, 


ao0 


;on 


ihe 


to  sea  in  such  haste  as  to  leave  her  captain  and 
supercargo  on  shore  with  the  supphes  they  had  ob- 
tained. How  these  officers  regained  their  ship  does 
not  appear  in  the  records;  it  is  said  that  later  in 
this  voyage  Captain  Winship  died  of  a  sunstroke  at 
Valparaiso.** 

**Arch.  Cat.,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xxi.  44;  Prov.  Rec.,  viii.  132;  xii.  6; 
8t.  Pap.  8ae.,  ix.  12-13;  Boston  in  the  Northwest,  MS.,  71-2. 


I!'  ,  !I 


CHAPTER  X. 

LAST    OF    THE    EXPLORERS. 
1801-1818. 

Boston  Shifs  of  1801 — r'^ooBO  of  1802 — Mishap  of  the  'Manohi  ki  — 
Stukois  on  thk  Coasi— Loss  of  the  'Boston,'  1803 — Massai  "^e  of  '  he 
Ckew — Jbwztt's  Captivitt — Rowan  and  Brown  at  San  Fr.' fcisco 
FBOM  the  North— List  of  1804— Smugglers— O'Cain  and  his  New 
Idea — Russian  Contracts — Indians  Attack  the  'Atahualpa,'  1805 — 
Lewis  and  Clarke's  List — RezAnof  and  his  Plans,  1806 — Coming 
OF  the  Winships — 'O'Cain,'  'Derby,'  and  'Guatimozin'  of  1807— 
'Pearl,'  'Vancouver,'  and  'Mbr*.7by'  of  1808-9— The  Fur-hunters 

OF   1810-11 — WiNSHIP'S  COLU?  BIA   SETTLEMENT — ThE    'AlDATROSS'  — 

Voyage  of  the  'Tonquin' — The  'Beaver'  of  1812 — Effects  of  the 
War — The  Traders  Blockaded — Seizure  of  the  'Mercury'  and 
'Charon,'  1813  —  Captain  Smith  —  H.  B.  M.  Sloop  '  Raccoon'  Takes 
Astoria- The  'Pedler'of  1814— The  'Isaac  Todd'— The  North- 
west Company's  'Columbia' of  1815 — The  'Colonel'  in  California, 
1816 — Last  of  the  'Albatross'— Roquefeuh-'s  v<  of,  in  the  'Bor- 
DXLAis,'  1817-18 — Last  op  Maquinna  and  ^    otka  Me;  of-war 

•Ontario' and 'Blossom' — Vkssfth        is     40. 


Tub  vessels  trading  on  Northwe?     Coast  in 

1801  from  American  pon  ere  t  least  thirteen 
in  number.  From  Boston,  Perkin  and  Company  had 
despatched  the  Globe,  Captain  Magee,  the  Caroline. 
Captain  Derby,  and  the  Charlotte,  Captain  IngersoU , 
Lyman  and  Company,  the  Guatimozin,  Captain  Bum- 
stead,  and  the  Atahualpa,  Captain  Wildes ;  Dorr  and 
Sons,  the  Dispatch  and  Littiler,  each  commanded  by 
one  of  the  Dorrs;  Cobb,  the  Lucij,  Pierpont  maste  ; 
Coolidge,  the  Belle  Savage,  Captain  Ockington ;  and 
Thomas  Parish,  the  Polly,  commanded  by  Kelley. 
The  Manchester,  Captain  Brice,  was  from  Philadel- 
phia; the  Lavinia,  Captain  Hubbard,  was  owned  by 


(310) 


BOSTON  VESSELS. 


m 


De  Wolf  of  Bristol,  Rhode  Island;  and  the  Enterpnse, 
Captain  Ezekiel  Hubbell,  by  Hoy  and  Thorn,  of  Now 
York.*  Their  invoices  ranged  from  $9718  to  $29,253. 
the  amounts  carried  respectively  by  Pierpont  ana 
Magee.  None  of  the  fleet  has  left  any  record  of 
operations  in  1801  except  the  Enterprise,  about  which 
vessel  we  know  that  she  touched  at  San  Diego  for 
supplies  in  June,  carrying  ten  guns  and  a  crew  of 
twenty-one  men.''  The  Hazard,  under  Captain  Swift, 
is  said  to  have  entered  the  Columbia  River  this 
year.  The  afterward  famous  William  Smith  was  on 
this  vessel  in  a  subordinate  capacity,  making  his  fifth 
voyage  round  the  world.' 

The  new  names  of  1802  were  those  of  the  Boston 
ships  Alert,  commanded  by  Ebbetts  and  owned  by 
Lamb;  the  Catherine, y^orth  captain,  Coolidge  owner; 
the  Jenny,  Crocker  captain.  Dorr  owner;  and  the 
Vancouver,  Brown  captain,  Lyman  owner;  also  the 
Hetty,  Captain  Briggs  of  Philadelphia;  and  the  Juno, 
Captain  Kendrick,  owned  by  De  Wolf  of  Bristol.* 
The  Manchester  touched  at  Nootka  this  year,  and,  as 
the  natives  reported  to  Jewitt  later,  seven  of  her  men 
deserted  and  joined  Maquinna,  by  whose  order  six  of 
them  wore  put  to  death  for  an  attempted  redesertion 
to  the  service  of  a  rival  chieftain,  while  the  other,  a 
boy  called  Jack,  was  sold  to  Wicananish,  and  soon 
died."    According  to  Mr  Tufts,  Captain  Magee  of  the 

'  Cuatom-'noiise  records,  in  Bonton  in  the  Northioest,  MS.,  76-7,  11 ;  Tufts' 
Lift.  Captuin  O'Cain  seems  to  have  been  on  the  coast,  but  perhaps  not  in 
cominiaid  of  a  vessel. 

*Arch.  Cah,  MS.,  Prov.  Rec,  xii.  11-12. 

^ Niks'  liegiMer,  xviii.  418;  Oray's  Hist.  Or.,  14.  The  Hazard  returned 
to  Boston  May  6,  1802. 

*  Tufts' List. 

'' Jewitt' s  Nar.,  90-1 :  '  He  gave  mo  a  book  in  which  I  found  the  names  of 
seven  persons  belonging  to  the  ship  Manchester,  of  Philadelphia,  Cap*^  Brian, 
viz. — Daniel  Smith,  Lewis  Gillon,  James  Tom,  Clark,  .Tolmson,  Ben,  and 
Jack ...  A  most  cruel  death  it  was,  as  I  was  told  by  one  of  the  natives,  four 
men  holding  one  of  them  on  the  ground,  and  forcing  open  his  mouth,  while 
they  choaked  him  by  ramming  stones  down  liis  throat.  As  to  Jack . . ,  I  was 
informed  by  the  princess  Yiiqua,  that  ho  was  quite  a  small  boy,  who  cried  u 
gTPfit  deal,  being  put  to  hard  labor  lx;yond  his  strength  by  the  natives,  in 
cutting  wood  and  bruigii.g  water,  and  that  when  he  Jieard  of  the  murder  of 
our  crew,  it  liatl  such  an  effect  on  him  that  he  fell  sick  and  died  shortly  after.* 


'\'\'. 


„i   ^ 


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31f 


LAST  OF  THE  EXPLORERS. 


Globe  was  killed  during  this  voyage.  The  Caroline 
went  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  probably  to  spend  the 
winter  there  as  the  traders  were  wont  to  do,  and  there 
Captain  Derby  died.  His  grave  on  the  island  of 
Oahu  was  visited  the  next  year  by  Captain  Clev^e- 
land.*  Wildes  of  the  Atahualpa  is  recorded  as  having 
first  heard  of  the  Stikeen  River  in  August  of  this 
year  while  his  vessel  was  in  the  region  of  Queen  Char- 
lotte Sound.^  Captain  William  Sturgis,  who  became 
wealthy  and  famous  in  connection  with  the  fur-trade 
of  the  North  Pacific,  seems  to  have  visited  the  coast 
personally  in  1802,  perhaps  as  owner  or  supercargo  of 
one  of  the  vessels  named.  He  says:  "In  1801,  the 
trade  was  most  extensively,  though  not  most  profit- 
ably prosecuted;  that  year,  there  were  fifteen  vessels 
on  the  coast,  and  in  1802  more  than  15,000  sea-otter 
skins  were  collected,  and  carried  to  Canton.  But  the 
competition  was  so  great,  that  few  of  the  voj^ages  were 
then  profitable,  and  some  were  ruinous."*  There  were 
no  arrivals  on  the  Californian  coast  this  year,  or  at 
least  no  record  of  such  arrival  appears  in  the  archives. 

The  ship  Boston,  owned  by  the»Amorys  of  Boston, 
having  obtained  a  cargo  in  England,  sailed  from  the 
Downs  in  September  1802,  doubled  Cape  Horn,  and 
without  touching  at  any  port,  made  Woody  Point, 
on  the  island  of  Cuadra  and  Vancouver,  March  12, 
I80o.  John  Salter  was  the  captain,  his  mates  were  B. 
Delouisa  and  William  lugraham,  and  the  crew  num- 
bered twenty-four.  The  natives  had  established  their 
village*  on  the  site  of  the  old  Spanish  post  in  Friendly 
Cove;  and  Salter  anchored  his  vessel  several  miles 
farther  up  the  sound,  so  near  the  shore  that  she  was 

"  'In  a  retired  spot,  clothed  with  verdure  and  surrounded  with  cocoa-nut 
trees,  my  guide  pointed  to  the  grave  of  my  old  friend  and  former  shipmate, 
Charles  Derby,  who  died  here  last  year,  on  board  a  Boston  ship,  which  he  com- 
mc  :id"d,  from  the  Northwest  Coast.  Charles  and  I  had  sailed  many  a  thousand 
leagu-  together,  and,  being  ff  the  same  age,  the  probability  was  as  great 
when  >>  •>  parted,  that  he  would  visit  my  grave  as  I  his.'  Cleveland's  Nar. ,  232. 

'  ''ff  lliit.  Soc.  Col.,  1804,  242,  containing  an  extract  from  the  log,  as 
-jittiA  bv  Greenhow,  Or.  and  Cat.,  254. 

^Stiir'jia'  Aorthwest  Fur  Trade,  536. 


JEWITT'S  NARRATIVE. 


31.1 


secured  by  a  hawser  to  the  trees.  For  several  days, 
while  the  Americans  were  occupied  in  obtaining  wood 
aiid  water,  Maquinna  and  his  men  often  visited  the 
ship,  and  were  entertained  as  was  usual  in  such  cases. 
They  made  themselves  entirely  at  home,  gratified 
their  curiosity  by  examining  everything  on  board, 
and  maintained  the  most  friendly  relations  with  tbeir 
visitors.  To  Maquinna  was  given  a  double-barrelled 
fowling-piece,  with  which  he  appeared  greatly  pleased ; 
and  on  March  21st,  when  the  ship  was  nearly  ready 
to  depart,  he  came  back  v/ith  a  gift  of  wild  ducks. 
He  brought  back  the  gun,  however,  with  one  of  the 
L  '^'^i  broken,  remarking  that  it  was  j^f^shak,  or  bad. 
"Captain  Salter  was  very  much  offended  at  this  ob- 
servation, and  considering  it  as  a  mark  of  contempt 
for  his  present,  he  called  the  king  a  liar,  adding  other 
opprobrious  terms,  and  taking  the  gun  from  him 
tossed  it  indignantly  into  the  cabin . . .  Maquinna  knew 
a  number  of  English  words,  and  unfortunately  under- 
stood but  too  well  the  meaning  of  the  repi'oachful 
terms  that  the  Captain  addressed  to  him. — He  said 
not  a  wor<l  in  reply,  but  his  countenance  sufficiently 
expressed  the  rage  he  felt,  though  he  exerted  himself 
to  suppress  it,  and  I  observed  him  while  the  Captain 
was  speaking  repeatedly  put  his  hand  to  his  throat 
and  rub  it  upon  his  bosom,  which  he  afterwards  told 
me  was  to  keep  down  his  heart,  which  was  rising  into 
his  throat  and  choaking  him.  He  soon  after  went  on 
shore  with  his  men,  evidently  much  discomposed."* 

The  Nootka  chieftain  had  resolved  on  vengeance 
for  the  insult  received  at  this  time  and  for  'other 

•This  ia  Jawitt's  account,  to  be  noticed  presently.  The  version  received 
by  Captain  Rowan  of  the  Hazard  from  the  Tatacu  chief  at  Fuca  Strait  and 
brouglit  down  to  California  was  as  follows :  The  chief  Quatlazape  was  told  by 
the  American  captain  'that  ho  was  a  mean  fellow  to  trade  with.  The  cap- 
tain told  hi'u  he  nad  met  many  chieftains  in  the  north,  and  knew  that  ho  had 
no  appearance  of  a  chieftain,  and  appeared  a  very  low  man.  The  chief  re- 
plic  I,  'Piceque'  [peshak],  which  in  their  language  means  '  bad  man;'  and  the 
captain  talcing  a  musket  threatened  him.  and  ordered  him  on  shore  aa  an 
insolent  fellow.  Going  to  his  ron'heria  ho  summoned  all  the  Indiana  from 
Fuca  Strait  to  the  north  point  of  Nootka,  who  assembled  within  three  days ;' 
and  it  waa  resolved  to  capture  the  ship.  Arch.  Gal.,  MS.,  Si.  Pap.,  Miss,  and 
Vol.,  i.  89-91;  Captain  Rowan's  letter  of  August  12, 1803,  to  Arg-iello. 


ill 


f^-  l' 


1 

j! 

vX, 

314 


LAST  OF  THE  EXPLORERS. 


wrongs  perhaps  of  earlier  date  ;*"  and  the  story  of  whav 
followed  cannot  be  better  told  than  by  continuing  to 
quote  the  words  of  one  who  was  present.  "On  the 
morning  of  the  2  2d  the  natives  came  off  to  us  as 
usual  with  salmon,  and  remained  on  board,  when 
about  noon  Maquinna  came  along  side  with  a  con- 
siderable number  of  his  chiefs  and  men  in  their 
canoes,  who  after  going  through  the  customary  ex- 
amination were  admitted  into  the  ship.  He  had  a 
whistle  in  his  hand,  and  over  his  face  a  very  ugly  mask 
of  wood  representing  the  head  of  some  wild  beast,  ap- 
peared to  be  remarkably  good  humoured  and  gay,  and 
whilst  his  people  sung  and  capered  about  the  deck, 
entertaining  us  with  a  variety  of  antic  tricks  and 
gestures,  he  blew  his  whistle  to  a  kind  of  tune  which 
seemed  to  regulate  their  motions.""  Captain  Salter 
was  induced  in  the  afternoon  to  send  nine  men  in 
the  boats  to  catch  salmon,  thus  dividing  the  force. 
"Shortly  after  the  departure  of  the  boats  I  went 
down  to  my  vise-bench  in  the  steerage,"  says  Jewitt 
the  armorer,  "where  I  was  employed  in  cleaning  mus- 
kets. I  had  not  been  there  more  than  an  hour  when 
1  heard  the  men  hoisting  in  the  long  boat,  which,  in  a 
few  minutes  after,  was  succeded  by  a  great  bustle  and 
confusion  on  deck.  I  immediately  ran  up  the  steerage 
stairs,  but  scarcely  was  my  head  above  deck,  when  I 
was  caught  by  the  hair  by  one  of  the  savages,  and 
lifted  from  my  feet;  fortunately  for  me,  my  hair  being 
short,  and  the  ribbon  with  which  it  was  tied  shpping, 
I  fell  from  his  hold  into  the  steerage.  As  I  was  falling, 
he  struck  at  me  with  an  axe,  which  cut  a  deep  gash  in 

"Ma(]^uinna  told  Jewitt  later  that  he  had  several  times  been  ill-treated  by 
foreign  visitors.  Captain  Tawnington,  commanding  a  schooner  which  win- 
tereu  at  Friendly  Covo,  had  entered  Maquinna's  house  in  his  absence  and 
taken  40  fine  skins,  besides  frightening  the  woraen.  Then  Martinez  had 
killed  four  chiefs;  and  soon  after,  Captain  Hnnna  of  the  Sea-otter  had  fired 
upon  the  canoes  and  killed  over  twenty  of  the  natives,  Maquinna  himself 
having  to  swim  for  his  life.  His  desire  for  revenge  was  rekindled  by  Captain 
Salter  s  insult. 

"  In  the  account  given  to  Rowan,  the  Indians  are  said  to  have  obtained  in 
advance  permission  to  have  a  dance  on  board  as  a  ceremonial  making-up  after 
the  recent  dispute,  all  as  part  of  a  plot  to  seize  the  vessel. 


m 


CAFTURlE  OF  THE  BOSlKJN. 


Sift 


my  forehead,  and  penetrated  the  skull ;  but  iu  conse- 
quence of  his  losing  his  hold,  I  luckily  escaped  the  ftill 
rorce  of  the  blow.  I  fell  stunned  and  senseless  upon 
the  floor."  When  he  regained  consciousness  he  found 
the  hatch  closed  and  judged  by  their  yells  that  the 
savages  were  in  possession  of  the  ship.  Presently 
he  was  summoned  before  Maquinna  and  promised  his 
life  on  condition  of  becoming  a  slave  to  make  and  re- 
pair weapons  for  his  master.  On  the  quartei-deck  he 
was  she  ;vn  in  a  line  the  heads  of  twenty -five  murdered 
companions,  and  was  ordered  to  identify  each  by  name. 
After  seizing  the  ship  and  killing  all  on  deck,  they 
had  sent  a  well  armed  force  to  bring  back  the  heads 
of  those  in  the  boats." 

The  Boston  was  moved  from  her  anchorage,  beached 
at  Friendly  Cove,  stripped  of  the  more  easily  acces- 
sible portions  of  her  cargo,  and  a  few  days  later  ac- 
cidentally burned.  Meanwhile  another  man,  John 
Thompson  the  sail -maker  was  found  in  the  hold, 
where  he  had  concealed  himself  after  receiving  a 
knife-wound  in  the  nose.  Jewitt's  life  was  spared 
because  of  his  skill  in  making  weapons;  and  Thomp- 
son's at  the  intercession  of  Jewitt,  ^ho  represented 
him  as  his  father;  though  there  were  many  who 
wished  to  kill  both.  The  two  survivors  lived  among 
the  savages  in  Maquinna's  service  for  three  years, 
generally  well  enough  treated,  and  suffering  such 
hardships  only  as  were  naturally  connected  with  the 
situation.  Jewitt  lived  for  a  time  with  a  native  wife, 
and  they  travelled  considerably  over  the  island;  but 
escape  was  ever  in  their  minds.  The  traders  avoided 
Nootka  after  the  massacre;  but  letters  were  sent  in 
various  directions,  and  finally  in  July  1805,  the  Lydia, 
Captain  Hill,  anchored  in  the  port.  Maouinna  was 
desirous  of  renewing  the  old  commercial  relations, 
and  he  went  on  board,  carrying  such  a  letter  of  reconi- 


liM 

i 

'ti^i^ 

P 

m 

—  -if 

mm 

Ml 

h': 

Ik      : 

!  '     il 


'•'According  to  Rowan  tho  massacre  was  begun  while  the  dance  wna  going 
on,  fit  a  signal  from  the  chief,  a  crowd  of  natives  being  close  at  hand  in  their 
canoes. 


816 


LAST  OP  THE  EXPLOREES. 


mendation  from  Jewitt  as  caused  his  immediate  arrest 
as  a  hostage  for  th6  captive's  release.  After  a  trading 
cruise  the  two  men  left  the  coast  in  August  1806,  and 
before  the  end  of  1807  arrived  in  Boston  via  China. 
Jewitt  was  an  Englishman,  only  twenty  years  old  at 
the  time  of  his  capture.  He  had  shipped  at  Hull  for 
this  voyage^  and  kept  a  diary  during  his  captivity,  from 
which  a  book  was  published  on  his  return  in  1807,  and 
afterward  in  many  diiferent  editions.  The  narrative 
is  a  fascinating  one  of  the  author's  personal  adven- 
tures, containing  also  much  valuable  information  on 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Nootka  Indians. 
For  details  of  the  captivity  beyond  what  has  been 
presented  I  have  no  space." 

A  few  days  after  the  capture  of  the  Boston  two 
ships  were  seen  approaching  the  port  at  Nootka,  but 
they  were  frightened  away  by  the  hostile  demon- 
strations of  the  natives,  who  opened  fire  upon  them 
with  muskets  and  blunderbusses.  "After  firing  a  few 
rounds  of  grape  shot  which  did  no  harm  to  any  one, 
they  wore  ship  and  stood  out  to  sea.  These  ships,  as 
I  afterwards  learned,  were  the  Mary  and  Juno  of 
Boston.  They  were  scarcely  out  of  sight  when  Ma- 
quinna  expressed  much  regret  that  he  had  permitted 
his  people  to  fire  at  them,  being  apprehensive  that 
they  would  give  information  to  others  in  what  manner 
they  had  been  received,  and  prevent  them  from  coming 
to  trade  with  him."" 

^*A  narrative  of  the  adventures  and  at^fferings  of  John  R.  Jewitt;  only  aur- 
vivor  of  the  crew  of  the  ship,  Boston,  during  a  captivity  of  nearly  three  years 
among  the  savages  of  Nootka  Sound;  %oith  an  account  of  the  manners,  mode  of 
living,  and  religious  opinions  of  the  natives,  embellished  tviih  a  plate  representiiig 
the  ship  in  the  possession  q/  the  savages.  New  York,  1816,  12mo,  208  pp.  This  is 
marked  3(1  edition.  I  have  before  me  another  of  Ithaca  1849,  12mo,  166  pp. , 
'embellished  with  engravings.'  According  to  Sabin  the  original,  published  in 
Boston  1807  and  New  York  1812,  was  entitled:  A  Journal  kept  at  Nootka 
Sound  by  John  li.  Jewitt,  etc.  He  also  not«8  thirteen  other  editions,  stating  that 
one  version  was  compiled  from  Jewitt's  oral  relations  by  Richard  AIsop,  and 
another  edited  by  Goodrich,  or  '  Peter  Parley.'  Sproat,  Scenes  and  Studies,  5, 
gives  some  slight  reminiscences  of  Jewitt's  captivity  obtained  by  \V.  E.  Ban- 
Held  from  an  old  Indian  who  had  known  the  captive. 

^^ Jewitt's  Nar.,  36.  The  Juno  was  one  of  the  preceding  year's  vessels;  the 
Mary  was  owned  by  Gray  of  Boston  and  commanded  by  Bowles,  who  is  said 
to  have  died  during  the  voyage.   Tufts'  List. 


K  ^i 


OTHER  SHIPS  FROM  BOSTON. 


m 


Two  other  traders  suffered  this  year  from  Indian 
hostilities,  the  Alexander,  Captain  John  Brown,  and 
the  Hazard,  Captain  James  Rowan.  They  made  their 
appearance  at  San  Francisco  on  the  11th  of  August, 
coming  from  the  north  in  distress,  and  asking  for  relief. 
Captain  Brown  was  known  in  Cahfomia,  having  been 
detected  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  in  smugghng 
operations  at  San  Diego,  and  having  subsequently  ob- 
tained supplies  at  San  Francisco  under  false  pretences. 
Therefore  no  attention  was  paid  to  his  present  demand, 
and  he  was  ordered  away  from  the  port.  He  suc- 
ceeded better  at  Monterey,  where  he  obtained  supplies, 
running  away  at  night  to  avoid  payment  for  the  same. 
The  nature  and  extent  of  the  Alexanders  injuries  on 
the  northern  coast  are  not  known.  Captain  Rowan, 
on  the  other  hand,  was  well  treated  and  allowed  four 
days  for  refitting,  having  presented  a  written  state- 
ment of  his  vessel's  condition,  the  truth  of  which  was 
verified  by  Comandante  Arguello  bj"^  a  personal  in- 
spection. The  Hazard  had  been  several  times  attacked 
by  the  natives  in  Chatham  Strait,  and  had  narrowly 
escaped  capture,  besides  receiving  damages  from 
striking  on  a  rock.  None  of  her  men  had  been  lost, 
but  her  hull  and  rigging  were  riddled  with  balls,  the 
Indians  having  been  well  provided  with  fire-arms.  On 
his  way  south  Rowan  had  touched  at  the  strait  of 
Fuca,  where  he  heard  of  the  Boston's  disaster,  and 
brought  the  news  to  California." 

The  O'Cain,  Captain  Joseph  O'Cain,  sailed  from 
Boston  January  23,  1803,  and  reached  Sitka  before 
the  end  of  the  year.  Jonathan  Winship,  one  of  the 
owners,  made  his  first  visit  to  the  coast  on  this  vessel. 
It  does  not  clearly  appear  that  she  touched  on  the 
Northwest  Coast  proper  this  year;  but  the  voyage 

^''Arch.  Cal.,  MS.,  St.  Pap.,  Miss,  and  Ool,,  i.  84-9.  See  Hist.  Col.,  ii.  chap. 
i.,  this  series,  for  some  additional  particulars  about  the  experience  of  Brown 
and  Rowan  in  California.    The  Hazard  is  said  to  have  had  50  men  and  '22 

Cs.  In  Niles'  Register,  xviii.  418,  she  is  said  to  have  sailed  from  Boston  in 
^  tember  1802,  returning  on  the  Gth  of  May  1805,  under  Swift  as  master  and 
Smith  as  mate ;  so  also  in  Tufts^  List;  and  as  the  Spaniards  write  the  nama 
AKr  there  is  a  possibility  that  Rowan  commanded  another  vessel. 


IP 

■    ( 
I 


i!t 


81& 


LAST  OF  THE  EXPLORERS. 


i 


lasted  three  years,  and  we  shall  hear  more  of  this 
craft."  Mr  Gray  names  the  Alert,  commanded  by 
Ebbetts,  and  the  Vancouver,  by  Brown,  among  thr 
vessels  that  visited  the  coast  this  year." 

William  Sturgis,  probably  commanding  the  Boston 
ship  Caroline,  arrived  at  Kaigan  early  m  1804.  On 
a  previous  visit  he  had  noticed  the  high  value  at- 
tached by  the  natives  to  the  ermine-skin,  and  he  had 
obtained  about  five  thousand  of  them  at  a  cost  of 
about  thirty  cents  each  in  Boston.  The  result  was 
that  in  half  a  day  he  purchased  five  hundred  and  sixty 
prime  otter-skins,  worth  fifty  dollars  each,  for  half  of 
his  ermines,  or  'clicks,'  as  the  Indians  called  them." 
The  Lelia  Byrd  was  a  ship  that  had  caused  some  ex- 
citement on  the  Cahfornian  coast  in  1803,  and  in  1804 
she  came  back  under  the  command  of  Captain  William 
Shaler.  Coming  from  China,  she  arrived  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  on  the  1st  of  May,  but  for  eight 
days  was  unable  to  cross  the  bar,  and  finally  pro- 
ceeded down  the  coast  in  search  of  a  more  accessible 
port,  entering  Trinidad  the  9th  of  May." 

The  Haza^rd  also  came  back  from  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  this  year,  as  is  shown  by  records  in  the 
archives  of  California.  Having  obtained  supplies  at 
San  Francisco  in  February,  Captain  Rowan  sailed 
for  the  Northwest  Coast.  Of  his  operations  there 
nothing  is  known,  but  in  September  he  reappeared  in 
the  southern  ports,  as  usual  in  great  need  of  pro- 
visions.*' Smuggling  and  an  illicit  fur-trade  on  the 
coasts  of  upper  and  lower  California  were  becoming 
much  more  attractive  to  the  Boston  men  than  the 
barter  of  old  with  the  northern  savages,  who  had 

^^ Boston  in  the  Northwest,  MS.,  11-12. 

"Gray's  Hist.  Or.,  14. 

^^Sturgis'  Northwest  Fur  Trade,  536;  Tiifts'  List. 

''/S'Ao/fir's  Journal,  138-9.  The  opei-ationa  of  tlw  Lelia  Byrd  on  the  Gali- 
fomian  coaat  m  1803-5  ore  related  in  Hint.  CaL,  ii.,  chap.  i.-ii.,  this  series. 

^MrcA.  Cdl,  MS.,  Pruv.  St.  Pap.,  xviii.  330,  301,  373,  376-9;  Prov.  Bee, 
xi.  103;  'St.  Pap.  Sac.,  v.  70.  Gray,  Hint.  Or.,  14,  tells  us  that  the  Perkaaa 
company  sent  tlie  Hazard  under  Swift  to  the  Columbia  in  1804;  also  that 
Theodore  Lyman  sent  the  OmxUinozin,  Captain  Bumstead,  from  Boston. 


CAPTAIN  O'CAIN. 


319 


now  acquired  new  ideas  respecting  the  value  of  their 
furs,  had  become  hostile  and  revengeful,  often  with 
much  cause,  and  who  had  become  somewhat  too  well 
supplied  with  fire-arms.  Captain  O'Cain  had  the 
honor  of  introducing  a  new  development  of  the  fur- 
trade  this  year.  Ho  was  still  prepared  for  barter 
with  the  Indians,  and  he  was  still  alive  to  the  charms 
and  profits  of  smuggling;  but  his  genius  demanded  a 
broader  field.  On  his  arrival  at  Sitka  in  the  fall  of 
1803,  he  induced  the  manager  of  the  Russian  estab- 
lishments, Bardnof,  to  furnish  Aleut  otter -hunters 
with  their  bidarkas  for  a  hunting  tour  in  the  south, 
the  product  to  be  divided  between  the  Russian  com- 
pany and  the  Boston  owners.  The  result  of  this  first 
trip  of  the  O'Cain  was  eleven  hundred  otter-skins 
carried  from  the  Californian  coasts,  chiefly  from  thoso 
of  the  peninsula,  to  Alaska  in  June  1804,  the  vessel 
thence  directing  her  course  to  China  and  homeward." 
This  new  system  of  hunting  on  shares  was  continued 
for  years  with  some  profit  to  the  contracting  parties, 
especially  to  the  Americans;  but  it  was  at  last  ter- 
minated by  the  Russians  when  they  convinced  them- 
selves that  their  Yankee  partners  could  neither  bo 
trusted  nor  watched,  besides  arousing  the  enmity  of 
Spain  by  their  unlawful  operations.  The  whole  sub- 
ject is  fully  treated  elsewhere  in  this  work,  mainly 
concerning  California  and  Alaska.  Hunting  under  this 
new  arrangement  was  chiefly  confined  to  the  southern 
coasts,  almost  exclusively  so  far  as  the  records  show. 
Naturally  the  Spanish  archives  mention  only  compli- 
cations with  the  Californian  authorities;  the  Russian 
records  deal  only  with  the  contracts,  outfits,  and  results ; 
while  but  few  log-books  are  extant.  Yet  as  these 
vessels  passed  each  year  up  and  down  between  Alaska 
and  California,  it  seems  necessary  to  mention  them  in 
connection  with  the  maritime  annals  of  the  Northwest 
Coast,  even  if  no  records  appear  of  their  occasional 
landings  and  adventures  within  that  territory. 

"Boston  in  the  Norlhicest,  MS.,  11-12;  KhUbnikof,  ZapMi,  8;  Tlkhrruinef, 
[ator.  Obozranie,  app.,  '272-6.     See  also  Hist.  Vol.,  ii.,  chap,  ii.,  thia  series. 


•  I 


I 

1 

I 


^.^ 


'A. 


I       1 


320 


LAST  OF  THE  EXPLOREES. 


No  traders  visited  Califomian  waters  in  1 805,  or  at 
least  they  left  no  record  of  their  visits;  but  there  are 
a  few  items  extant  respecting  their  movements  in  the 
north.  The  ship  Atcuiualpa,  Captain  0.  Porter,  de- 
spatched by  Lyman  of  Boston, "  wasattacked  by  the  sav- 
ages in  Millbank  Sound,  and  her  captain,  mate,  and  six 
seamen,  were  kiUed ;  after  which  the  other  seamen  suc- 
ceeded in  repellingtheassailants  and  savingthe  vessel."'" 
The  ship  Caroline  was  still  on  the  coast;  and  new  ar- 
rivals included  the  Boston  ships  Vancouver,  Brown, and 
Pearl,  Ebbetts,  despatched  by  Lyman  and  Lamb,  re- 
spectively.**  Lewis  and  Clarke  reaching  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia  by  an  overland  journey,  learned  from  the 
Indians  their  version  of  the  names  of  a  dozen  foreigners 
who  had  been  wont  to  visit  their  country  in  command 
of  vessels;  but  none  of  the  names  can  be  identified." 
The  Lydia  of  Boston,  commanded  by  Samuel  Hill, 
arrived  at  Nootka  to  rescue  Jewitt  and  Thompson, 
as  we  have  seen,  in  July  1805.  The  ship  then  made 
a  cruise  to  the  north,  entered  the  Columbia  for  spars, 
returned  to  Nootka  in  November,  and  finally  sailed 
for  China  in  August  of  the  next  year.'*'  The  Juno, 
Captain  De  Wolf,  very  likely  visited  this  region  this 
year,  as  late  in  the  autumn  she  was  sold  to  the  Rus- 
sian American  Company  at  New  Archangel." 

''^Oreenhoiv's  Or.  and  Cal.,  268.  He  says  the  Atahualpa  was  from  Bliode 
Island.  Gray,  Hist.  Or.,  14,  tells  us  she  was  sent  from  Boston  in  1805  by 
Ljrman  and  Company.  Henry  A.  Peirce,  Memoranda,  MS.,  7-8,  afterward 
sailed  with  Nicholas  Wrenthem,  who  had  been  mate  of  the  Afaiiualpa,  wlio 
said:  'The  natives  became  saucy,  the  mate  not  liking  the  look  of  things 
told  the  captain,  who  pooh-poohed,  but  the  natives  made  an  attack  on  the  crew. 
They  were  at  last  beaten  oflF  by  the  crew,  but  they  had  no  sooner  done  this 
than  they  saw  the  Indians  sawing  away  at  the  hempen  cable.  The  captain 
took  his  blunderbuss  and  fired  at  the  natives,  killing  six  of  them. .  .The 
l>outswain  was  named  Griffin.  Captain  Porter  was  stabbed  in  the  back  and 
thrown  overboard.  He  was  carried  on  shore  and  lived  a  few  days.'  In  Tu/ta' 
List  the  Atahualpa  arrived  in  1804. 

''^Grm/'a  Hist.  Or.,  14;  Tufts'  Li»t. 

^*Lewis  and  Clarke's  Journey,  497.  The  names  were  as  follows:  Haley, 
the  favorite  trader,  stays  some  time;  Zallamon,  not  a  trader;  Callalamet, 
with  a  wooden  leg ;  Davidson,  a  hunter ;  Skelley,  only  one  eye ;  absent  for 
several  years ;  Youens,  Sivipton,  Moore,  Mackey,  Washington,  Mesship,  Jack- 
son, and  Bolch. 

'''^Jewitt's  Nar.,  154-63.  Gray,  Hist.  Or.,  15,  speaks  of  the  Lydia  as  sent 
from  Boston  to  theColumbia  by  Lyman  in  ISOiO.    Tufts  says  she  sailed  In  1804. 

''"Itezdnof,  Zapiski,  203-4.  She  left  Boston  in  1804,  being  owned  as  well 
as  commanded  by  Da  Wolf.   Tu/ts'  List. 


WINSHIP  AND  BARANOF. 


321 


The  imperial  inspector  Rezdnof  from  Alaska  in 
1806  urged  upon  his  company  and  his  government  the 
importance  of  founding  a  Russian  establishment  on 
the  Columbia  River,  with  a  view  of  gaining  exclusive 
possession  of  the  fur- trade.  "To  accomplish  this  it 
would  be  necessary  to  build  as  soon  as  possible  an 
armed  brig  to  drive  away  the  Bostonians  from  this 
trade  forever.  From  the  Columbia  we  could  gradually 
advance  toward  the  south  to  the  port  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, which  forms  the  boundary  line  of  California. 
I  think  I  may  say  that  at  the  Columbia  we  could 
attract  population  from  various  localities,  and  in  the 
course  of  ten  years  we  should  become  strong  enough 
to  make  use  of  any  favorable  tuin  in  European  poli- 
tics to  include  the  coast  of  CaUfornia  in  the  Russian 
possessions." 

"Captain  Winship  told  Mr  Bardnof  that  last  au- 
tumn sixty  men  had  started  from  the  United  States 
overland  to  settle  on  the  Columbia  River,  which 
would  have  been  easier  for  us  than  anybody  else. 
The  American  states  claim  the  right  to  those  shores, 
saying  that  the  headwaters  of  the  Columbia  are  in 
their  territory;  but  on  the»same  principle  they  could 
extend  their  possessions  all  over  the  world,  where 
there  was  no  previous  European  settlement.  But  I 
think  they  have  determined  to  settle  there,  because 
the  Spaniards  have  opened  to  them  four  ports  on  the 
eastern  side  of  America  under  tlie  condition  that  they 
should  not  touch  on  their  western  coasts.'^''  This 
happened  after  Winship's  departure  from  Boston, 
and  is  yet  unknown  to  the  American  vessels  here. 
Four  Boston  ships  are  at  present  cruising  and  trading 
in  the  sounds,  namely:  Captain  Heale  on  the  brig 
Lida;^  Captain  Porter,  brother  of  the  one  killed,  on 
the   ship  Hamilton;^   Captain    Brown   on  the  ship 

^^  I  do  not  understand  this  allusion.  i' 

"  This  may  be  the  Haley  of  Lewis  and  Clarke's  list. 

™Gray,  IJtst.  Or.,  15,  mentions  the  Hamilton,  Captain  L.  Petei  ,  aa  having 
been  sent  to  the  Columbia  by  Lyman  of  Boston,  arriving  in  1807.  Tufts,  List, 
gives  the  name  L.  Porter  anil  the  date  1806. 
HiHT.  N.  W.  Coast.  Vul.  I.    21 


■'  i-ii 


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I 


■I  ■'; 


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322 


LAST  OF  THE  EXPLORERS. 


I  i 


Vancouver;^  and  Captain  Giehitz  in  the  ship  Pearl}^ 
At  Kaiijan  there  are  also  several  vessels  tradinsf,  the 
Urodel,  Hazard,^  Peacock,  and  others.  When  shall 
we  drive  these  unwelcome  j^uests  away?"  Rezdnof 
himself  went  down  to  California  on  the  Juno,  as  is 
fully  related  in  another  volume  of  this  work,^  and  in 
his  letters  he  writes:  "I  had  the  intention  to  explore 
the  Columbia  River.  We  sighted  its  mouth  on  the 
14th  of  March,  but  contrary  winds  compelled  us  to 
stand  off.  After  keeping  a  northerly  course  for  a 
time  we  returned  next  day  and  expected  to  run  in, 
but  the  strong  current  had  carried  us  sixty  miles  to 
the  north,  and  we  were  opposite  Gray  Harbor.  We 
sent  off  a  bidarka,  in  which  Dr  Langsdorff  entered  the 
harbor.  We  tried  again  to  run  into  the  Columbia  as 
the  only  harbor  this  side  of  California  to  obtain  fresh 
provisions,  and  we  approached  it  on  the  evening  of 
the  20th.  The  following  day  we  expected  to  enter, 
but  a  rushing  tide  and  a  channel  covered  with  high 
breakers  opposed  us;"  and  four  days  later  they  reached 
San  Francisco.^ 

The  Peacoch,  named  in  Rezdnof's  list,  left  Boston 
in  September  1805,  doubled  Cape  Horn  in  company 
with  the  Hazard,  and  came  to  California  from  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  in  February  180G.  She  is  de- 
scribed as  of  one  hundred  and  eight  tons,  with  eight 
guns  and  fourteen  men;  and  was  commanded  by 
Captain  Kimball,  said  to  have  been  a  brother-in-law 
of  O'Cain.  Though  bound  for  the  north  with  sup- 
plies for  the  Russians,  she  attempted  smuggling — 
that  is,  applied  for  provisions — at  several  southern 
ports,  and  in  consequence  lost  four  men,  who  were 


'"  Sent  out  to  meet  Lewis  and  Clarke,  but  not  arriving  until  after  their 
departure,  according  to  Gray. 

'•The  captain's  name  was  Ebbetts.  She  was  fitted  out  by  Lamb  and 
Company,  according  to  Tufts. 

'^  Left  Boston  July  22,  1805,  under  William  Smith  as  master ;  and  returned 
July  23,  1808.  Xilcsi'  Eegister,  xviii.  418;  Tti/ts^  List.  Gray  says  she  was  sent 
out  under  Smith  in  1807. 

^^llist.  Oal.,  ii.,  chap.  iv. 

"^Rezdnof,  Zapiski,  233, 254,  279 ;  see  also  Langsdorff 's  Voyages,  ii.  9^7  et  seq. 


iff 


THK  SHIP  O'CAIN.  323 

arrested  at  San  Diego  an('  out  to  San  Bias.'"  An- 
other vessel  of  the  year  was  known  to  the  Spaniards 
as  the  Reizos,  though  there  may  be  some  error  about 
the  name.  She  was  apparently  engaged  in  otter- 
hunting,  or  at  least  was  in  company  with  other  vessels 
so  engaged.*" 

The  O'Cain  came  back  this  year,  having  left  Boston 
in  October  1805,  under  the  command  of  Jonathan 
Winship,  with  Nathan  Winship  as  mate.  She  had  a 
force  of  thirty  men,  a  coppered  bottom,  not  common 
in  those  days,  and  was  specially  fitted  out  for  hunting 
as  well  as  trading.  A  hundred  Aleuts  with  fifty 
hidarhas  were  obtained  at  ^  cw  Archangel  in  April, 
and  some  attempts  at  hunting  were  made  on  the  way 
southward.  Winship's  chief  operations  were  confined, 
however,  to  the  Baja  California  coasts  and  islands, 
where  he  left  his  hunters  and  returned  I  ly  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  to  Kadiak  with  skins  valued  at  $G0,000." 
Another  vessel,  not  named,  but  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Campbell,  possibly  Kimball  of  the  Peacock,  made 
a  contract  in  October  for  hunting  on  shares,  and  came 
back  to  Alaska  the  next  Augugt  with  1230  skins.^ 

The  Winships  on  the  OCain  with  a  new  party  of 
fifty  hunters  left  Kadiak  in  January  1807.  Touching 
at  the  Farallones,  at  the  islands  of  the  Santa  Bitrbara 
Channel,  and  at  San  Pedro,  Winship  rejoined  the 
hunters  he  had  left  on  the  peninsular  coast,  where  he 
remained  until  April,  and  then  returned  to  the  north 
with  the  whole  force  of  Aleuts.  There  were  over  two 
hundred  souls  on  board,  tvvo  more  at  the  end  than  at 
the  beginning  of  the  trip  northward,  and  the  log 
shows  some  narrow  escapes  from  shipwreck  on  the 
way.    With  a  cargo  worth  $136,000  the  OCain  sailed 

"ylrcA.  Col.,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xix.  13G-8,  153-5,  174-C;  Prov.  Jiec, 
xii.  40;  liezdnof,  Zapinki,  273. 

^^Arch.  C'al.,  MS., /Vow.  St.Pap.,xb!..  129-30, 134-C,  141-3.  The  captain's 
name  is  called  O'Cain  and  in  one  place  is  written  Poenicar. 

"''Boston  in  the  Norlhwfut,  MS.,  13-20;  KhUhnikof,  Zapiski,  &-10,  137; 
Bardnof,  Shtneopusanie,  107-8;  Tikhmcnef,  Istor.  Obozranie,  i.  167. 

"^KhUhnikof,  Zapinki,  9. 


iiH 


It.' 


M^i  \ 


324 


LAST  OF  THE  EXPLORERS. 


for  China  in  October;  and  at  tho  beginning  of  the 
next  year  Btarted  for  Boston  in  company  with  the 
Atahualpa  and  Augustus,  captains  Sturgis  and  Hill.* 
Meanwhile  the  old  commander  of  tho  ship,  Joseph 
O'Cain,  was  on  the  Eclipse,  a  vessel  chartered  by  the 
Russian  company,  which  was  wrecked  among  the 
Aleutian  Islands  in  September  of  this  year,  the  cap- 
tain and  his  men  saving  their  lives  after  many  hard- 
ships.*" According  to  a  Russian  authority,  Captain 
Swift  in  the  Derby  made  an  otter-hunting  trip  to 
California  this  3'^ear  under  an  arrangement  similar  to 
that  of  the  Winships;  but  nothing  further  is  known 
of  the  voyage  except  Mr  Gray's  statement  that  tho 
Derby  entered  the  Columbia  River  the  next  year.*^ 
The  Guatimozin,  Glanville  master,  Lyman  owner, 
left  Boston  in  July  1806,  and  was  on  tho  coast  from 
March  1807  to  September  1808.  She  entered  the 
Columbia,  and  her  trading  operations  extended  up  to 
59°  30'.  On  July  4th  the  men  had  moose  and  salmon 
for  dinner  on  the  Columbia;  and  a  pewter  medal  was 
found  which  had  been  given  to  the  Indians  by  Lewis 
and  Clarke." 

The  Boston  ships  Pearl,  Captain  Suter,  and  Van- 
couver, Captain  Whittemore,  owned  and  fitted  out  by 
Perkins,  were  on  the  coast  in  1808-9,  according  to 
Tufts  and  Gray.  In  these  years  also  the  Mercury, 
commanded  by  George  Washington  Ayres,  was  en- 
gaged in  hunting  on  shares  under  a  contract  with 
the  Russians.  Captain  Ayres  lost  some  deserters  in 
California;  but  he  obtained  two  thousand  and  eighty 

"Boston  in  (he  Northoest,  MS.,  12-27.  The  Atahualpa  ia  in  lefts'  Lint 
for  1807,  owned  by  Lyman. 

^GampbelFs  Voy.,  26-7,  42-8.  Tho  author  sailed  on  this  vessel  from 
China  tinder  the  assumed  name  of  McBride.  In  some  of  the  Russian  author- 
ities the  Eclipse  is  spoken  of  as  visiting  the  southern  coast,  being  perhaps 
confounded  with  the  O'Cain. 

*^  Tikhni/nef,  Is'or.  Obovanie,  i.  171;  Grm/s  Hist.  Or.,  15;  Tvjh'  List, 
owned  by  Perkins. 

",?H'«7j'.s  NoHiiwest  Coast,  40G-7,  425,  with  a,  facsimile  of  the  medal ;  Tufts' 
List.  Mr  Tufts,  who  furnished  the  information  published  by  Swan,  was 
supercargo  of  the  Guatimozin  on  this  voyage.  The  vessel  was  wrecked  in 
1810  on  the  New  Jersey  coast. 


OTHER  BOSTON  SHIPS. 


325 


8oa-otter  skins  for  sharing."  Grecnhow  tells  us  that 
Mr  Astor,  in  1809,  "despatched  the  shin  Enterprise, 
under  Captain  Ebbetts,  an  intelligent  and  experienced 
seaman  and  trader,  to  make  observations  at  various 
places  on  the  north-west  coasts  of  America,  and  par- 
ticularly at  the  Russian  settlements,  and  to  prepare 
the  way  for  the  new  establishments;"  but  nothing 
further  is  stated  about  the  voyage."  Captain  Kuskof 
visited  California  in  1809  with  a  view  to  selecting  a 
site  for  the  proposed  Russian  settlement;  but  he  did 
not  touch  on  the  coast  between  Alaska  and  Trinidad, 


IT 


In  1810-11  four  ships,  the  OCdin,  Albatross,  Isa- 
bella, and  Mercimj,  commanded  respectively  by  Jon- 
athan and  Nathan  Winship,  William  H.  Davis,  and 
George  W.  Ayi<^;S,  Wv^re  engaged  in  hunting  otters 
under  Russian  contracts.  They  also  did  a  very  large 
and  profitable  business  in  hunting  fur-seals  on  the 
Farallones  and  at  ot  her  points.  Their  hunting  opera- 
tions were  exclusively  in  southern  waters,  and  are 
recorded  in  another  volume  of  this  work."  It  is  prob- 
able that  they  traded  to  some  extent  in  the  north, 
but  of  their  movements  on  the  Northwest  Coast 
nothing  is  known  beyond  their  trips  to  and  fro  be- 
tween Alaska  and  California.  There  is,  however,  one 
important  exception  to  be  noted  in  the  case  of  the 
Albatross.  The  Winships  had  planned  a  permanent 
settlement  or  trading-post  on  the  Columbia,  and  with 
that  end  in  view  Captain  Nathan,  on  hib  first  arrival 
from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  spent  nearly  two  months, 
from  May  26th  to  July  19th,  in  the  river.  A  site  was 
selected  at  a  place  called  Oak  Point,  on  the  southern 
bank,  about  forty  miles  from  the  mouth.  After  con- 
siderable progress  had  been  made  on  a  building,  and  in 
preparing  land  for  planting,  an  inundation  forced  them 
to  move  the  foundation  to  a  higher  spot  near  by ;  and 

^Bardnof,  Shizneopiasanie.  Ill;  Khlihnikof,  Zapitki,  9;  Arch.  Col.,  MS., 
Prov.  Rec.,  viii.  97-8;  ix.  120;  xii.  283-4. 
**Qremhote'8  Or.  and  CaL,  295. 
*  8ee  Hist.  CaL ,  ii. ,  this  series. 


i 

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st#www!p™ 


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326 


LAST  OF  THE  EXPLORERS. 


41  -^=1^- 


then  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  Indians  caused  the 
project  to  be  abandoned  altogether,  since  although 
the  Indians  might  easily  have  been  controlled  during 
the  ship's  presence,  it  was  not  deemed  safe  to  leave  a 
small  party  exposed  to  such  danger.  Full  particulars 
of  this  earliest  attempt  at  settlement  in  Oregon  will 
be  given  in  a  later  chapter  of  this  work.  Captain 
Ayres  also  entered  the  Columbia  in  the  Mercuri/ 
while  Winship  was  there.  It  seems  that  Ayres 
took  ten  or  twelve  natives  from  the  Nootka  region  to 
serve  in  the  south  as  hunters ;  and  instead  of  brinijincj 
them  back  to  their  home,  as  he  had  promised,  he  left 
them  on  some  desert  islands  on  the  Californian  coast.*" 
Kuskof  started  this  year  on  a  new  expedition  to  Cal- 
ifornia; but  touching  at  Queen  Charlotte  Islands  he 
was  attacked  by  tlie  Indians,  who  killed  several  ot 
his  men  and  left  him  in  such  a  condition  that  he  was 
forced  to  return  to  Alaska.*^ 

Besides  the  four  otter-hunting  craft  in  southern 
waters,  five  vessels  were  seen  in  the  summer  of  1811 
at  Kaigan,  in  the  riorth.  These  were  the  New 
Hazard,  Captain  Nye;  the  Lydia,  Captain  Bennett; 
the  Otter,  Captain  Hill;  ind  two  ships,  not  named, 
under  captains  Porter  and  Blanchard,*"  the  latter's 
vessel  being  the  Catherine,  which  was  hunting  for 
the  Russians  on  shares.  Captain  Blanchard  and 
Captain  Thomas  Meek  of  the  Amethyst  delivered  to 
the  company  this  year  over  fourteen  hundred  sea- 
otter  skins.  The  Charon,  commanded  by  Captain 
Whittemore,  was  another  of  the  hunting  craft,  which 
carried  north  eighteen  hundred  skins,  and  was  found 
at  the  Farallones  by  Winship  the  next  year.*"  The 
Otter  is  said  to  have  been  attacked  by  the  natives  at 
Nootka,  several  of  the  crew  being  killed.'*' 

**Franchcre'8  Nar.,  187. 

"Tikhminef,  fstor.  Ohosranie,  i.  208. 

"Ixjc  of  tho  Albntrosn,  in  Boston  in  the  Nortkioest,  MS.,  56. 

*'KJMbnikof,  Zapiski,  9-10;  Bardnof,  Shizneopissanie,  148-9;  Boston  in 
the. Northwest,  MS.,  62. 

^Peirce's  Memoranda,  MS.,  14.  Tho  ■vriter's  brother,  Joseph,  ■was  on 
bonrd  and  was  voundcd.  Captaui  Hi.  's  i  pnken  of  as  father  of  the  actor 
known  as  Yankee  Hill.    The  date  is  g»>    .  ;:3  1810. 


mf>£icrK^^M«Ki«Mi«*^<^yrii«4fl 


' 


THE  SHIP  TONQUIN. 


327 


The  annals  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  and  the 
foundation  o^'  Astoria  on  the  Columbia  are  presented 
fully  elsewltc.e  in  this  work;    bare  mention  of  the 
subject  in  its  maritime  phases  will  suffice  here.    The 
party  that  actually  founded  the  establislunent  came 
in  the  ship  Tonquin,  Captain  Jonathan  Thorn,  which 
left  New  York  in  September  1810  and  entered  the 
river  in  March  1811.     After  the  crow  had  assisted 
in  t]:8  preliminary  work  of  the  post,  Captain  Thorn 
sailed  for  the  north  to  enjja'jo  in  trade  for  the  com- 
pany.     Two  years  later  a  native  iuterpnjter  who  had 
sailed  on  the  vessel  returned  to  Astoria  with  tlio 
following  report,  as  quoted   from  Greenhow:    "The 
Tonquin,  after  quitting  the  river,  sailed  northward 
along  the  coast  of  the  continent,  and  anchored,  in  the 
middle  of  June,  1811,  opposite  a  village  on  the  bay  of 
Clayoquot,  near  the  entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca. 
She  was  there  immediately  surrounded  by  crowds 
of  Indians  in  canoes,  who  continued  for  some  days  to 
'trade  in  the  most  peaceable  manner,  so  as  to  disarm 
Captain  Thorn  and  Mr  McKay  of  all  suspicions.    At 
length,  either  in  consequence  of  an  aflfront  given  by  a 
chief  to  the  captain,  or  with  the  view  of  plundering 
the  vessel,  the  natives  embraced  an  opportunity  when 
the  men  were  dispersed  on  or  below  the  decks,  in  the 
performance  of  their  duties,  and  in  a  moment  put  to 
death  every  one  of  the  crew  and  passengers,  except 
the  interpreter,  who  leaped  into  a  canoe,  and  was  saved 
by  some  women,  and  the  clerk,  Mr  Lewis,  who  re- 
treated, with  a  few  sailors,  to  the  cabin.    The  survivors 
of  the  c  rew,  by  the  employment  of  their  fire-arms,  suc- 
ceeded in  driving  the  savages  from  the  ship;  and,  in 
the  night,  four  of  them  quitted  her  in  a  boat,  leaving 
on  board  Mr  Lewis  and  some  otliers,  who  were  severely 
wounded.     On  the  foUcjwing  day,  the  natives  again 
crowded  around  and  on  board  the  J'onquini  and  while 
they  were  engaged  in  rifling  her,  she  was  blown  up, 
most  probably  by  tho  wounded  men  left  below  deck. 
The  seamen   who   had   endeavored  to  escape  it^  tho 


an  LAST  OF  THE  EXPLORERS. 

boat  were  soon  retaken,  and  put  to  death  in  a  most 
cruel  manner,  by  the  Indians ;  the  interpreter  was  pre- 
served, and  remained  in  slavery  two  years,  at  the  end 
of  which  time  he  was  suffered  to  depart.""  It  should 
also  be  stated  here  that  a  schooner  of  thirty  tons,  the 
frame  for  which  had  been  l^rought  from  New  York, 
was  launched  on  the  2d  of  October,  named  the  Dolly, 
and  used  thereafter  for  river  navigation,  being  too 
small  for  coasting  voyages,  for  which  she  had  been 
intended.^'' 


>',-i!>'' 


Captain  Jofiathan  Winship  tKtlt0%tAi  on  the  AUxt- 

tross  to  California  in  1812  for  lUte  ymfyrmti  ^mn^  up 
his  fur-trading  aivi  hunting  f>|>r;rit*^Ky»-.-  haviriv  made 
arrangements  ♦'o  <.Mabark  in  a  ik-w  enterprise,  X,i>tt 
sandal-wood  trade.  He  did  not  go  farther  north  than 
Drake  Bay  on  this  trip,  and  this  seems  to  have  been 
his  last  visit  to  the  western  coas  ,  thou^i  we  shall 
meet  th«  vessel  again."    The  only  vessel  known  to 

**Oriitnhoio'a  Or.  and  Col.,  300;  /rvini/x  Agtoria,  45-84,  106-16;  Gabriel 
Fv«»e'ii^re  came  out  on  the  Tonquin,  and  in  his  Narnitive  of  a  VoyagtjfffW 
a  fill  account  of  the  trip.  This  )x>ok,  pp.  180-9,  also  coutaina  the  vBtM^ 
acccHint  of  the  massacre,  as  repoi-ted  by  the  Indian  interpreter.  Cafmfi 
Smith  of  the  Albatross,  according  to  Franch^re,  attributed  the  disaster  largel/ 
to  the  action  of  Captain  Ayres  of  tlio  Mercury,  who,  as  already  noted,  djkI 
taken  ten  or  a  dozen  natives  of  the  Nootka  region  as  hunters,  and  had  failed 
to  return  them  to  their  homes.  I  shall  give  c,  full  description  of  the  voyage 
and  capture  of  the  Tonquin  in  connection  with  the  Astor  expeditione. 

^'Franchere'sNar.,  130. 

^  I  quote  from  Boston  in  the  Northwest,  MS.,  p.  68  et  seq.,  as  follows: 
'The  captaiis  Winship  returnoJ  to  Boston  during  1816  and  retired  from  the 
•ea . . .  Aad  iww,  in  parting  with  the  nautical  part  of  Captain  Jonathan  Win- 
ahip's  Ufe,  a  passing  tribute  is  due  to  him  as  a  commander  The  writer  was 
personally  acquainted  with  him,  and  gladly  records  his  owi.  opinion  with  the 
testimony  of  other  men  of  the  sea  who  knew  him  intimately.  As  an  early 
pioneer  to  the  North- West  coast,  and  as  agent  for  the  company  and  chief  in 
command  of  the  Hhii)s  of  tlic  expedition,  lie  must  fn-quently  I'-tve  }>een  called 
tii  the  firmest  exertion  of  authority  and  command.  His  human.-ty  ix  apparent 
from  his  treatment  of  '..lie  natives,  while  the  health,  the  oonveuienc«,  and  as 
far  as  it  could  be  admitted,  the  enjoyment  of  bin  seamen  were  the  conetant 
objects  of  his  attention :  kind  and  courteous  to  all,  he  was  manly  and  honor- 
able in  the  transactions  of  the  multifarious  biieinebs  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
whether  with  the  savages  of  Nootka  Sound,  the  savage  ku>g  of  the  Islands, 
or  the  more  civilized  subjects  of  the  Flowery  Kingdom.  As  u  seaman  and 
navigator  he  ranked  among  the  foremost.  His  brother  appears  to  have  been  a 
counterpart  of  himself,  and  an  able  cooperator. .  .Captain  Winship  was  sorely 
disappointed  at  the  result  of  his  brother's  attempt  at  the  [Columbia]  River; 
lie  hoped  to  have  planteu  a  Garden  of  Eden  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  and 
made  that  wilderness  to  blossom  like  the  rose.    Repulsed  on  the  western  slope 


1812  AND  THE  WAR. 

have  i:ouched  the  Northwest  Coast  in  1812  was  the 
Beat'er,  command(!d  by  Captain  CorneHus  Sowles. 
She  brought  from  New  York  another  detachment  of 
Astor's  fur  company,  and  entered  the  Columbia  on 
the  10th  of  May.  She  left  the  river  in  August  and 
proceeded  on  a  trading  tour  up  the  coast.  The  inten- 
tion was  to  return  to  Astoria,  but  the  vessel  proceeded 
instead  from  Sitka  to  the  Sandwich  Itjlands  and  to 
China,  where  she  remained  during  the  war  between 
England  and  the  United  States." 

The  war  of  1812-14  caused  a  complete  stagnation 
in  maritime  alTairs  on  the  Northwest  Coast.  Only  two 
vessels  are  known  to  have  reached  the  Columbia  in 
1813.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  P^nglish  vessels 
at  this  time  were  engaged  in  the  fur-trade;  and  the 
American  traders,  fearing  with  mucli  reason  capture 
by  British  cruisers,  hastened  to  take  refuge  in  neutral 
ports  on  receipt  of  the  news  that  hostilities  had  begun. 
The  Beaver  from  Astoria,  having  lauded  Mr  Hunt, 
chief  agent  of  Aster's  company,  at  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  was  fortunate  enough,  as  we  have  seen,  to 
reach  Canton.  "I  had  sent  orders  to  the  captain 
to  return  to  Astoria;  but  he  was  feai'ful  of  beinsf 
cjtptured,  and  remained  safely  at  Canton  till  the  war 
was  over,  when  he  came  home.""  The  O'Cain  and 
Isal/ella  are  said  to  have  been  blockaded  at  the  Sand- 
wicli  Islands  for  nearly  three  years,  while  the  Charon 
was  so  unlucky  as  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  foe."* 
Anothtn-  well  known  vessel  of  the  fleet,  engaged  in 
the  Russian,  fur-hunting,  and  contraband  service,  the 

of  the  continent,  he  returued  to  the  cu  tern. .  .In  his  native  town  of  Brighton 
he  laid  out  and  cultivated  the  most  extensive  gardens  of  tho  kind  then  ex- 
isting on  the  continent  of  America,  filled  with  the  choicest  plants  and  shrub- 
bery .  .  .  His  latter  yeara  were  ixsacefully  spciit  among  beds  of  flowers.  He  died 
among  his  roses.    How  useful  and  honorable  the  life — how  beautiful  its  close.' 

**Ross  Cox,  Advmlures  on  Ifie  Columbia  River,  came  out  on  board  of  tho 
Beaver.  See  also  Gr&'.iihow'a  Or.  and  Cat.,  iJO.?,  299;  Astor's  letter,  in  /</.,  440; 
Franchere's  Nar.,  154-01 ;  Irvlng's  Asloria,  355-8,  465-73. 

**  Astor's  letter  in  Oreeiihow't  Or.  and  Cal. ,  440. 

^Boston  in  the  Northwest,  MS. ,  63.  The  author  innludes  tho  A  Ibairoas  with 
the  others;  and  it  if,  '{)os«ible  that  she  was  Jetainud  at  the  Islands  after  her 
return  from  the  Cpiumbia  in  1S13. 


f 


Ml 


^  1 

,1  '1 


t   : 


mm:> 


330 


LAST  OP  THE  EXPLORERS. 


Mercury,  although  she  kept  out  of  the  way  of  British 
men-of-war,  was  captured  by  the  Spaniards  in  June 
near  Santa  Barbara,  Cahfornia,  and  was  confiscated 
as  a  smuggler,"^  The  government  at  Washington 
could  send  no  protection  either  for  American  shipping 
in  the  western  ocean  or  for  the  American  trading-post 
on  the  Columbia.  England  increased  the  force  of  her 
Pacific  squadron,  and  at  last  succeeded  in  capturing 
the  frigate  Essex,  Commodore  Porter,  the  only  United 
States  man-of-war  in  these  waters.  Meanwhile  early 
in  1813  Mr  Astor  despatched  the  ship  Xar^-,  laden  with 
supplies  for  the  Columbia  River;  but  this  vessel  was 
wrecked  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  both  ship  and  cargo 
being  a  total  loss.** 

In  June  the  Albatross,  Captain  Winship,  arrived  at 
the  Islands  from  the  Indies  with  the  news  that  war 
had  broken  out,  and  that  fear  of  English  cruisers  had 
forced  lier  and  her  three  consorts — perhaps  the  Isa- 
bella, O'Cain,  and  Charon — to  sail  precipitately,  re- 
porting also  the  detention  of  the  Beaver  at  Canton. 
The  Albatross  had  on  board  some  goods  for  Astoria; 
and  she  was  chartered,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
"William  Smith,  to  carry  these  goods  and  other  sup- 
plies with  chief  agent  Hunt  to  the  Columbia.  She 
arrived  at  Astoria  on  the  4th  of  August,  remaining 
in  the  river  until  the  end  of  the  month.  Meanwhile 
the  resident  partners  and  others  had  determined  to 
abandon  tl.\e  post  in  consequence  of  the  war.  Mr 
Hunt  was  oNicred  against  his  will  to  concur  in  this 
resolve;  and  as  Captain  Smith's  vessel  was  under  en- 
gagements that  did  not  permit  her  to  wait  and  carry 
away  the  people  and  their  effects  as  was  desired,  the 
agent  returned  on  her  to  the  Islands  in  search  for 
another  vessel  to  efiect  the  removal.®* 

'■'For  particulars  sse  Hist.  CaL,  ii.,  thia  series. 

^"Aator's  letter,  as  before  cited. 

^^Francherc's  Nar.;  Oneiihow'sOr.  anil  Cal.;  Irmng'aAHtori<u4ll"  "  ' -■ 'i. 
It.  is  not  necessary  to  give  ininute  references  here,  as  the  aiuials  .i 

are  to  be  fully  recorded  in  later  chapters  of  this  work.  *.'aptau,  >inuii's 
eichtli  voyage  round  the  wnrM  is  described  in  Sile^'  Re'jiMfi,  xviii.  418,  a* 
fellows:    'Sailed  July  (i,  130'X  in  Iho  slii^i  Albatros,  Natliac  Winship,  muster, 


FORT  GEORGE. 


331 


Besides  the  traders,  most  of  which  managed  to  keep 
out  of  danger,  the  Columbia  post  was  the  only  })rize 
exposed  to  capture  by  British  cruisers.  One  of  the 
several  men-of-war  sent  to  the  Pacific  was  detached 
from  the  squadron  for  this  purpose  in  the  southern 
ocean.  This  was  the  sloop-of-war  Raccoon,  of  twenty- 
six  guns,  commanded  by  Captain  William  Black.  Slwi 
arrived  at  Astoria  on  the  last  day  of  NovemlNjr, 
but  before  that  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  had  sold 
out  the  whole  establishment  to  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany, so  that  all  was  now  British  property.  Formal 
possession  was  taken,  however,  for  England  on  De- 
cember 12th;  the  British  flag  was  raised,  and  the 
name  was  changed  from  Astoria  to  Fort  George. 
After  making  some  surve  >-s  at  the  river's  mouth,  the 
Raccoon  sailed  for  the  south  at  the  end  of  December, 
her  officers  much  disappointed  at  the  profitless  char- 
acter of  their  seizure.  They  had  expected  to  secure 
not  only  an   American   fort,   but   divers   American 

und  returned  in  tho  ship  O'Cain.  Robert  McNeill,  master,  October  15,  1817. 
For  about  seven  years  of  this  voyage  he  commanded  the  Alhairos,  which  vessel 
waa  employed  about  four  years  of  the  time  in  transporting  sandal  wood  from 
the  Sandwich  islands  to  Caaiton,  for  capts  Wm.  11.  Davis  and  Jona.  Win- 
ship.  .  .but  in  consequence  of  the  war,  and  tho  arrival  of  the  English  sloops  of 
war  RaccouH  and  Ch^ruh,  tho  contract  was  broken,  through  the  interference 
of  tho  commanders  of  those  vessels ;  the  remainder  of  tho  time  capt.  Smith  was 
cruising  in  the  Pacific  ocean  in  quest  of  seal  islands,  and  trading  on  the  coast  of 
California.  On  this  coast.  Laving  gone  ashore  in  the  boat,  he  was  taken  prisoner 
by  tho  Spaniards  with  his  boat's  crew,  and  after  a  detention  of  two  months  was 
released,  and  proceeded  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  ho  joined  the  sliip 
O'Cain,  in  which  he  came  home. '  By  tho  same  authority  it  appears  that  on  his 
ninth  voyage  on  the  i/o7Vico,  which  left  Boston  in  1817,  he  was  wrecked  January 
28, 1819,  iiearKaigan,  among  the  Haidahs,  losing  all  his  journaln  of  earlier  voy- 
ages, lie  returned  to  Boston  in  1820,  and  subsequently  ciiinu  to  California, 
wliere  he  spent  tho  rest  of  his  life  when  not  engaged  in  pleasure  voyages  on  tho 
Pacific.  Something  alx)ut  this  man's  life  will  bo  found  in  connection  with  the 
History  of  California.  The  author  of  Bonton  in  the  Northwest,  MS.,  03  etse:]., 
gives  an  account  of  tlio  wtndal-wood  contract  and  the  way  it  was  broken.  The 
AlbalroHs  perhaps  cairieu  the  Wiiisliips  bark  to  Boston  in  1810,  and  never 
returned  to  tho  Facilic.  I  quote  from  this  MS.  as  follows:  '  The  merchants 
'•f  lk)Mton  sent  out  the  fast  sailing  schooner  Tam(uihinauh  to  the  Pacilic  at 
tho  commencement  of  tho  war,  to  warn  tlio  ^Vmerican  whip-  on  tho  north-west 
coast  of  their  danger.  The  warning  was  a  tunely  one,  ain:  those  at  tho  Rus- 
sian ports,  and  at  the  S«uidwich  Islands,  mostly  remained  at  the  neutral  ports 
where  the  schooner  foimd  them.  ^lost  of  their  turs  and  S'  «me  of  their  cniws 
were  taken  down  to  China  by  the  Taniaahmaah,  iin<ler  tlic  rommand  of 
Captain  Por.  n:  The  sliip  Jacoi-  Jottes  was  fittetl  nt.  ni  liostou,  and  sailed 
during  the  wur  under  the  command  of  C'aptaui  Roiierta.  She  was  a  heavily 
armed  iettu*  ol'  iiMU'que  lw)uud  to  Canton. ' 


IMI-i 


889  LAST  OF  THE  EXPLO'^'''^.°. 

trading  craft  laden  with  rich  furs  as  prizes.*"  From 
the  Columbia  the  Raccoon  ran  down  the  coast,  and 
in  the  middle  of  February  made  her  appearance  in 
San  Francisco  Bay.  Captain  Black  boasted  of  having 
captured  an  American  battery  in  the  north;  but  in  a 
subsequent  collision  with  another  vessel  his  sloop  had 
received  some  injuries,  which  with  his  need  of  sup- 
plies brought  him  to  California.  He  departed  for  the 
Sandwich  Islands  on  the  19th  of  April.*^ 

Meanwhile  Mr  Hunt  at  the  Hawaiian  Islands  ob- 
tained the  brig  Pcdlerf^  and  taking  on  board  Captain 
Northrop  with  the  survivors  of  the  unfortunate  Lark, 
sailed  for  Astoria,  where  he  arrive^  at  the  end  of 
February  1814,  only  to  learn  of  the  transfer  of  the 
property  to  an  English  company.  He  accoixlingly 
took  on  board  a  few  Americans  who  had  not  joined 
the  Northwest  Company  and  preferred  a  sea  voyage 
to  the  overland  trip,  sailing  early  in  April  for  New 
York."^  He  is  said  to  have  reached  his  destina- 
tion after  a  tedious  voyage,  impliedly  performed  for 
the  whole  distance  on  the  Pedler.  One  event  of  the 
voyage  v.  as  the  brig's  capture  at  San  Luis  Obispo  in 
August  by  a  Spanish  vessel.  The  charge  of  smuggling 
could  not  be  substantiated,  and  she  was  released.  The 
story  told  at  the  investigation  was  that  fehe  had  come 
from  the  Sandwich  Islands  with  a  cargo  for  Ross,  en- 

^Franchert's  Nar.,  196-202 ;  Cox^a  Adven.,  i.  266  et  saq.;  Irving' s  Astoria, 
486-8. 

«MrcA.  CaL,  MS.,  Prov.  Rec.  xii.  226-8;  ix.  132-3;  Prov.  St.  Pop.,xix. 
308-70;  Zavcdishin,  Delo  o  Rofontf  Rosk,  (i;  SonU's  A/anala  of  San  Frnnciaeo. 
Cox,  Adven.,  i.  285-6,  aaya:  'Thia  ve^el,  on  quittint  the  Columbia,  struck 
8ov(^ral  times  on  the  bar.  and  was  so  severely  damatitii-  in  consequence,  that 
sho  w.'is  obliged  to  make  for  San  Francisco,  which  port  she  reached  in  a  sink- 
ing state,  with  seven  feet  of  water  in  her  hold.  ErnHa^  it  imfmstiiblu  to  pro- 
cure the  necessary  materials  there  to  repair  the  itmrngs.  Captain  Black  and 
his  officers  iiad  determined  to  abandon  the  vessel,  and  proeaed  overland  to  the 
(iiilf  of  Mexico. .  .but  when  the  haac  Tod  arrived  they  mmmmied,  with  her 
ab.sist'ince,  in  stopping  the  leaks. ' 

*!'  Franchfere  save  she  was  porchased  at  the  Marquesas :  Cox  and  Irving, 
that  she  was  purchased  at  Oahu  ;  and  Greenhow  that  she  was  chartered  at  the 
Sandwich  Islanoxi. 

'^Coz,  Adven.,  i.  276,  states  that  Hunt  afterward  becwBc  goveraor  of 
MissonrL 


> 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 


tering  San  Luis  because  she  mistook  her  captor  for 
a  Russian  ship,  to  which  a  part  of  the  cargo  was  to 
be  dehvered.  The  vessel  had  both  American  and 
Russian  passport's.  The  officers  had  nothing  to  say 
of  affairs  at  Astoria,  though  one  of  them  admitted 
that  they  had  touclied  at  the  Columbia." 

Another  vessel  of  the  year  was  the  ship  Isaac  Todd, 
commanded  by  Captain  IVazer  Smith.  She  had  been 
despatched  from  London  with  a  cargo  of  supplies  for 
the  Northwest  Company,  as  part  of  the  scheme  for 
seizing  the  American  establishment;  and  her  arrival 
had  been  expected  by  representatives  of  the  English 
company  who  came  overland  to  Astoria.  The  Todd 
carried  a  letter  of  marque,  and  started  with  the 
Raccoon  and  other  men-of-war,  but  parted  from  them 
before  entering  the  Pacific,  and,  having  touched  at 
Juan  Fernandez  and  the  Gallapagos,  made  her  appear- 
ance at  Monterey  in  January  1814,  and  subsequently 
met  the  Itaccooa,  perhaps  at  San  Francisco.  The  story 
of  Captain  Smith  in  California — it  would  never  dc  >  to 
tell  the  Spaniards  the  truth — was  that  the  Todd  v/as 
an  Eno^lish  mcrchautnian  bound  to  ^fanila  for  a  carj^o 
of  tea.  She  lost  several  deserters  and  Icit  tliree  men 
to  recover  from  the  scurvy.  The  former  were  carried 
away  by  th-;  Raccoon;  and  one  of  the  latter  was  John 
Gilroy,  the  first  permanent  foreign  resident  of  Cali- 
fornia. She  finally  reached  Fort  George  on  the  I7th 
of  April,  greatly  to  the  relief  of  the  company,  several 
partners  and  clerks  of  which  were  on  board,  as  well  as 
much  needed  supplies;  and  she  soon  sailed  for  China.®' 

In  1 8 1 5  the  Northwest  Company  sent  their  schooner 
Columbia  down  to  California  under  the  command  of 
Captain  John  Jennings.     Where  this  schooner  came 


8Mrc/i.  CaL,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xix.  383;  Id.,  Ben.  Mil,  xlv.  3-0; 
Prov.  Rec,  ix.  13G;  Arch.  Arzobispado,  MS.,  ii.  101. 

•^'••Arch.  CaL,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xix.  368-70;  Prov.  Pec,  xii.  220-1; 
Cox'it  Adi'en.,  i.  '285-6;  Franchcre'^  Nar.,  191.  Cox  gives  an  amusing  occount 
of  tiie  advent  of  Miss  Jane  IJames,  an  Eiiglisli  bar-maid,  wliom  ouu  of  tljo 
company  men  hatl  l)rought  aa  u,  comjHujiinn  de  voijtuje,.  .She  wont  liack  to 
China  f>n  the  Todd,  and  did  not  therefoiu  become  a  i)ermanunt  resilient  of  the 
Nortliwcst  Coast. 


SM  LAST  OF  THE  EXPLORERS. 

from  does  not  appear,  there  being  a  possibility  that 
it  was  the  little  Dolly,  purchased  from  the  Pacific 
company  with  the  other  property.  Jennings  had  no 
trouble  in  getting  all  the  supplies  he  needed  for  his 
vessel,  but  he  failed  in  his  chief  purpose,  that  of 
establishing  a  regular  trade  between  Monterey  and 
Fort  George,  and  of  leaving  an  agent  in  California. 
The  Spaniards  were  suspicious  that  contraband  and 
not  legitimate  trade  was  the  aim.  Governor  Sola 
favored  the  traflSc,  but  would  not  permit  it  without 
instructions  from  Mexico;  and  those  instructions, 
when  they  came,  were  unfavorable.**  Two  Russian 
vessels,  the  Chirikof  and  Ilmen,  were  in  California 
this  year,  the  latter  being  engaged  in  fur-hunting  as 
well  as  trade;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  the  Russian 
craft,  in  their  constant  trips  between  Sitka,  Ross, 
and  the  Spanish  ports  in  these  years,  came  at  all 
into  contact  with  the  Englishmen  of  the  Columbia, 
or  even  touched  on  the  coast  between  the  latitude  of 
42°  and  55°. 


Notwithstanding  the  refusal  of  Governor  Sola  in 
1815  to  permit  the  establishment  of  trade  between 
California  and  the  Northwest  Company  at  Fort 
George,  it  seems  that  the  company's  schooner  was 
expected  to  return  in  1816,  and  that  the  missionaries 
had  promised  a  cargo  of  produce  in  exchange  for  much 
needed  goods.  The  governor  indeed  permitted  them 
to  do  so  finally,  confessing  to  the  Mexican  authorities 
that  he  acted  illegally,  but  pleading  urgent  necessity. 
The  Columbia  did  not  come,  but  in  her  place  the  Com- 
pany's brig  Colonel,  commanded  by  Captain  Daniel 
with  McDougall  as  supercargo.  She  arrived  at  Mon- 
terey late  in  August  and  obtained  Hour,  wine,  and  other 

<'^Arch.  Cal,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xix.  387-9,  39S-9;  Prov.  liec,  ix. 
L35,  1.37;  Dept.  St.  Pap.,  iv.  156-8;  Guerra,  Doc.  Hist.  Cal,  MS.,  rii.  11. 
Antonio  Rocha,  a  Portuguese,  was  left  in  California  on  this  trip.  The 
schooner  visited  Bodt,ga  also.  According  to  a  statement  in  Brooks'  Japanese 
Wrwks,  10,  the  Forrester,  Captain  Pickett,  was  on  the  Califomian  coast 
this  year ;  and  the  Forrester  is  also  mentioned  as  under  tlie  connnand  of  John 
Jennings  in  1813.     There  may  be  some  confusion  of  name  and  vessels  here. 


THE  TRAVELLER. 


335 


{)roducts  to  the  value  of  about  seventy  thousand  dol- 
ars,  for  the  northern  hunters.  I  know  nothing  about 
the  movements  of  the  company's  vessels  in  these  years 
except  what  is  learned  from  Californian  records."'' 

I  have  no  record  of  any  other  vessel  that  actu- 
ally touched  at  the  Columbia  or  on  any  part  of 
the  Northwest  Coast  in  18 IG.  Two  American  craft, 
however,  coming  from  the  Russian  establishments  in 
Alaska  were  in  trouble  in  January  on  the  Californian 
coast,  probably  by  reason  of  their  smuggling  proclivi- 
ties. Their  adventures  arc  fully  described  in  another 
part  of  this  work,  having  but  a  slight  bearing  on  my 
present  topic.  One  was  the  schooner  Z^ri/a,  Captain 
Honry  Gyzelaar,  which  was  seized  with  her  crew  and 
detained  for  several  months.  The  other  was  our 
old  acquaintance,  the  Albatross,  still  commanded  by 
Captain  Smith,  who  pretended  to  be  bound  from 
New  Archangel  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  ship 
escaped  capture;  but  Smith  with  a  boat's  crew  was 
taken.  The  charge  of  smuggling  could  not  be  proved 
and  the  prisoners  were  released,  sailing  on  the  Lydia 
in  March.  The  Albatross  on  reaching  the  Islands 
seems  to  have  sailed  for  Boston  with  Captain  Win- 
ship,  never  to  visit  the  Pacific  again;  Captain  Smith 
went  to  Boston  on  the  O'Cain  the  next  year.^^  Two 
other  Boston  ships  which  entered  Californian  ports 
this  year,  bound  ostensibly  to  or  from  Sitka,  were  the 
Sultan  or  Sultana,  and  the  Atala  or  Atlas,  the  latter 
under  Captain  Kelley,  and  the  former  perhaps  under 
Captain  Reynolds. 

The  Traveller,  a  schooner  commanded  by  James 
Smith  Wilcox,  came  to  Santa  Bdrbara  in  January 
1817,  and  spent  a  large  part  of  the  year  on  the  Cali- 
fornian coast,  the  captain  being  on  most  friendly  terms 

''''Arch.  Santa  Bdrbara,  MS.,  ix.  197-303;  Arch.  Arzohispado,  MS.,  iii. 
pt.  i.  62-5,  71,  87-97,  120-1;  Arch.  Cat,  MS.,  Prov.  lice,  ix.  144-50. 

^Albatross  and  Lydia,  Comunicacianen,  etc.,  MS.  A  full  account  of  the 
whole  aiFair,  with  numerous  references  to  original  papers,  is  given  in  Hist.  t'al. , 
ii.,  this  series.  See  note  59  of  this  chapter  for  ineation  of  Smith's  captivity  in 
■a  quotation  from  Nilea'  Register. 


f' 


330 


LAST  OF  THE  EXPLORERS. 


with  the  Spanish  authorities  and  people,  That  this 
vessel  came  down  from  Sitka  is  the  only  reason  for 
naming  her  here.** 

The  Bordelais,  a  French  merchantman  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  Camillc  do  Roquefeuil  of  tho 
navy,  engaged  in  a  voyage  round  the  world,  with  a 
view  not  only  to  immediate  trade  but  to  a  prospective 
enlargement  of  national  commerce,  coming  from  San 
Francisco,  arrived  at  Nootka  at  tho  beginning  of  Sep- 
tember. This  was  the  first  visit  to  Nootka,  since 
Jewitt's  disastrous  experience,  of  which  we  liave  any 
details,  and  it  is  the  last  trading  voyage  to  be  described 
in  connection  with  my  present  topic — that  of  maritime 
exploration.  At  Nootka  Boquefeuil  was  well  received, 
and  soon  had  a  visit  from  the  old  chieftain  Maquinna, 
who  was  saluted  with  sev(3n  guns,  and  was  as  ready 
for  barter  as  in  times  of  old,  showing  himself  "an  im- 
portunate and  insatiable  beggar,  as  Vancouver  describes 
him,  and  not  tho  generous  prince  that  Meares  would 
make  him,'""'  After  a  stay  of  three  weeks,  in  wliicli 
tho  region  of  the  sound  was  pretty  thoroughly  ex- 
plored, the  Frenchman  went  down  to  Barclay  Sound, 
where  some  furs  were  obtained  before  the  Bordelais 
started  for  California  early  in  October.  I  append 
some  not  very  clear  information  derived  from  the 
natives  respecting  the  fur-traders  on  the  coast  in  late 
years.  It  would  seem  that  the  Indians  were  as  much 
in  the  dark  on  the  subject  as  modern  writers  have 
been." 

«» Wilcox,  Cartas  Variaa,  1817,  MS. 

'" '  Noak  [an  inferior  chief  with  whom  the  Frenchman  had  much  to  do] 

fave  me  an  account  of  tho  death  of  Cfinicum  [Callicum],  who  was  killed  by 
lartines,  whom  he  had  bitterly  reproa-jhed,  callmg  him  a  robber,  on  account 
of  tho  plundering  of  a  hut  by  his  prople.  Except  thia  officer,  tho  natives 
speak  well  of  the  Spaniards,  and  have  adopted  many  words  of  their  lan- 
guage.' Voy.,  29. 

'' '  Swauimdich, . .  lived  at  Tchinouk,  behind  Cape  Flattery, . .  assured  mo 
tliat  there  were  at  that  place  four  Americans,  who  were  left  by  a  vessel  from 
New  York.  He  named  three  very  distinctly,  Messrs  Clark,  Lewis,  ajid  Keaii. 
They  had  a  house  of  their  own,  in  which  they  were  to  pass  tho  winter:  ho  told 
me  that  several  ships  came  every  year,  and  mentioned  an  English  vessel  called 
the  Ocean.'  Noak  told  me  that  at  Nootka  'the  English  formerly  had  a  house, 
that  the  Span  iards  had  a  larger  one,  but  that  both  were  abandoned.  IIo  added 
that  thirty  mmtlis  before  an  En^'lijh  vessel  liad  come  into  the  cove,  the  captain 


M.  CAMILLK  DE  ROQUKFEUIL. 


m 


After  a  trip  to  the  ISIarqucsas,  whore  he  mot 
Captain  Sowles,  formerly  of  the  Beaver,  Roquefeiiil 
came  back  to  Now  Archangel  in  April  1818,  where 
ho  formed  a  contract  to  h*  nt  sea-otters  on  joint  ac- 
count with  the  Russians:'  This  enterprise  having 
failed,  the  trading  voyage  was  resumed,  and  tlie 
Bordelais  coasting  southward  reached  the  latitude  of 
55°  about  the  middle  of  August.  She  entered  Perez 
Strait  under  the  American  flag  and  otherwise  dis- 
guised, in  the  hope  of  seizing  Indians  to  bo  held 
lor  ransom,  and  thus  avenging  past  wrongs  at  tlieir 
hands;  but  this  plan  not  being  successful,  Roquefeuil 
steered  for  Port  Estrada  and  enjjaged  in  trade  along 
the  northern  shore  of  Queen  Charlotte,  not  with 
nmch  profit  for  lack  of  suitable  articles  for  barter. 
Passing  down  the  strait  between  the  island  and  the 
main,  he  arrived  at  Nootka  on  the  5th  of  Septembta-. 
Maquinna  gave  his  visitors  a  warm  welcome,  and 
though  lie  had  not  collected  the  skins  promised  the 
year  before,  he  showed  an  unabated  willingness  to 
receive  presents.  I  append  in  a  note  some  interesting 
items  about  old-time  happenings  at  this  port  as  ob- 
tained from  the  aijed  chieftain.''^    The  southern  ruler 

of  which  had  a  wooden  leg,  and  that  ho  stopped  only  three  days :  that  before 
that,  and  after  the  departure  of  the  Englisli  and  Spaniards,  only  two  vessels 
had  entered  the  I'ay,  one  English,  the  other  American ;  that  they  had  anchored 
at  Mawna;  that  at  present,  and  for  a  long  time  since,  his  countrymen  sent  tho 
furs  to  Naspat(5  (at  the  western  extremity  of  tho  island),  where  they  exchanged 
them  for  handsomer  blankets  than  ours. ' 

"  '  Ho  tlien  explained,  in  a  very  intelligible  manner,  that  he  had  concluded 
a  treaty  with  the  Spaniards,  wliich  he  made  us  understand  by  signs,  had  bei^n 
put  in  writing ;  that  by  this  convention  he  had  ceded  to  them  a  piece  of 
ground,  on  tlie  coast  of  tlie  bay,  in  return  for  a  quantity  of  iron  instrumeuts, 
woollens,  etc.,  which  they  delivered  to  him  at  stated  periods;  that  they  livecl 
together  on  the  most  friendly  footing,  (tho  Spaniards  occupying  ono  part  of 
the  cove  and  the  Indians  the  other);  that  they  had  built  large  houses,  and 
erected  batteries  upon  the  little  Islands  at  the  entrance ;  that  their  presence 
was  very  advantageous  to  him,  well  as  on  account  of  tho  useful  tlungs  which 
he  received  from  tliem,  as  the  terror  they  inspired  into  his  enemies.  Ho  ex- 
pressed great  regret  at  their  departure,  spoke  in  high  terms  of  the  com- 
manders, Cuadra,  Alava,  and  Fidalgo,  and  gave  to  all  tlio  Spaniartls  in  general, 
except  to  Martinez,  praises. .  .Macouina  spoke  also  in  praise  of  Vancouver, 
Broughtou,  and  the  English  captains  who  frequented  Nootka  at  tho  same 
time.  He  mentioned,  among  others,  Meares,  wlio,  he  said,  had  built  a  small 
house,  in  a  place  which  ho  pointed  out  to  me,  in  tho  western  extremity  of  tho 
village.  I  took  this  opportunity  to  obtain,  at  the  fountaiii-liead,  information 
on  a  subject  M-hich  h:i:i  become  i.iteruatii. '.;,  ou  account  of  the  quarrel  to  which 
IIlsT.  N'.W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    22 


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LAST  OF  THE  EXPLOREES. 


Wicananish  was  understood  to  be  still  in  power  at 
Clayoquot  Sound,  but  was  not  visited.  After  a 
week's  ftay  at  Nootka,  the  Bordelais  sailed  again  for 
California,  there  to  obtain  with  considerable  diflSculty 
a  cargo  of  produce,  which  was  carried  to  Sitka  in  Oc- 
tober; after  which  M.  Roquefeuil,  leaving  the  coast 
in  December,  sailed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  China, 
and  France,  reaching  home  in  November  1819,  after 
a  voyage  of  thirty-seven  months  around  the  world." 
In  Alaskan  waters  Roquefeuil  met  two  vessels 
which  apparently  had  touched  at  diflterent  points 
below  latitude  55°  in  1817-18,  though  no  particulars 
about  their  movements  are  given.  One  was  the 
Boston  brig  Brutus,  Captain  Nye,  which  seems  to 
have  traded  on  the  shores  of  Queen  Charlotte; 
and  the  other  was  the  British  brig  Columbia,  com- 
mander not  named,  which  had  left  England  in  1817, 
and  had  perhaps  visited  the  Columbia  River.  The 
same  vessel  is  said  to  have  touched  at  Monterey  in 
September,  coming  from  the  north."  The  only  foreign 
trailer  of  the  year  besides  the  Bordelais  mentioned  in 
the  Califomian  records  is  the  Clarion,  Captain  Gyze- 
laar,  from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  not  known  to  have 
visited  the  northern  ports,  though  she  probably  did 
so."  There  are,  however,  both  in  Roquefeuil's  narra- 
tive and  in  the  Californian  records  a  few  vague  allu- 
sions to  American  trading  craft  not  named,  and  which 
there  are  no  means  of  identifying. 

it  gave  rise.  The  resalt  of  my  inquiry  was,  that  Meares'  house  had  been  built 
with  the  permission  of  Maicouiiia,  but  that  there  had  not  been  any  act  of  ces- 
sion or  treaty  between  them.  These,  then,  are  the  buildings  erectetl  by  Meares, 
and  hia  righta  to  districts  and  portions  of  land,  rights  which  England  pretends 
were  transferred  to  it  by  Meares,  who  went  from  Macao  to  America,  under  the 
Portuguese  flag,  without  any  public  character  whatever.  Such  was  the 
subject  of  the  quarrel,  which  was  on  the  point  of  kindling  a  war  between  the 
three  great  maritime  powers,  in  1790,  and  for  which  France  alone  fitted  out  43 
shim  of  the  line.'   Toy..  96-7. 

"A  Vouaije  ro»n.l  the  world  bettoeen  the  years  1816-1819.  By  M.  Camille 
lie  lioque/euil,  in  tht  tkip  Lt  Bordelais,  London,  1S23,  8vo,  112  pp.  This  work 
is  printed  in  EIngiish  as  part  of  the  New  Voyaijes  and  Travels,  ix.  The  French 
original,  if  any  was  nubli&bed,  I  have  not  seen.  M.  Roquefeuil  gives  inter- 
estwg  descriptions  ot  the  varioni  countries  and  peoples  visited. 

^*lio4jut/eiiir»  Voyage,  81-2,  85,  107. 

"Onerro,  Doe.  IliM,  Col.,  MS.,  iii  110,  80-90. 


THE  ONTARIO  AND  BLOSSOM. 


330 


The  United  States  sloop-of-war  0/itor/o, commanded 
by  Captain  J.  Biddle,  visited  the  Columbia  in  1818. 
By  the  treaty  ending  the  war  of  1812  all  places 
taken  by  either  party  during  the  war  were  to  bo 
restored.  Captain  Biddle  was  sent  as  commissioner 
for  the  United  States  to  receive  possession  of  Fort 
George,  which  he  did,  in  a  manner  not  definitely  de- 
scribed in  any  document  that  I  have  seen,  on  the  9th 
of  August.  Then  the  Ontario  proceeded  southward, 
touching  at  Monterey  at  the  beginning  of  September." 
But  Biddle's  act  not  being  deemed  satisfactory  in  all 
respects,  the  British  frigate  Blossom,  Captain  J. 
Hickey,  sailed  from  Valparaiso  for  the  Columbia, 
carrying  also  J.  B.  Prevost  as  commissioner  for  the 
United  States.  These  gentlemen,  together  with  J. 
Keith  of  the  Northwest  Company,  accomplished 
the  restoration  in  due  form  on  the  6th  of  October,  the 
establishment  remaining,  however,  as  before,  in  the 
hands  of  the  English  company.''  The  Blossom,  like 
the  Ontario,  visited  California  on  her  voyage  to  the 
south,  her  arrival  at  Monterey  at  the  beginning  of 
November  being  recorded  in  the  archives.'* 

Maritime  exploration  of  the  Northwest  Coast  as  an 
historical  topic  may  be  conveniently  regarded  as  end- 
ing with  the  voyages  of  the  Ontario  and  Blossom  in 
1818.  So  far  as  the  furnishing  of  real  geographical 
information  is  concerned  the  series  of  expeditions 
might  have  been  suspended  many  years  earlier;  but 
the  meagre  annals  of  fur-hunting  voyages  could  not 
be  so  appropriately  presented  elsewhere.  The  few 
visits  by  sea  to  be  noticed  in  later  y fears  connect 
themselves  naturally  with  the  progress  of  aflfairs  on 

'MrcA.  CaL,  MS.,  Prov.  Rec,  ix.  197. 

^''Oreenhow's  Or.  and  Cat.,  308-10,  with  references  to  and  quotations  from 
the  president's  messages  and  accompanying  documents  of  April  15,  17,  1S22. 
Prevost  wrote  a  report  from  Monterey  dated  November  11th. 

'MrcA.  Cat.,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.;  Ben.  Mil.,  xlix.  28,  Guemi,  Doc.  Hint. 
Col.,  MS.,  iv.  20-1.  'Vinoal  rio  Columbia  con  la  comision  do  verilicar  su 
entreea  &  los  Americanos,  d  ouyo  on  conduce  &  los  comisionados  nor  los 
Estados  Unidos,  y  seguird  su  viage  el  10  6  ol  11,'  writes  Qovemor  Sola  to 
Captain  Guerra  on  November  8th. 


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shore.  The  topic  of  the  Oregon  title  also  begins  with 
1818,  the  date  of  the  first  treaty  between  the  rival 
claimants  to  this  broad  territory.  Before  proceeding 
to  consider  inland  developments,  however,  I  shall 
devote  a  chapter  to  the  maritime  fm'-trade  of  past 
years. 

Herewith  is  appended  a  list  of  such  vessels  as  have  come  to  my  knowledge 
that  are  known  to  have  touched  on  the  Northwest  Coast  from  1810  to  1840. 
It  lias  been  made  up  of  such  fragmentary  records  as  could  be  foimd,  many  of 
them  neither  official  nor  accurate.  The  files  of  Sandwich  Island  newspapers 
were  a  useful  source  of  information  on  this  subject  after  1836.  The  Cali- 
fornia archives  also  afforded  some  items  not  elsewhere  appearing ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  others  of  the  vessels  named  in  the  Caliibmia  annual  lists — 
for  which  see  another  volume  of  this  series — should  be  added  to  this,  but 
there  ore  no  means  of  knowing  which  onus.  Printed  memoirs  of  the  Oregon 
missionaries  contain  some  names;  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  archives 
others ;  while  I  have  a  few  old  log-books  or  fragments ;  and  for  the  rest  we 
are  obliged  to  depend  on  the  manuscript  reminiscences  of  men  who  in  those 
days  went  down  to  the  sea  in  ships.  I  do  not  include  in  the  list  the  Rus- 
sian vessels  plying  each  year  between  Sitka,  Iloss,  and  the  Spanish  ports  of 
California,  often  extending  their  trips  to  Mexico,  South  America,  Asia,  or 
the  islands ;  nor  do  I  mention  the  whalers  that  visited  the  north  Pacific  in 
great  numbers,  and  are  recorded  as  touching  in  California  and  the  Sandwich 
Islands ;  though  it  is  likely  that  some  vessels  of  both  these  classes  touched 
from  time  to  time  on  the  coast,  between  latitude  42°  and  55°.  I  shall  have 
occasion  to  present  more  details  respecting  many  of  the  vessels  and  com- 
manders here  mentioned,  in  later  chapters  and  voltmics  of  this  work.  The 
list  arranged  chronologically  is  as  follows : 

[1810-20.]  Borneo,  George  Clark,  American  ship;  wrecked  at  Kaigan  in 
January  1810. 

Volunteer,  James  Bennett,  Boston  ship;  carried  crew  of  Borneo  back  to  the 
Stndwich  Islands. 

Brutus,  David  Nye,  Boston  brig ;  made  a  trip  to  Alaska  and  probably  down 
the  coast. 

Eagle,  Thomas  Meek,  Boston  ship ;  from  Northwest  Coast  to  China.  All 
these  items  are  taken  trom  a  sketch  of  Captain  William  Smith's  life  in  the 
Boston  Dailp  Advertiser  and  Niks'  Register,  xviii.  418. 

[1820.]  A  Japanese  junk,  laden  with  wax,  cast  away  on  Point  Adams, 
according  to  Mr  Brooks. 

[1821.]  Aral),  American  brig;  trading  on  the  coast.  I  have  her  original 
log,  which  lacks,  however,  both  beginning  and  end.  It  i^  in  this  log  that  I 
find  the  following  trading -vessels  of  this  year : 

Fredie,  Stetson,  Boston  brig;  arrived  in  August  and  went  to  Sandwich 
Islands. 

Pedler,  Meek,  New  York  brig. 

Sultan,  consort  of  the  Frrd'ie. 


TRADING  VESSELS. 


341 


IlamUton,  Lascar,  and  Mentor,  all  Boston  vessels;  and  two  commanded 
by  captains  Post  and  Martin,  perhaps  identical  witli  some  of  the  preceding. 

[18'.'3-5.]  Rob  Roy,  Cross,  Boston  brig,  owned  by  Bryant  and  Sturgis; 
trading  on  tlio  coast,  also  probably  in  later  years.  Mentioned  in  tho  Memo- 
randa oi  Henry  A.  Peirce. 

[1824  ct  seq.]     Herald,  Hammatt,  owned  by  Bryant  and  Sturgis. 

Triton,  Bryant,  owned  by  Bryant  and  Sturgis. 

Sultan,  Allen,  owned  by  Bryant  and  Sturgis. 

Convo;/,  McNeill,  owned  by  Joiiiah  Mai-shall. 

[  1 825-8.  ]  ilri£'oH,  LI.  T.  Peirce,  Boston  brig,  owned  by  Bryant  and  Sturgis ; 
engaged  in  trailo  on  tho  Northwest  Coast.  Henry  A.  Peirce,  brother  of  the 
captain,  was  on  board,  and  gives  a  full  account  of  the  trip  in  bis  Memoranda. 

[1827.]  Cadboro,  Simpson,  British  schooner,  from  Columbia  River;  in 
California  in  December. 

[1828-30.]     Volunteer,  Setli  Barker,  owned  by  Bryant  and  Sturgis.  , 

Active,  Cotting  or  Cotton,  owned  by  William  Baker  and  Company. 

Louisa,  Martin,  owned  by  William  Baker  and  Company. 

Owyhee,  Kelly,  owned  by  Josiah  Marshall. 

[1828.]  William  <!•  Ann,  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  vessel ;  wrecked  inside 
the  Columbia  bar. 

['829-30.]    Oiqjhee,  Dominis,  Boston  ship;  traded  in  Columbia  River. 

Convoy,  Thompson ;  with  tho  Owyhee. 

[1830.]  IxaheUa,  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  brig;  cast  away  in  Columbia  River. 

[1831.]  A  Japanese  junk  wrecked  on  Queen  Charlotte  Island,  according  to 
Mr  Brooks. 

[1831-2.]  Dryad,  English  brig;  in  California  from  the  Columbia  River 
both  years. 

[1833.]    Another  Japanese  wreck  near  Cape  Flattery. 

[1834.]  Llama,  or  Lama,  William  O'Neill,  Hudson's  Bay  Compaay's 
brig ;  in  California  for  supplies,  from  Columbia  River. 

May  Dacre,  Lambert,  American  brig ;  in  Columbia  River  for  trade  and 
Balmon. 

Europa,  Allen,  Boston  trader  on  the  coast,  according  to  Kelley's  Memoir. 

[1835.]    May  Dacre,  still  in  the  river;  Wyeth  owner  and  agent. 

Ganymede,  Eales,  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  bark ;  in  Columb''    "liver. 

Dryad,  Keplin ;  left  Columbia  River  for  Sandwich  Islands. 

[I83G.]  Joseph  Peabody,  Moore;  arrived  at  Honolulu  from  Northwest 
Coast  and  Kaigan,  sailing  for  New  York. 

Columhui,  Darby,  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  bark ;  at  Honolulu  from  Co- 
lumbia River.  At  Honolulu  again  under  Captain  Royal  in  December,  and 
sailed  for  London. 

Nirt'id,  Royal,  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  bark ;  arrived  at  Honolulu  from 
England,  and  arrived  at  Columbia  River  in  August. 

Llama,  McNeill ;  in  Columbia  River  and  at  Kaigan. 

Europa,  William  Winkworth ;  from  Honolulu  to  Northwest  Coast  and  to 
Monterey. 

Loriot,  Nye,  Blinu,  and  liancroft  successively  ;  ^\inericau  trader,  on  special 
serv.ce,  in  Columbia  Rivf.r,  California,  and  Sandwich  Islands. 


II 


i   ■ 

VI: 


ft 


lli  ^ 


vr 


;i:r ' 


I:    "V,    I 

■•1:    " 


,  sm 


342 


LAST  OF  THE  P  XPLORERS. 


Convoy,  Bancroft  and  later  Burch,  American  brig ;  from  Kaigan  to  Hono- 
lulu and  back. 

La  Orange,  Snow,  Boston  ship;  at  Honolulu  from  Kaigan  and  other  ports 
on  Northwest  Coast. 

Beaver,  Holms,  Hudson's  Bay  CJompany's  steamer ;  in  Columbia  River,  the 
first  steamer  to  visit  the  coast. 

[1837.]    Llama,  Bancroft,  Sangster,  Brotchie.  and  McNeill;  from  Colum- 
bia River  to  Honolulu  and  California. 
Nereid;  Btill  in   Columbia  K'ver. 

Gadboro,  William  Brotchie,  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  schooner;  made  a 
trip  from  Columbia  River  to  California. 

Loriot,  Bancroft ;  from  Columbia  River  to  California  and  Sandwich  Islands ; 
also  a  trip  to  Mazatlan  under  Captain  Handley. 

Sumatra,  Duncan,  English  bark;  carried  missionaries  from  Honolulu  to 
Columbia  River. 

Jlamilloii,  S.  Barker,  American  ship;  trading  trip  from  Honolulu  to  the 
Northwest  Coast. 

Diana,  William  S.  Hinkley,  American  brig;  carried  missionaries  from 
Honolulu  to  Columbia  River ;  trip  to  California ;  name  changed  to  Kamamaiu. 
Sulphur,  Edward  Belcher,  H.  B.  M.  ship ;  on  an  exploring  voyage  round 
the  world ;  spent  a  week  in  Nootka  Sound. 

Starling,  H.  Kellett,  H.  B.  M.  exploring  schooner;  in  company  with  the 
Sulphur. 

[1838.]    Llama,  Bancroft,  later  Robinson  and  Perrier ;  hunting  and  trading 
trips  to  California  and  Sandwich  Islands. 

Nereid,  Brotchie;   at  Honolulu  from  Columbia  River,  also  in  California. 
Cadboro,  Robbins ;  in  California  from  Columbia  River. 
Joseph  Peahody;  engaged  in  fur-tsade,  according  to  Kelley's  Memoir. 
Columbia,  Humphries;  from  England  to  Columbia  River  and  ratum  via 
Sandwich  idlands. 

[1839.]    Nereid,  Brotchie;    trip  from  the  Columbia  River  to  the  Islands 
and  back. 

Vancouver,  Duncan,  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  bark ;  from  London  to  Co- 
lumbia River  and  back  to  Honolulu. 

Thomas  Perkins,  Vamey ;  left  Sandwich  Islands  for  Northwest  Coast  ta 
trade. 

Joseph  Peahody,  DominLs ;  trading?  m  Alaska  coast  and  perhaps  farther 
south. 

Sulphur,  Belcher;  in  Columbia  River,  July  to  September. 
Starling,  Kellett;  with  the  preceding. 

[1840.]     Columbia,  Humphries;  in  California,  Sandwich  Islands,  and  Co- 
lumbia River. 

Forager,  Thompson,  English  brig ;  left  Honolulu  for  Columbia  River  and 
California. 

Lausanne,  Spauldmg,  American  ship;  in  Coliunbia  River,  California,  and 
Sandwich  Islands;  cettlers  and  missionaries. 

Maryland,  Couch,  Boston  brig;  in  Columbia  River,  trading  for  salmon. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


|:i 


THE    MARITIME    FUR-TRADE. 
1778-184«. 

The  Sea-otteb — Comhentabi£s  upon  It — The  Russian  Beoinninos — 
The  Chinese  Market— Captain  Cook's  Discoveries— Bolts'  Enter- 
.  PRISE — John  Ledtard  and  his  Plans — An  Eccentric  Yankee — Dis- 
heartening Failures — Enoush  Efforts  from  India — Hanna  aio) 
his  Followers — In  London — Portlock  and  Dixon — French  Inves- 
tigation— La  PArouse — MARCtt,\ND's  Experience — BEoiNNiNtJS  at 
Boston — Kendrick  and  Gray — Routine  of  the  Trade — English- 
men VERSUS  Americans — Perils  of  the  Business — Character  of 
the  Natives — Methods  of  Barter — Articles  Desired — Statistics — 
The  Trade  in  California— The  English  Companies— Amerioaw 
Devices — Decline  of  the  Fur-trade. 

The  home  of  the  sea-otter  was  in  the  waters  of  the 
Northwest  Coast,  Alaska,  and  the  Siberian  islands. 
The  fur  of  this  amphibious  animal,  the  most  precious 
of  all  peltries,  was  the  attraction  that  brought  to  these 
shores  all  the  adventurous  navigators  whose  exploits 
have  been  briefly  recorded  in  the  preceding  chapters. 
A  few  did  not  engage  directly  in  the  fur-trade;  but  all 
such,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Captain  Cook,  came 
because  of  the  operations  of  the  fur-seekers.  Much 
has  been  said  bearing  on  this  branch  of  commerce  in 
the  description  of  successive  voyages;  but  it  seems 
proper  to  devote  a  chapter  to  the  general  topic,  and 
to  give  the  information  mainly  in  the  words  of  the 
participators  and  writers,  the  same  for  the  most  part 
that  have  been  so  often  cited  before  in  this  volume. 

Cook  describes  as  follows  the  first  sea-otter  seen 
by  him  at  Nootka,  he  having  had  some  doubt  before 


'!•!. 


i!5!. 


.'  r 


r 


344 


THE  MARITIME  FUR-TRADE. 


if  the  skins  were  really  those  of  that  animal :  "It  was 
rather  young,  weifjhing  only  twenty-five  pounds;  of  a 
shining  or  glossy  black  colour;  but  many  of  the  hairs 
being  tipt  with  white,  gave  it  a  greyish  cast  at  first 
sight.  The  face,  throat,  and  breast  were  of  a  yellow- 
ish white,  or  very  light  brown  colour,  which,  in  many 
of  the  skins,  extended  the  whole  length  of  the  belly. 
It  had  six  cutting  teeth  in  each  jaw ;  two  of  those  of 
the  lower  jaw  being  very  minute,  and  placed  without, 
at  the  base  of  the  two  middle  ones.  In  these  circum- 
stances, it  seems  to  disagree  with  those  found  by  the 
Russians;  and  also  in  not  having  the  outer  toes  of 
the  hind  feet  skirted  with  a  membrane.  There  seemed 
also  a  greater  variety  in  the  colour  of  the  skins,  than  is 
mentioned  by  the  describers  of  the  Russian  sea-otters. 
These  changes  of  colour  certainly  take  place  at  the 
different  gradations  of  life.  The  very  young  ones 
had  brown  hair,  which  was  coarse,  with  ver}'  little  fur 
underneath ;  but  thos3  of  the  size  of  the  entire  animal, 
which  came  into  our  possession,  and  just  described, 
had  a  considerable  quantity  of  that  substance ;  and 
both  in  that  colour  and  state  the  sea-otters  seem  to 
remain,  till  they  have  attained  their  full  growth. 
After  that,  they  lose  the  black  colour,  and  assume  a 
deep  brown  or  sooty  colour;  but  have  then  a  greater 
quantity  of  very  fine  fur,  and  scarcely  any  long  hairs. 
Others,  which  we  suspected  to  be  still  older,  were 
of  a  chestnut  brown ;  and  a  few  skins  were  seen  that 
had  even  acquired  a  perfectly  yellow  colour."*  "A  full 

frown  prime  skin,"  said  Captain  William  Sturgis  of 
loston,  an  old  trader,  "which  has  been  stretched 
before  drying,  is  about  five  feet  long,  and  twenty-four 
to  thirty  inches  wide,  covered  with  very  fine  fur,  about 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  length,  having  a  rich  jet 
black,  glossy  surface,  and  exhibiting  a  silver  color 
when  blown  open.  Those  are  esteemed  the  finest 
skins  which  have  some  white  hairs  interspersed  and 

'  Cook's  Voyaft*.,  ii.  295-6.    An  otter  taken  by  La  Pdrouae  and  apparently 
full  sized  weighed  70  pounds.   La  Pirotue,  Voyage,  ii.  170. 


THE  RUSSIAN  TRAFFIC. 


343 


scattered  over  the  whole  surface,  and  a  perfectly  white 
hea<l.  Mr  Sturgis  said  that  it  would  now  give  him 
more  pleasure  to  look  at  a  splendid  sea-otter  skin  than 
to  examine  half  the  pictures  that  are  stuck  up  for  ex- 
hibition, and  puffed  up  by  protended  connoisseurs."'* 

There  were  other  valuable  furs  in  the  country 
besides  that  of  the  sea-otter,  and  which  were  profit- 
ably exported  in  connection  with  the  latter;  but  there 
were  none  which  of  themselves  would  in  the  early 
years  have  brought  the  world's  adventurous  traders 
on  their  long  and  perilous  voyages  to  the  coast.  The 
fur-seal,  however,  v/as  taken  in  large  numbers;  and  in 
later  years  yielded  greater  profits,  on  account  of  its 
greater  abundance,  than  the  sea-otter. 


On  their  first  trips  to  the  new  continent  and  islands 
the  Russians  discovered  the  existence  of  the  precious 
fur,  and  after  1741  these  people,  embarking  from 
Siberia  in  their  crazy  craft,  engaged  actively  in  the 
hunt.  The  product  was  collected  in  the  Kamchatkan 
ports,  and  transported  by  land,  a  part  to  Russia,  Ijut 
most  to  Kiakhta  on  the  frontier,  where  they  were  ex- 
changed for  Chinese  goods,  which  were  carried  over- 
land to  Europe.  Notwithstanding  the  distances  and 
consequent  expense  of  transportation,  making  the  price 
of  a  skin  at  least  three  times  as  much  at  Kiakhta  as 
at  Okhotsk,  the  traflSc  was  a  profitable  one.'     'Furs 

'  Sturgia'  Northwest  Fur  Trade,  534.  '  Thoy  are  sometimea  seen  many 
leagues  from  land,  sleeping  on  their  bocks,  on  the  surface  of  the  water, 
vith  their  young  ones  reclining  on  their  breast. .  .The  cubs  are  incapable  of 
swimming  till  they  ore  several  months  old. .  .She  will  not  leave  her  young 
ones  in  tne  moment  of  danger,  and  therefore  shares  their  fate . . .  Tlioy  are 
unable  to  remain  under  water  longer  than  two  minutes. .  .The  male  otter  is, 
)>cyond  all  comparison,  more  beautiful  than  the  female . . .  Skins  of  this  animal 
taken  in  the  Corcan  and  Japan  seas,  are  superior  to  those  of  Russia  or  tho 
Nortli  Western  Coast  of  America.'  Meareg'  Voy.,  241-4.  'Nothing  can  Iw 
more  beautiful  than  one  of  these  animals  when  seen  swimming,  cH])cci!iHy 
when  on  the  lookout  for  any  object.  At  such  times  it  raises  its  head  quito 
above  the  surface.'  JewUt's  Xar.,  67.  See  full  description,  with  quotations 
from  various  authors,  in  Marchand,  Voywjr,  ii.  29-37. 

'  The  Russian  fur-tnule  of  the  extreme  north  will  be  fully  trcatcfl  in  a  later 
volume  on  the  History  of  Alaska.  Vole's  Iludsian  Discovcrkx,  London,  1787,  is 
the  authority  by  which  this  trade  was  made  known  to  the  world.  Co.\o  men- 
tions a  specimen  cargo  of  furs  yielding  alxiut  S'tCOOO  in  Kamcliatka.  Irving, 
Astoria,  33,  takes  the  following  view  of  the  overland  transit:   'The  Russians 


;i      1 


II 


S46 


THE  MARITIME  FURTRADE. 


form  the  principal  and  favorite  dress  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Northern  provinces  of  China;  and  those 
of  the  rarest  kind  and  the  highest  prices  are  eagerly 
purchased  by  them. — From  five  hundred  to  one  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  even  a  larger  sum,  are  frequently 
paid  for  a  single  suit  of  this  precious  cloathing."  In 
the  southern  provinces  also  everybody  who  can  afford 
it  has  a  sea-otter  cape  at  a  cost  of  $6.  And  after 
the  new  system  of  importation  had  been  introduced, 
"the  reputation  of  the  sea- otter  skins  brought. .  .the 
Northern  Chinese  and  Pekin  merchants  to  Canton,  a 
port  which  they  had  never  before  visited,  and  at  the 
distance  of  near  one  thousand  miles  from  the  places  of 
their  residence. — Yet . . .  they  found  it  answered  to 
their  entire  satisfaction,  from  being  able  to  obtain  the 
same  species  of  furs  which  they  had  been  accustomed 
to  purchase  at  Kiascha,  at  a  price  so  much  below  the 
usual  rate  of  that  market.  They  arrived  at  Canton 
laden  with  teas,  silk  and  ivory;  and  took  back  in 
return  furs  and  broadcloths."*  Yet  the  Chinese,  with 
all  their  extravagant  fondness  for  furs,  by  their 
peculiar  commercial  policy  involving  many  burden- 
some restrictions,  made  the  fur-trader's  road  to  for- 
tune by  no  means  a  straight  and  pleasant  one. 

What  was  learned  from  the  works  of  Coxe  and 
others  respecting  the  Russian  trade  with  China,  seems 
to  have  made  no  sensation  in  European  commercial 
circles  until  verified  and  amplified  by  the  reports  of 

had  the  advantage  over  their  competitors  in  the  trade.  The  latter  had  to 
take  their  ijeltries  to  Canton,  which,  however,  wna  a  mere  receiving  mart. . . 
The  Russians,  on  the  contrary,  carried  their  furs,  by  a  shorter  voyage  [?J 
directly  to  the  northern  parts  of  the  Chinese  empire ;  thus  being  able  to  afford 
them  in  the  market  without  the  additional  cost  of  internal  transportation. ' 
Greenhow  writes :  '  The  trade  in  furs  had  been  conducted,  almost  wholly, 
by  the  British  and  the  Russians,  between  whom,  however,  there  had  been 
no  opportunity  for  competition.  The  Russians  procured  their  furs  chiefly  in 
the  northern  parts  of  their  own  empire ;  and  they  exported  to  China,  by  land, 
all  such  as  were  not  required  for  their  own  use.  The  British  market  was 
supplied  entirely  from  Hudson's  Bay  and  Canada;  and  a  gt-eat  portion  of 
the  skins  there  collected  was  sent  to  Russia,  whence  many  of  them  found 
their  way  to  China,  though  none  had  ever  been  shipped  directly  for  the  latter 
country.'  Or.  and  Cal.,  IGl.  » 

'jVcaccd'  Account  of  (he  Trade,  etc.,  l.xxxvi. 


i  :■ 


A  PROPER  OUTFIT. 


347 


an  English  voyager.  Captain  Cook'8  special  purpose 
in  his  expedition  of  177G-80,  so  far  as  north- western 
America  was  concerned,  was  to  find  a  passage  to  the 
Atlantic.  Ho  did  not  succeed  in  opening  a  channel 
by  which  Canadian  and  Hudson  Bay  furs  nii^ht  bo 
sent  direct  to  China  by  water;  but  he  found  what 
proved  to  be  a  richer  store  of  furs  than  that  on 
the  Atlantic  coasts,  and  he  eventually  found  a  good 
market. 

The  explorer  and  his  men  obtained  from  the  na- 
tives at  Nootka  and  other  points  a  quantity  of  sea-otter 
skins,  of  whose  real  value  they  had  no  proper  idea. 
Most  of  the  furs  had  been  injured  by  being  made  into 
garments ;  they  were  used  for  bedclothes  on  the  voy- 
age and  preserved  with  but  little  care;  two  thirds  of 
those  obtained  were  spoiled  or  given  away  in  Kam- 
chatka, and  it  was  thought  that  the  full  value  was  not 
obtained  in  China;  yet  the  remnant  was  sold  for  about 
ten  thousand  dollars.  Little  wonder  that,  as  Captain 
King  says,  "the  rage  with  which  our  seamen  wore 
possessed  to  return  to  Cook's  River,  and,  by  another 
cargo  of  skins,  to  make  their  fortunes,  at  one  time, 
was  not  far  short  of  mutiny;  and  I  must  own,  I  could 
not  help  indulging  myself  in  a  project,"  which  was  to 
have  the  work  of  exploration  undertaken  in  connection 
with  the  fur-trade  by  the  East  India  Company,  in  two 
vessels  of  one  hundred  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons 
which  could  be  fitted  out  at  a  cost  of  six  thousand 
pounds.  "Each  ship  should  have  five  ton  of  un- 
wrought  iron,  a  forge,  and  an  expert  smith,  with  a 
journeyman  and  apprentice,  who  might  be  ready  to 
forge  such  tools,  as  it  should  appear  the  Indians  were 
most  desirous  of. . .  It  is  well  known,  that  the  fancy  of 
these  people  for  articles  of  ornament,  is  exceedingly 
capricious;  and  that  iron  is  the  only  sure  commodity 
for  their  market.  To  this  might  be  added,  a  few 
gross  of  large  pointed  case-knives,  some  bales  of 
coarse  woollen  cloth  (linen  they  would  not  accept 
from  us)  and  a  barrel  or  two  of  copper  and  glass 


:;|:r 


»t- 


•  -—         -: 

■ 

!«! 

'iif  :i 

.■1 

HhIP'  ^9 

SM 


THE  MARITIME  FUB-TRADE. 


trinkets."     This  enterprise  was  to  be  directed  chiefly 
to  the  Alaskan  coast/ 

"The  last  voyage  of  that  renowned  but  unfortunate 
discoverer,  Captain  Cook,  had  n»ade  known  the  vast 
quantities  of  the  sea-otter  to  bo  found  along  that 
coast,  and  the  iuiraense  prices  to  be  obtained  for  its 
fur  in  Chinu.  It  was  as  if  a  new  j^old  coast  had  been 
discovered.    Individuals  from  vari  'us  countries  dashed 


into  this  lucrative  traffic,"  says  Irving;  and  L 
"A  new  and  inexhaustible  nime  of  wealth 


on, 
was  laid 

open  to  future  Navigators,  by  trading  for  furs  of  the 
most  valuable  kind,  on  the  North  West  Coast  of  Amer- 
ica." The  information  gained  by  Cook  "became  gen- 
erally diffused  before  the  publication  of  the  journals 
[in  1784-5],  and  it  did  not  fad  to  attract  the  attention 
of  enterprising  men  in  all  maritime  countries.  That 
the  furs  might  be  sold  advantageously  at  Canton  was 
certain  from  a  comparison  of  prices;  and  it  was  clear 
that  8t'\  greater  profits  might  be  secured  by  a  direct 
trade  between  China  and  the  north-west  coasts  of 
America."' 

But  so  far  away  was  this  new  mine  of  wealth, 
and  so  little  was  known  of  the  methods  of  working 
it,  and  so  fullv  foreseen  were  the  dangers  and  risks  to 
be  encountered,  that  the  world's  merchants  "dashed 
into  this  lucrative  traffic"  somewhat  deliberately.  The 
earliest  attempt  in  this  direction,  about  which,  how- 

*Cook'a  Voyage,  ii.  290,  401;  iii.  370,  430-9.  The  beat  sea-otter  skins  sell 
in  Kamchatka  for  30  roubles  each,  but  at  Kiakhta,  on  the  Chinese  frontier,  at 
more  than  double  that  price.  Then  they  are  sold  at  a  good  profit  in  Peking, 
and  some  of  them  again  at  an  advance  in  Japan.  '  What  a  proiligiously  ad- 
vantageous trade  might  be  carried  on  between  this  place  and  Japan,  which  is 
but  about  a  fortnight's,  at  most,  three  weeks'  sail  from  it ! . .  .The  fur  of  tlieso 
animals,  as  mentioned  in  the  Russian  accounts,  is  certainly  softer  and  finer 
than  that  of  any  others  we  know  of ;  and,  therefore,  the  discovery  of  this  i)art 
of  tlie  continent  of  North  America,  where  so  valuable  an  article  of  commerce 

may  be  mot  with,  cannot  bo  a  matter  of  indifference There  is  not  the  least 

doubt,  that  a  very  beneficial  fur  trade  might  bo  carried  on  with  the  inhabitan^A 
of  this  vast  coast.  But  unless  a  northern  passage  should  be  found  practicable, 
it  seems  rather  too  remote  from  Great  Britain  to  receive  any  emolument  from 
it.'  Twenty  skins  belonging  to  the  dead  commanders  were  sold  for  $800.  One 
of  the  seamen  sold  his  for  $S00.    A  few  fine  ones  sold  for  $120  each. 

^Irving'a  Astoria,  32 ;  Dixon's  Voyage,  p.  ix. ;  Greenhow's  Or.  and  Cal.,  160-1. 


BOLTS  AND  JOHN  LEDYARD. 


34d 


evel*,  vety  Httle  is  known,  was  that  of  Willintn  Bolts, 
who  as  early  as  1781  is  said  to  have  "fitted  out  the 
Cobenzell,  an  armed  ship  of  seven  hundred  tons,  for 
the  north-west  c^^  st  of  America.  She  was  to  have 
sailed  from  Triest*  ,  accompanied  by  a  tender  of  forty- 
five  tons,  under  imperial  colours,  and  was  equally  fitted 
out  for  trade  '  discovery  men  of  eminence  in  evcrv 
department  of  scierce  wore  engaged  on  board;  all  the 
r  aritime  courts  ol  Europe  were  written  to  in  order 
to  secure  a  good  reception;  yet,  after  all,  this  expedi- 
tion so  exceedingly  promising  in  every  point  of  view, 
was  overturned  by  a  set  o^  interested  men,  then  in 
power  at  Vienna."' 

John  Ledyard  was  an  eccentric  American,  a  native 
of  Connecticut,  and  educated  at  Dartmouth,  who  in 
his  search  for  adventure  had  served  as  corporal  of 
marines  during  Cook's  voyage,  an  account  of  which 
he  published.  The  prospective  excitement  and  profits 
of  tlie  fur-trade  in  the  new  regions  visited  made  a 
lasting  impression  on  his  mind;  and  on  deseiting 
from  the  British  naval  service  in  1782,  beinc^  then 
thirty-one  years  of  age,  almost  without  a  dollar,  he 
proceeded  to  devote  himself  with  all  the  eiithusia.sm 
of  his  nature  to  "the  greatest  commercial  enterprise 
that  has  ever  been  embarked  on  in  the  country;  and 
one  of  the  first  moment  as  it  respects  tho  trade  of 
America" — that  is,  the  fur-trade  on  the  Northwest 
Cos»;St  in  American  vessels.  "It  was  clear,  therefore, 
in  h.3  mind,  that  they,  who  should  first  engage  in  this 
trade,  would  reap  immense  profits  by  their  earliest 
efforts,  and  at  the  same  time  gain  such  knowledge  and 
experience,  as  would  enable  them  to  pursue  it  for  years 
with  advantages  superior  to  any,  that  could  be  C(mi- 
manded  by  the  competitors,  who  might  be  drawn  into 
the  same  channel  of  commerce."    "In  New  York  he 

^Dixon's  Voyof/e,  pp.  xx.-i.  'Une  intrigue  dont  on  Ignore  et  la  source  et  len 
ihoyens  culbutacette  entreprise.'  Fleurifu, in  Marchand,  f'oy.,  p.  cxxiii.  'Tho 
feeble  effort  of  an  imprudent  man  failed  prematurely,  owing  to  onuses '  not  ex- 
plained. Portlock'a  koy.,  2. 


Xi 


IHHi 


S80 


THE  MARITIME  FUR-TRADE. 


was  unsuccessful;  his  scheme  was  called  wild  and 
visionary,  and  set  down  as  bearing  the  marks  rather 
of  a  warm  imagination,  and  sanguine  temperament, 
than  of  a  sober  and  mature  judgment.  No  merchant 
was  found  willing  to  hazard  his  money,  or  his  reputa- 
tion, in  an  adventure  so  novel  in  its  kind,  and  so 
questionable  in  its  promise . . .  His  first  inquiries  in 
Philadelphia  met  with  no  better  favor,  till  Mr  Robert 
Morris . . .  entered  into  his  views,  and  made  arrange- 
ments to  furnish  the  outfits  of  a  voyage  according  to 
the  plan  he  drew  up."  Then  followed  a  strange  series 
of  obstacles  in  the  matter  of  obtaining  a  suitable  vessel. 
"Thus  a  year  was  spent,  in  a  vexatious  and  fruitless 
struggle  to  overcome  diflficulties,  which  thickened  as 
he  advanced,  till  his  patience,  and  that  of  Mr  Morris 
also,  would  seem  to  have  been  exhausted,  for  the  voy- 
age was  altogether  abandoned." 

New  London  was  the  scene  of  Ledyard's  next 
efforts,  and  one  Captain  Deshon  was  almost  per- 
suaded to  embark  in  the  scheme ;  but  so  glowing  was 
the  picture  drawn  and  so  extravagant  the  promise  of 
profit  that  Deshon  finally  declined  to  place  his  trust 
m  hopes  so  enthusiastic,  afterward  regretting  his 
decision,  it  is  said.  "As  faJ*  as  can  be  ascertained," 
says  Mr  Sparks,  "Ledyard's  views  of  the  subject, 
both  as  unfolded  in  the  transactions  with  Mr  Morris 
and  with  Captain  Deshon,  accorded  exactly  with  those 
acted  upon  by  the  first  adventurers,  who  were  re- 
warded with  extraordinary  success.  It  was  a  part  of 
his  plan  to  purchase  lands  of  the  natives,  and  estab- 
lish a  factory,  or  colony,  for  the  purpose  of  a  continued 
intercourse  and  trade."  "To  some  of  his  friends  Led- 
yard  mentioned  his  intention  of  leaving  the  ship  on 
the  coast,  when  the  cargo  should  be  obtained  and  ex- 
ploring the  country  overland  from  Nootka  Sound." 

Disappointed  in  his  own  country,  Ledyard  went  to 
Europe.  In  Spain  he  was  encouraged  by  an  English 
commissioner  of  the  emperor  of  Morocco,  but  nothing 
came  of  it.     Then  he  went  to  France  in  1784,  and 


i     ;t 


JEFFERSON  BECOMES  INTERESTED. 


351 


■i  ' !'  .1 

:  •  i 


at  L'Orient  "his  plan  was  received  with  so  much  ap- 
probation, that  within  twelve  days  he  completed  a 
negotiation  with  a  company  of  merchants,  and  a  ship 
was  selected  for  the  intended  voyage."  "I  have  been 
so  much  the  sport  of  accident,"  said  he,  "  that  I  am 
exceedingly  suspicious.  It  is  true,  that  in  this  L'Orient 
negotiation,  I  have  guarded  every  avenue  to  future 
disappointment,  yet  this  head  1  wear  is  so  much  a 
dupe  to  my  heart,  and  at  other  times  my  heart  is  so 
be  .vildered  by  my  head,  that  in  m.atters  of  business  I 
have  not  much  confidence  in  either,"  and  his  fore- 
bodings were  well  founded,  for  it  was  deemed  too  late 
to  sail  that  year,  and,  though  the  adventurer  was 
liberally  supported  during  the  winter  by  his  new 
friends,  "we  hear  no  more  of  the  L'Orient  negotia- 
tion, except  that  it  failed,"  like  the  others. 

Mr  Jefferson,  United  States  minister  to  France, 
"received  Ledyard  with  great  kindness,  and  approved 
most  highly  his  design,"  which  approval  had  no  im- 
mediate effect,  but  is  said  to  have  suggested  the  idea 
of  Lewis  and  Clarke's  expedition  of  later  years.  Soon 
our  adventurer  formed  the  acquaintance  of  the  famous 
Paul  Jones,  who  "eagerly  seized  Ledyard's  idea,  and 
an  arrangement  was  closed,  by  which  they  agreed  to 
unite  in  an  expedition,  somewhat  larger  than  Ledyard 
had  before  contemplated.  Two  vessels  were  to  bo 
fitted  out,  and,  if  possible,  commissioned  by  the  king." 
The  scheme  was  arranged  in  all  its  details,  and  "so 
much  was  Jones  taken  with  it,  that  he  advanced 
money  to  Ledyard  with  which  to  purchase  a  part  of 
the  cargo,"  besides  "an  allowance  of  money  sufficient 
for  his  maintenance;"  but  Jones  was  called  away  from 
Paris  on  other  business  and  his  ardor  in  the  new  en- 
terprise cooled  with  reflection. 

After  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  organize  a  com- 
mercial company  in  Paris,  writes  Thomas  Jefferson, 
"I  then  proposed  to  him  to  go  by  land  to  Kam- 
chatka, cross  in  some  of  the  Russian  vessels  to 
Nootka  Sound,  fall  dovn  into  the  latitude  of  the 


I.   i 


■  \:i 


li|!: 


i7-1'l^ 


■II'  i 

■  Utfi 


r 


ii 


I 


i  .: 


90B 


THE  iiARlTIME  PtJR-TRADE. 


Missouri,  and  penetrate  to  and  through  that  to  the 
United  States.  He  eagerly  seized  the  idea,  and  only 
asked  to  be  assured  of  the  permission  of  the  Russian 
government."  The  desired  permission  was  obtained 
from  the  empress  after  some  delay.  Meanwhile  Led- 
yard  went  to  London,  where  a  more  direct  means 
of  accomplishing  his  purpose  presented  itself  He 
actually  embarked  on  an  English  ship  for  the  North- 
west Coast.  His  plan  was  to  land  at  Nootka  and 
thence  "pursue  his  course,  as  fortune  should  guide  him, 
to  Viiginia;"  but  "the  vessel  was  not  out  of  sight  of 
land,  before  it  was  brought  back  by  an  order  from  the 
government,  and  the  voyage  was  finally  broken  off." 
Then  Sir  Joseph  Banks  and  other  prominent  English- 
men raised  a  little  money  by  subscription,  and  Led- 
yard  went  to  Hamburg,  and  started  on  a  trip  by  land 
to  Siberia.  He  reached  St  Petersburg,  after  many 
adventures,  in  the  spring  of  1787.  There  he  obtained 
his  passport,  and  proceeded  to  Yakutsk,  in  Siberia. 
His  usual  ill-luck  did  not  desert  him,  for  while  win- 
tering so  near  his  destination  he  was  suddenly  ar- 
rested in  February  1788,  in  accordance  with  imperial 
secr^  orders,  and  carried  to  Moscow  and  to  the  fron- 
tiers of  Poland,  the  reasons  for  his  arrest  not  being 
known.  The  empress  claimed  to  have  been  actuated 
by  humanity ;  but  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  explorer 
was  stopped  through  the  machinations  of  the  Russian - 
American  Fur  Company. 

Ledyard  reached  London  in  May,  and  was  soon 
recommended  "to  an  adventure  almost  as  perilous  as 
the  one  from  which  he  had  returned,"  namely,  the 
exploration  of  the  African  interior  under  the  auspices 
of  an  English  association.  "When  he  returned  to 
Paris,"  writes  Mr  Jefferson,  "his  bodily  strength  was 
much  impaired.  His  mind,  however,  remained  firm, 
and  he  after  this  undertook  the  journey  to  Egypt. 
I  received  a  letter  from  him,  full  of  sanguine  hopes, 
dated  at  Cairo,  the  fifteenth  of  November,  1788, 
the  da}'  before  he  was  to  set  out  for  the  head  of  the 


ENGUSH  EFFORTS. 


m-. 


Nile;  on  which  day,  however,  he  ended  his  career 
and  life:  and  thus  failed  the  first  attempt  to  explore 
the  western  part  of  our  northern  continent."^ 

"The  Russians  were  the  first  to  avail  themselves  of 
Cook's  discoveries,"  says  Greenhow — that  is,  his  dis- 
covery of  the  sea-otter  to  the  south  of  Alaska — l)y 
organizing  a  fur  company  in  1781,  leading  to  Shelikof's 
expedition.  Otherwise,  and  disregarding  the  unsuc- 
cessful efforts  of  Bolts  and  Ledyard,  the  first  to  en- 
gage practically  in  the  new  branch  of  trade  were 
English  merchants  residing  in  India  and  China.  The 
chief  obstacle  encountered  by  them  arose  from  the 
great  monopolies,  the  East  India  and  South  Sea  com- 
panies; and  they  were  obliged  to  resort  to  various 
more  or  less  irregular  expedients,  notably  that  of 
sailing  under  other  than  English  colors.  Captain 
Hanna  made  the  first  trip  in  1785  from  China,  and 
was  followed  by  several  others  whose  voyages  have 
already  been  described.  All,  save  one  or  two  who 
were  shipwrecked,  seem  to  have  been  successful  from 
a  commercial  point  of  view.  Meares  was  the  only 
one  of  the  number  who  published  an  account  of  his 
adventures;  and  notwithstanding  the  disastrous  ter- 
mination of  his  own  enterprise,  arising  from  Spanish 
interference,  he  was  very  enthusiastic  respecting  the 
future  benefits  to  be  derived  by  Great  Britain  from 
the  fur-trade.'    Captain  Barclay  also  made  a  trading 

*  Sparks'  Life  qf  Ledyard,  passim;  Jefferson's  L{fe  of  Lewis,  in  Lewis  and 
Clarke's  Exped.,  L 

'Meares,  Account  of  the  Trade  between  Northwest  America  arid  China, 
in.;! 'ides  all  branches  of  the  Chinese  trade,  the  fur-trade  being  but  a  small 
part — but  on  this  and  on  all  parts  ho  is  very  enthusiastic  as  to  the  prospective 
benefits  to  Great  Britain.  Ho  advocates  also  the  whale-fishery  and  the  acqui- 
sition of  the  Sandwich  Islands.  'On  considering,  therefore,  the  prodigious 
population  of  China,  and  supposing  the  fur-trauo  to  be  canied  on  iindi-r 
proper  regulations,  the  inaccuracy  of  an  opinion  which  has  been  advanced 
with  some  degree  of  plausibility  that  the  Chinese  market  may  be  overstocked 
with . . .  furs,  must  appear  evident  to  the  most  transient  reflection.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  our  decided  opinion,  that  the  sea-otter  skins  which  luive  been 
imported  to  China  since  the  commencement  of  the  North  West  American  trade, 
have  not  proved  sufficient  to  answer  the  demands  of  the  single  province  of 
Canton.'  id.,  Ixxxvi.-vii. 

Hist.  N.  W.  Coast,  \oh  I.    2? 


iM 


M:. 


i:-l 


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SM 


THE  MARITIME  FUR-TRADE. 


!!( 


II  ii 


voyage  to  the  coast  in  1786-7,  sailing  from  Ostend 
under  the  flag  of  the  Austrian  East  India  Company. 
The  first  successful  attempt  in  this  direction  from 
England,  one  failure  at  least  having  been  noted  in 
connection  with  Ledyard's  career,  was  made  in  1786, 
by  Portlock  and  Dixon.  Says  the  latter:  Cook's 
discovery,  "though  obviously  a  source  from  whence 
immense  riches  might  be  expected,  and  communicated, 
no  doubt,  to  numbers  in  the  year  1780,  was  not  imme- 
diately attended  to.  The  prosecution  of  any  efi^ectual 
plan  to  carry  on  this  novel  undertaking,  required  not 
only  patience  and  perseverance,  but  a  degree  of  spirit 
and  enterprize  which  does  not  often  fall  to  the  lot  of 
individuals:  however,  in  the  Spring  of  1785,  a  set 
of  Gentlemen  procured  a  Charter  from  the  South  Sea 
Company,  for  the  sole  right  of  carrying  on  this  traffic 
to  its  utmost  extent;"  hence  the  voyage  in  question. 
Besides  having  to  get  a  license  from  the  South 
Sea  Company,  "whatever  furs  might  be  procured  in 
our  traffic  on  the  American  Coast,  were  to  be  dis- 
posed of  in  China,  subject  to  the  immediate  control  of 
the  East  India  Company's  Supercargoes,  and  in  con- 
sequence of  this  consignment,  both  vessels  were  to  be 
freighted  home  on  the  Company's  account."  '^''ht, 
expedition  was  a  very  successful  one,  and  bot.i  tiae 
merchant-navigators  became  enthusiastic  in  their  pre- 
dictions for  the  future.  To  put  the  fur-trade  on  a 
permanent  footing,  says  Dixon,  "I  should  conceive 
the  most  eligible  plan  to  be,  to  establish  a  factory  on 
the  coast,  and  the  North  end  of  Queen  Charlotte's 
Islands  seems  peculiarly  well  adapted  for  that  pur- 
pose; the  situation  is  nearly  central,  between  Cook's 
Kiver  and  King  George's  Sound;  and  we  are  well 
assured,  that  the  furs  to  the  Southward  are  of  a  verv 
inferior  quality.  Two  small  vessels  would  not  oDb"- 
collect  all  the  skins  in  what  harbours  are  hitherti. 
known,  but  likewise  explore .  .  . ;  besides,  there  are 
other  valuable  articles  to  bo  proc\ircd  here,  such  as 
ginseng,  copper,  oil,  spars,  etc.,  and  vast  quantities  of 


FRENCH  VENTURES. 


355 


salmon  might  be  cured."  And  Portlock  to  the  same 
effect:  "The  inestimable  value  of  their  furs  will  ever 
make  it  a  desirable  trade,  and  whenever  it  is  estab- 
lished upon  a  proper  foundation,  and  a  settlement  made, 
will  become  a  very  valuable  and  lucrative  branch  of 
commerce.  It  would  be  an  easy  matter  for  either 
Government  or  our  East  India  Company  to  make 
a  settlement  of  this  kind;  and  the  thinness  of  the 
inhabitants  will  make  it  a  matter  of  easy  practica- 
bility; and  as  the  Company  are  under  the  necessity 
of  paying  the  Chinese  in  cash  for  their  teas,  I  look 
upon  it  a  settlement  on  this  coast  might  be  effected 
at  a  very  inconsiderable  expence .  .  .  Another  conven- 
ience likely  to  accrue,  is  from  a  well-known  enter- 
prising character  having,  if  he  meets  with  proper 
encouragement  from  the  country,  intentions  of  gomg 
overland  to  these  parts. .  .That  such  an  event  may 
take  place,  must  be  the  wish  of  every  lover  of  his 
country;  and  though  the  enterprise  is  fraught  with 
every  danger  that  idea  can  suggest,  yet  what  is  it 
that  British  valour  dares  not  attempt?""  A  subse- 
quent expedition  was  despatched  by  Etches  and  Com- 
pany of  London,  in  which  enterprise  that  of  Meares 
was  merged  before  the  end  of  1739. 

In  France,  where  attention  had  been  called  to  the 
subject  both  by  Cook's  report  and  Ledyard's  efforts, 
the  famous  La  Pe rouse  was  instructed   in  his  ex- 

^''Dixon'a  Voyage,  ix.  x.  236,  321-2;  Portloik's  Voyaye,  3-4,  294-5.  Of  the 
early  voyages  Portlock  says:  'These  enterprises  have  proved  extremely  im- 
portant to  the  world,  though  their  profits,  considering  the  capital  and  the 
risques,  were  not  enviously  great.  These  enterprises,  however,  by  enlarging 
the  limits  of  dipcovery,  made  na\'igation  more  safe  in  the  North  Pacitio 
Ocean . . .  They  tauglit  the  American  savages,  that  strength  must  always  bo 
subordinate  to  discipline :  and,  having  discovered  the  Aliooa  Indians  on  the 
borders  of  Nootka  Sound,  who  had  so  far  advanced  from  their  savage  state  as 
to  refuse  to  sell  to  Mr  Strange,  for  any  price,  the  peltry  which  they  had  ali'eady 
engaged  to  Mr  Hanna,  these  enterprises  have  ascertained  this  exiiilarating 
truth  to  mankind,  that  civilixition  and  morals  must  for  ever  accompany  each 
other  1'  And  Dixon,  of  the  prospects :  '  Thus  much  we  o^n  venture  to  amrm, . . 
that  the  fur  trade  is  inexhaustible  wherever  there  are  inhabitants,  and  they, 
{experience  tells  us)  are  not  confined  to  any  particular  situation,  but  are  scat- 
tered in  tribes  all  along  the  coast,  which  (as  far  as  concerns  future  traders 
to  examine)  extends  from  40  to  01  degi-ees.' 


■    ■  - 

■  1  \ 

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V:      W 


309 


THE  MARITIME  FUR-TRADE. 


ploring  expedition  of  1786-90  round  the  world  to 
luHy  investigate  the  prospects  of  the  fur-trade  for 
French  enterprise.  Consequently  he  obtained  about 
a  thousand  sea-otter  skins,  mostly  in  pieces,  which 
were  sold  for  ten  thousand  dollars  in  China,  and 
the  proceeds  divided  among  the  crews  of  the  two 
vessels."  "I  believe,"  writes  the  navigator,  "that 
there  is  no  country  in  the  world  where  the  sea-otter 
is  more  common  than  in  this  part  of  America;  and  I 
should  be  little  surprised  that  a  factory  extending 
its  operations  only  forty  or  fifty  leagues  along  tho 
sea -shore  might  coUect  each  year  ten  thousand 
skins  of  this  animal.""  Yet  he  did  not  favor  any 
project  of  a  French  fur-trading  establishment  on  the 
Northwest  Coast,  or  even  the  granting  an  exclu- 
sive right  to  engage  in  this  trade  to  a  French  com- 
pany. Such  were  his  views  as  expressed  in  a  memoir 
written  in  December  1786,  on  the  way  from  California 
to  China.  He  had  no  doubt  that  sea -otter  skins 
might  be  obtained  in  unlimited  quantities;  indeed  so 
plentiful  was  the  supply  that  i.he  Chinese  market  in 
his  opinion  could  not  possibl;y  maintain  prices  on  a 
profitable  basis.  Moreover,  he  feared  that  an  estab- 
lishment on  the  coast  might  cause  trouble  with  the 
courts  of  Madrid  or  St  Petersburg.  He  gave,  how- 
ever, an  approval  of  private  experimental  expeditions 
undertaken  by  French  traders.^* 

"Xa  Pdrouae,  Voyage,  L  29-30;  iv.  165-7;  Fleurieu,  in  Marchand,  Voyage, 
cxii.-cxvii. 

"i/a  P&rouse,  Voyage,  ii.  176. 

^^LaPdrouse,  M6moiresurlecommercedeapeavxdeloutredemer,iiiId.,  Voy., 
162-172.  '  Quelqu'dtcndu  que  soit  Tempire  de  la  Chine,  il  mo  paratt  impossible 
que  les  peaux  de  loutre  s'y  mautiennent  k  tr^s-haut  prix,  lorsque  lea  diffdrentes 
nations  de  I'Europe  y  en  apporteront  en  concurrence. '  '  J'ai  beaucoup  r6fl6chi 
BUT  lo  projet  d'une  factorerie  au  Port  des  Fran^ais  ou  dans  les  environs ;  et 
j'y  trouve  de  tr6a-grands  inconvdniens,  h,  cause  de  I'immense  dloignement 
ou  ce  comptoir  se  trouveraitdc  I'Europe,  et  do  I'incertittide  des  rdsultats  de  ce 
conunerce  h  la  Chine,  lorsque  les  Eiipagnols,  les  Rusaes,  lea  Anglais  et  les 
Franpaia  y  apporteront  en  concurrence  ccs  peaux,  qu'il  est  si  facile  de  se  pro- 
curer sur  toute  la  c6tc.  On  ne  pent  d'ailleurs  douter  que  notre  compagnie  des 
Indca  ne  r^clamiit  contre  le  privilege  qu'il  faudrait  accorder  aux  armatcura 
pour  qn'ils  pussent  {aire  leur  veute  K  la  Chine . . .  Ces  privileges  excluaifs  tuent 
fe  commerce,  comme  lea  grands  arbres  dtouffent  les  arbustes  qui  lea  environ- 
nent.'  'Aiusi,  en  rusumant  lea  diflfdrena  articlea  de  ce  mdmoire,  mon  opinion 
eat  qu'on  ne  doit  point  encore  songcr  ti  I'dtablissement  d'une  factorerie,  qu'il 


i'..: 


LA  PJiROUSE  AND  MARCHAND. 


357 


The  papers  of  La  Perouse's  expedition  not  having 
been  pubUshed,  "  French  commerce,"  writes  M.  Fleu- 
rieu,  "  had  not  been  able  to  engage  in  any  enterjjrise 
of  rivalry  with  that  of  other  nations  in  the  fur-trade. 
It  would  have  been  rash  indeed  to  engage  without 
preliminary  examination  in  speculations  which  would 
require  in  order  to  be  realized  that  vessels  should 
make  voyages  round  the  world.  Before  embarking  in 
this  new  career  it  was  essential  that  our  merchants 
should  have  been  able  to  procure  data  nearly  accurate, 
which  on  the  one  hand  might  put  them  in  a  condi- 
tion to  form  a  plan  on  the  conduct  to  be  observed 
with  the  Americans  of  the  north-west  coast,  and  on 
the  selection  of  merchandise  necessary  for  barter  with 
them,  and  which  on  the  other  hand  might  give  them 
a  glimpse  of  the  profits  to  be  expected  from  the  second 
exchange  of  American  furs  for  Chinese  productions." 
But  Captain  Marchand  met  Portlock  in  1788,  and 
obtained  from  him  such  information  as  to  induce  a 
French  house  to  make  the  venture  in  1790-1.** 

Marchand  obtained  a  fair  quantity  of  furs,  but  on 
carrying  them  to  China  in  1791  he  found  that  an  order 
had  been  issued  prohibiting  any  further  introduc- 
tion of  peltries  into  the  ports;  therefore  they  were 
carried  home  and  deposited  at  Lyons,  where  they  were 
destroyed  by  worms  during  the  siege  of  that  city, 
involvmg  the  owners  in  a  serious  loss.  Marchand 
confirmed  the  ideas  of  La  Pcrouse  as  to  the  abun- 
dance of  sea-otter  skins ;  but  he  also  feared  that  the 

ii'est  pas  mfime  temps  d'dtablir  une  compagnie  exclusive  pour  faire  co  com- 
merce ti  I'aventure ;  qu'on  doit  encore  bien  moius  lo  confier  &  la  compagnio  des 
Indes,  qui  ne  le  ferait  pas,  on  le  ferait  mal,  et  en  ddgodterait  lo  gouvememerst ; 
mais  qu'il  convicndrnit  d'engager  une  de  nos  places  do  commerce  i  essayer 
trois  expeditions,  en  lui  accordant  la  certitude  d'un  fret  en  Chine.'  M.  Mon- 
neron,  cliief  engineer  of  the  expedition,  regards  a  French  fur-trading  post  as 
inexpedient,  and  is  ready  to  argue  the  case  if  the  government  so  desires.  He 
says  also  that  La  Pt^rouse  wrote  a  paper  against  such  an  cstabliahment.  '11 
n'est  \yaa  difficile  de  pr^sumer  que  rdprctcJ  do  ce  climat,  le  peu  do  resources  de 
ce  pays,  son  tloignement  prodigieux  clc  la  mctropole,  la  concurrence  des  Russes 
ct  des  Espagnola,  qui  sont  placC'S  coiiveuablement  pour  faire  commerce,  doi  vent 
eloigner  toutc  autre  puissance  europdemie  que  celles  que  je  viens  de  uommer, 
<le  former  rmcxin  (Stablissement  entre  Monterey  ct  I'entrde  du  Prince- Williams.' 
Jd.,  iv.  I'^l. 

^*Fleurieu,  clxxxiv.-v. 


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S58 


THE  MAEITIME  FUR-TRADE. 


trade  would  not  be  permanently  profitable,  though 
he  had  no  doubt  the  Chinese  prohibition  would  be 
evaded,  unless  it  could  be  regulated  and  systematized." 
There  was  another  French  trader  on  the  coast  in  1792, 
but  nothing  definite  is  known  of  results. 

It  was  in  1788  that  the  Americans  began  their  far- 
trading  operations  on  the  coast  by  the  expedition  of 
Kendrick  and  Gray,  fully  recorded  elsewhere  in  this 
volume.  In  the  Coolidge  building,  opposite  the  Revere 
House,  Boston,  writes  Bulfinch,  "  was  assembled,  in 
the  year  1787,  a  group,  consisting  of  the  master  of 
the  mansion,  Dr  Bulfinch,  his  only  son  Charles,  and 
Joseph  Barrell,  their  neighbor,  an  eminent  merchant 
of  Boston.  The  conversation  turned  upon  the  topic  of 
the  day, —  the  voyages  and  discoveries  of  Capt.  Cook, 
the  account  of  which  had  lately  been  published.  The 
brilliant  achievements  of  Capt.  Cook,  his  admirable 
qualities,  and  his  sad  fate . .  .  these  formed  the  current 
of  the  conversation;  till  at  last  it  changed,  and  turned 
more  upon  the  commercial  aspects  of  the  subject.  Mr 
Barrell  was  particularly  struck  with  what  Cook  relates 
of  the  abundance  of  valuable  furs  offered  by  the  na- 
tives in  exchange  for  beads,  knives,  and  other  trifling 
commodities  valued  by  them . . .  Mr  Barrell  remarked : 
'  There  is  a  rich  harvest  to  be  reaped  there  by  those 
who  shall  first  go  in.'  The  idea  thus  suggested  was 
followed  out  in  future  conversations  at  the  doctor's 
fireside,  admitting  other  congenial  spirits  to  the  dis- 
cussion, and  resulted  in  the  equipping  of  an  expedi- 
tion," by  Messrs  Barrell,  Brown,  Bulfinch,  Darby, 
Hatch,  and  Pintard."    It  is  not  unhkely  either  that 

^'•Marchand,  Voyage,  ii.  368-72,  391-4,  521-2.  He  learned  also  that  the 
year  before  the  average  price  had  been  forced  by  competition  down  to  fif- 
teen dollars.  Nothing  of  the  prohibition  appears  in  the  statements  of  other 
traders  of  the  year.  '  Mais  lo  commerce  des  Fourrures  a  des  limites  {ix<5es  par 
la  Nature  et  par  la  Raison : . .  II  cat  ais(5  de  concevoir  que  la  nouvelle  intro- 
duction de  Pelleteries  par  la  voie  do  mer  et  les  Ports  du  Midi  de  la  Chine,  en 
appelant  lea  Anglais,  les  Am^ricains,  les  Fran^ais,  les  Espagnols  et  les  Por- 
tugais  au  partage  do  ce  commerce,  en  les  faisaut  entrer  en  concurrence  et  en 
rivalit^  avec  lea  Russes,  doit  I'airo  deacendre  lea  marchandisea  qui  on  sent  I'ob- 
jet,  A  des  prix  qui  no  pri'iscntcront  plus  un  b(5n(5Gce  suiBsant,'  etc. 

^^Buljinch's  Oretjoii  and  El  Dorado,  1-3. 


LI 


SOLID  MEN  OF  BOSTON. 


359 


Ledyard's  old-time  enthusiasm  had  left  an  influence 
still  more  or  less  potent  in  the  minds  of  Boston's 
solid  men. 

Though  figures  are  lacking,  this  first  venture  is  said 
not  to  have  been  profitable,  and  some  of  the  partners 
withdrew  from  the  enterprise ;  but  the  rest  persevered, 
and  others  entered  the  new  field  with  large  but  vary- 
ing success.  Perkins,  Lamb,  Dorr,  Boardman,  Lyman, 
and  Sturgis  are  names  connected  with  firms  that  are 
said  to  have  made  fortunes  in  the  fur-trade.  J3own  to 
1788-9  there  had  been  fourteen  English  vessels  en- 
gaged in  the  trade;  but  from  1790  to  1818  there  were 
one  hundred  and  eight  American  vessels  and  only 
twenty-two  English,  nearly  all  before  1800,  with  three 
French,  and  two  Portuguese,  so  far  as  recorded,  though 
the  list  of  all  classes,  particularly  of  the  British  craft, 
is  doubtless  incomplete.  Indeed  very  little  is  known 
in  detail  of  English  ventures  in  this  direction  after  the 
Nootka  controversy  of  1789-95;  but  it  appears  that 
the  trade  was  gradually  abandoned  by  reason  of  divers 
obstacles,  notably  the  opposition  of  the  East  India 
Company. 

Said  Captain  Sturgis  in  his  lecture  on  the  subject: 
"  The  trade  was  confined  almost  exclusively  to  Boston. 
It  was  attempted,  unsuccessfully,  from  Philadelphia 
and  New  York,  and  from  Providence  and  Bristol,  in 
Rhode  Island.  Even  the  intelligent  and  enterprising 
merchants  of  Salem  failed  of  success ...  So  many  of 
the  vessels  engaged  in  this  trade  belonged  here,  the 
Indians  had  the  impression  that  Boston  was  our 
whole  country.  At  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Russian  establishments,  the 
whole  trade  was  in  our  hands,  and  so  remained  until 
the  close  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  in  1815.  In 
1801,  the  trade  was  most  extensively,  though  not 
most  profitably  prosecuted;  that  year,  there  were 
fifteen  vessels  on  the  coast,  and  in  1802  more  than 
fifteen  thousand  sea-otter  skins  were  'collected,  and 
carried  to  Canton.    But  the  competition  was  so  groat, 


k  I 


1  ■  i 


W  \    I   il 


tr 


480 


THE  MARITIME  FURTRADE. 


that  few  of  the  voyages  were  then  profitable,  and 
some  were  ruinous.  Subsequently,  the  war  with  Great 
Britain  interrupted  the  trade  for  a  time ;  but  after  the 
peace  in  1815  it  was  resumed,  and  flourished  for  some 
years 


"17 


"In  the  year  1792,  there  were  twenty-one  vessels 
under  different  flags,"  writes  Mr  Irving,  "plying 
along  the  coast  and  trading  with  the  natives.  The 
greater  part  of  them  were  American,  and  owned  by 
Boston  merchants.  They  generally  remained  on  the 
coast,  and  about  the  adjacent  seas,  for  two  years,  carry- 
ing on  as  wandering  and  adventurous  a  commerce  on 
the  water  as  did  the  traders  and  trappers  on  land. 
Their  trade  extended  along  the  whole  coast  from 
California  to  the  high  northern  latitudes.  They  would 
run  in  near  shore,  anchor,  and  wait  for  the  natives  to 
come  off  in  their  canoes  with  peltries.  The  trade  ex- 
hausted at  one  place,  they  would  up  anchor  and  off  to 
another.  In  this  way  they  would  consume  the  sum- 
mer, and  when  autumn  came  on,  would  run  down  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands  and  winter  in  some  friendly  and 
plentiful  harbor.  In  the  following  year  they  would 
resume  their  summer  trade,  commencing  at  California 
and  proceeding  north:  and,  having  in  the  course  of 
the  two  seasons  collected  a  sufficient  cargo  of  peltries, 
would  make  the  best  of  their  way  to  China.  Here 
they  would  sell  their  furs,  take  in  teas,  nankeens,  and 
other  merchandise,  and  return  to  Boston,  after  an 
absence  of  two  or  three  years.  "^^ 

^^Sturgia'  Northtoest  Fur  Trade,  ^34-6.  'The  direct  trade  between  the 
American  coasts  and  China  remained,  from  1796  to  1814,  almost  entireljf, . . . 
in  the  hands  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States.  *  Greenhow'a  Or.  and  Cal. ,  266. 

^"Irviiig'n  Astoria,  32-3.  'Desde  el  aflo  de  1787,  hasta  el  presente  lian 
anclado  en  aquel  puerto  [Nootka]  veinte  y  ocho  cmbarcaciones  de  variaa 
I'otencias  con  el  fin  de  comerciar  con  los  Inctios  de  toda  la  couta. .  .atcndieudo 
todos  ^stos  &  la  crecida  utilidad  que  les  promete  el  comercio  clandcstino  ^tie 
tiencn  sobre  iiuestras  costas,  pues  por  xm  peqnello  pedazo  de  cobre,  cuyo 
valor  no  es  mas  que  tres  reales  en  Nueva-Kspafta,  logran  comprar  una  piel  de 
iiutria,  que  vendida  en  Canton  asciende  su  precio  d  cieato  y  veinte  tJesos,  6  & 
'■icnto  y  ochenta,  segun  la  calidad  que  estiman  los  Chinos,  siendo  la  mejor  la 
moa  grando  y  negra,  con  la  condicion  que  tenga  el  hocico  bianco.'  Tobdr, 
Jii/orme,  157-8. 


!  1 


SPANIARDS  LOOK  INTO  IT. 


361 


An  English  navigator  of  1792  writes:  *'  The  vessels 
employed  in  commercial  jjursuits  this  season  on  the 
north-west  coast  of  America,  have  I  believe  found 
their  adventures  to  answer  their  expectations :  many- 
were  contented  with  the  cargo  of  I'urs  they  had  col- 
lected in  the  course  of  the  sununer;  whilst  others 
who  had  prolonged  their  voyage,  either  passed  the 
winter  at  the  Sandwich  islands,  or  on  the  coast,  where 
they  completed  small  vessels  which  they  brought  out 
in  frame.  An  English  and  an  American  shallop  were 
at  this  time  on  the  stocks  in  the  cove,  and  when  fin- 
ished were  to  be  employed  in  the  inland  navigation,  in 
collecting  the  skins  of  the  sea-otter  and  other  furs; 
beside  these,  a  French  ship  was  then  engaged  in  the 
same  pursuit,"  and  the  Spaniards  were  also  collect- 
ing information  on  commerce.^"  And  a  Spanish  voy- 
ager of  that  year  says,  Dixon's  profits  excited  the 
cupidity  of  traders,  and  thus,  "although  various  cir- 
cumstances have  caused  a  considerable  diminution  of 
the  profits  which  this  traffic  yielded  at  first,  twenty- 
two  vessels  engaged  in  it  have  been  counted  in  1792, 
eleven  English,  eight  American,  two  Portuguese,  and 
one  French;  and  the  American  Mr  Gray  has  col- 
lected by  himself  alone  3000  skins.  Hardly  is  there 
a  point  on  the  coast  from  37°  to  60°  which  is  not 
visited  by  these  vessels ;  so  that,  if  we  lack  a  detailed 
and  accurate  map  from  the  reports,  explorations,  and 
surveys  of  these  navigators,  it  is  because  those  who 
discover  a  port  or  entrance  not  known  before,  where 
they  find  inhabitants  and  an  opportunity  to  procure 
skins  advantageously,  take  adva^itage  of  the  occasion 
and  conceal  the  news  of  the  discovery  with  a  view  of 
doing  an  exclusive  trade  for  a  long  time.'"''*' 

^* Vancouver's  Voyage,  i.  408.  'Ainai  V Europe,  VAsie,  et  VAmMque  du 
Nord-Ext,  par  un  mouvement  simultan^  ont  dirig<5  leurs  vaisseaux  vers  Ics 
Cdtes  du  Nord-Ouf.st  du  Nouveau  Monde,  et  ont  multiplid  ii  I'cnvi,  sans 
principes  comme  sans  mesure,  de  spdoulations  hasardt-cs.'  Marchand,  Voyage, 
li.  391. 

^Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Viage,  112-13.  'Sabem  tambien  que  la  nacion 
inglesa,  ansiosa  de  extender  su  comercio  por  todo  ci  globe,  oy6  con  gusto  las 
noticias  del  Capitan  Cook  sobre  cl  trdfico  de  pieles  en  las  costas  al  N.  0.  de  la 


::  !^:: 


I    >l 


I  i 


I . '    ;  ll 


!'       ll 


'■ll- 

•U' 


i 


302 


THE  MARITIME  FURTRADE. 


"There  are  better  ships  nowadays,  but  no  bettor  sea- 
men," says  one  of  the  old  Boston  commanders;"  and 
another,  "The  vessels  usually  employed  were  from  one 
hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons  burthen,  each. 
The  time  occupied  for  a  voyage  by  vessels  that  remained 
upon  the  coast  only  a  single  season,  was  from  twenty- 
two  months  to  two  years,  but  they  generally  remained 
out  two  seasons,  and  were  absent  from  home  nearly 
three  years."^''  "The  American  vessels,  employed  on 
the  N.  w.  coast,"  says  a  writer  whose  patriotism  was 
excited  in  1822  by  rumors  of  Russian  interference,  "are 
well  armed,  and  amply  furnished  with  the  munitions  of 
war.  Separated  from  the  civilized  world,  and  cut  oflf, 
for  a  loag  time,  from  all  communication  with  it,  they 
have  been  accustomed  to  rely  on  their  own  resources 
for  protection  and  defence;  and  to  consider,  and  treat 
as  enemies,  all  who  attempted  to  interrupt  them  in 
the  prosecution  of  their  lawful  pursuits.  To  induce 
them  to  relinquish  this  commerce,  'persuasion'  will 
be  unavailing;  'threats*  will  be  disregarded,"  and 
force  will  be  met  by  force — unless  the  odds  appear 
too  great.^ 

English  writers  did  not  always  greatly  admire  the 
American   methods    of  carrying    on    the    fur-trade, 

America,  que  lo  einprendi6  inraediatamcnte,  que  cogi6  sus  primicias,  y  que  lo 
'^ntiniia  con  actividad,  quizd  con  otras  miras  de  mayor  interna ;  pero  si  las 
uiancias  de  aquel  trdfico  puedcn  habcrse  minorado,  tambien  hay  razoncs  que 
jrsuaden  &  que  eata  adquisicion  se  vaya  haciendo  cada  dia  maa  diticil  y 
'  .ttoaa.  Frecuentan  aquellos  mares  muchos  buques  de.distintaa  nacionea: 
V^os  ae  emplean  en  el  comercio  de  pieles.'  ReviUa-Q-iijedo,  I-nforme  12  dt 
Abtil,  1793,  pp.  147-51.  For  half  a  century  or  more  after  declaring  their 
independence  of  Great  Britain  the  people  of  the  United  States  conducted,  by 
sea  and  land,  a  lucrative  commerce  with  the  north-west  coast.  During  thia 
time  dLscoveriea  were  made  ond  possession  taken  of  many  places  which  shrewd 
merchants  did  not  regard  it  advantageoua  to  their  buainess  then  to  make 
known.  Franchere'g  Nar.,  17. 

^^Boston  in  the  Northwest,  MS.,  31.  'Such  is  the  spirit  of  enterprize  and 
the  activity  of  these  mariners,  who  are  inured  to  danger  and  fatigue,  that  an 
American  has  been  known  to  leave  a  detachment  of  his  crow  at  the  Falkland 
lalanda,  to  double  Cape  Horn,  ascend  to  the  north,  leave  a  second  detach- 
ment on  the  rocks  before  St  Francisco,  in  California,  2500  leagues  from  the 
other,  then  repass  the  Cape  with  some  men,  collect  his  detachments  on  both 
coasts,  and  purchase  in  Cliina  with  the  prodrce  of  their  fishery,  a  cargo  for 
the  United  States.'  Roquefeuil's  Voyage,  17. 

^'^Sturyii'  Nurfhvx-M  Fur  Trade,  533. 

'^^ North  American  lievieio,  xv.  393-4.  The  writer  seems  to  have  been 
Captain  Sturgiy. 


THE  AMERICAN  METHOD  CRITICISED. 


363 


thoU'h  it  nowhere  appears  that  those  methods  dif- 
fered materially  from  those  of  the  British  tradei-s, 
except  in  their  greater  success  and  more  energetic 
application.  Says  A.lexander  Mackenzie  in  1800:  The 
Pacific  trade  "is  at  present  left  to  American  adven- 
turers, who  without  regularity  or  capital,  or  the  do- 
sire  of  conciliating  future  confident  o,  look  altogether 
to  the  interest  of  the  moment.  They  therefore  col- 
lect all  the  skins  they  can  procure,  and  in  any  nianner 
that  suits  them,  and  having  exchanged  them  at. 
Canton  for  the  produce  of  China,  return  to  their 
own  country.  Such  adventurers,  and  many  of  them, 
as  I  have  been  informed,  have  been  very  successful, 
would  instantly  disappear  from  before  a  well-regu- 
lated trade" — such  as  England  i':  urged  to  establish 
by  opening  overland  communication  across  America.'^ 
Another  writer  describes  the  operations  of  the  Yankees 
in  a  manner  by  no  means  so  uncomplimentary  to  the 
latter  as  it  was  intended  to  be,  as  follows:  These 
"adventurers  set  out  on  the  voyage  with  a  few 
trinkets  of  little  value;  in  the  southern  Pacific  they 
pick  up  some  seal-skins,  and  perhaps  a  few  butts  of 
oil;  at  the  Gallipagos  they  lay  in  turtle,  of  which 
they  preser/e  the  shells;  at  Valparaiso  they  raise  a 
few  dollars  in  exchange  for  European  articles;  at 
Nootka  and  other  parts  of  the  north-west  coast  they 
traffic  with  the  natives  for  furs  which,  when  winter 
commences,  they  carry  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  to 
dry  and  preserve  from  vermin ;  here  they  leave  their 
own  people  to  take  care  of  them,  and  in  the  spring 
embark  in  lieu  the  natives  of  the  islands  to  assist  in 
navigating  to  the  north-west  coast  in  search  of  moro 
skins.  The  remainder  of  the  cargo  is  then  made  up 
of  sandal, .  .  tortoise-shell,  shark-fins,  and  pearls  of  an 
inferior  kind,,  .and  with  these  and  their  dollars  they 
purchase  cargoes  of  tea,  silks,  and  nankeens,  and  thus 
complete  their  voyage  in  the  course  of  twc  or  three 
years 


"Zft 


"Mackenzie's  Voyage,  411. 
"  Quarterly  Review,  xvi.  84. 


:'       i 


I 

> 

1 

i     1 

li: 

till 


364 


THE  MARITIME  PDE-TRADE. 


li 


In  reply  to  the  unfavorable  imputations  referred  to, 
Mr  Greenhow  says:  "It  would,  however,  be  easy  to 
show,  from  custom-house  returns  and  other  authentic 
evidence,  that  the  greater  n amber  of  the  vessels  sent 
from  the  United  States  to  the  north-west  coasts  were 
fine  ships  or  brigs,  laden  with  valuable  cargoes  of  West 
India  productions, . .  and  that  the  owners  were  men  of 
large  capital  and  high  reputation  in  the  commercial 
world.  .  .The  American  traders  have  also  been  ac- 
cused, by  British  writers,  of  practising  every  species 
of  fraud  and  violence  in  their  dealings  with  the  na- 
tives of  the  coasts  of  that  sea;  yet  the  acts  cited  in 
support  of  these  general  accusations  are  only  such  as 
have  been,  and  ever  will  be,  committed  by  people  of 
civilized  nations, — and  by  none  more  frequently  than 
the  British, — when  unrestrained  by  laws,  in  their 
intercourse  with  ignorant,  brutal,  and  treacherous  sav- 
ages, always  ready  to  rob  and  murder  upon  the  slight- 
est prospect  of  gain,  or  in  revenge  for  the  slightest 
affront.  Seldom  did  an  American  ship  complete  a 
voyage  through  the  Pacific  without  the  loss  of  some 
of  he'r  men,  by  the  treachery  or  the  ferocity  of  the 
natives .  . ;  and  several  instances  have  occurred  of 
the  seizure  of  such  vessels,  and  the  massacre  of  their 
whole  crews.  "^" 

Among  the  acts  of  hostility  committed  by  the  na- 
tives from  time  to  time  against  the  voyagers  of  differ- 
ent nations,  as  already  recorded,  may  be  mentioned 
the  following:  Seven  of  Heceta's  men  in  1775,  landing 
in  latitude  47°  20'  for  wood  and  water,  were  killed  by 
the  ambushed  Indians  for  no  other  appafent  motive 
than  to  obtain  the  nails  which  held  the  boat  together. 
In  1778  the  natives  farther  north  made  an  absurd 
attempt  to  plunder  one  of  Cook's  ships  and  steal  her 
boat.  Hanna  in  1785  inaugurated  the  fur-trade  by  a 
fight  with  the  Nootka  people.  Barclay  had  a  boat's 
crew  of  five  men  murdered  in  1787.  Captain  Gray's 
men  were  attacked  in  1788  at  Murderers  Harbor,  or 

^Greenhow' a  Or.  and  Cal,  267-8. 


KiYERS  DJSAS'l'EES. 


365 


TiUamook,  and  one  man  was  killed,  others  escaping 
with  serious  wounds  after  a  desperate  resistance.  In 
the  same  year  Meares'  boat  was  assaulted  by  the  sav- 
ages within  the  strait  of  Fuca,  and  several  men  were 
wounded.  Kendrick's  men  were  attacked  at  BarrcU 
Sound  in  1791,  and  the  same  commander  had  several 
minor  conflicts  with  the  natives,  of  which  not  much  U 
known;  and  Gray  lost  his  mate  and  two  men  in  the 
north. 

The  reader  is  familiar  with  the  plot  of  the  Indians 
to  seize  the  Clayoquot  in  1792.  The  Boston  was  seized, 
all  her  men  but  two  being  massacred  at  Nootka  in 
1803;  and  other  trading  craft  were  annoyed  by  hostile 
demonstrations  about  the  same  time.  Eight  men  of 
the  Atahualpa  were  killed  in  1805 ;  and  the  crew  of  the 
Tonquin  was  massacred  in  1811. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  ordinary  perils  of  long 
ocean  voyages  were  not  the  only  ones  the  traders  had 
to  encounter.  Indeed  I  do  not  remember  that  on 
the  Northwest  Coast  proper,  or  on  the  voyage  to  and 
from  Boston,  England,  or  China,  there  is  any  definite 
record  of  a  shipwreck  among  trading  craft  in  early 
times, though  there  were  several  on  the  Alaskan  coast. 
There  is  hardly  one  of  the  voyages,  however,  whoso 
log  would  not  afford  more  than  one  thrilling  descrip- 
tion of  situations  where  wreck  seemed  inevitable  and 
impending  death  was  faced  by  the  bold  mariners. 
Besides  what  was  suffered  from  the  hostilities  of 
north-western  Indians,  several  vessels  ca'iie  to  grief 
at  the  hands  of  Hawaiian  Islanders,  or  dwellers  on 
other  inhospitable  coasts  and  islands  of  the  Pacific. 
And  the  scurvy  was  an  ever  present  scourge,  that  de- 
stroyed not  a  few  lives  in  spite  of  all  precautions. 
Plenty  of  molasses,  sugar,  and  tea,  as  well  as  warm 
clothing,  was  deemed  essential;  and  a  variety  of 
vegetables  and  fruits  was  obtained  from  the  Islands 
as  a  preventive.  Spruce -beer  was  also  a  standard 
remedy  and  luxury  to  all  who  visited  the  coast,  yeast 
being  brought  for  the  purpose,  and  the  brewing  of 


366 


THE  MABITIME  FUR-TRADE. 


beer  being  as  regular  a  duty  at  each  anchorage  as  the 
obtaining  of  wood  and  water. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  some  cases  the 
hostile  acts  of  the  natives  were  provoked  by  wrongs 
committed  by  unscrupulous  traders,  though  in  most  in- 
stances evidence  respecting  the  exact  causes  is  not  ob- 
tainable. Englishmen  accused  Americr.ns  of  frequent 
outrages  on  the  Indians;  Gray  and  E.endrick  repre- 
sented that  Meares  and  his  companions  took  prop- 
erty by  force,  giving  in  return  what  they  chose ;  and 
in  turn  the  Americans  were  accused  by  the  Indians  of 
doing  the  same  thing,  in  one  instance  killing  seven 
of  their  number  in  order  to  get  possession  of  their 
furs.*'  Respecting  the  causes  of  these  troubles,  Cap- 
tain Belcher  writes:  "When  offering  objects  for  sale* 
they  are  very  sulky  if  their  tender  is  not  responded 
to.  .  .Upon  mature  consideration  of  what  I  have 
seen  and  heard  respecting  this  subject,  I  think  many 
of  the  unprovoked  attacks  we  have  heard  of  have 
originated  in  some  transaction  of  this  nature — refusal 
to  trade  being  deemed  almost  a  declaration  of  war. 
Facts,  however,  which  have  been  acknowledged,  prove 
that  wanton  malice  has  visited  upon  the  next  tribe 
the  sins  of  their  offending  neighbours."^  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  Spaniards  treated  the  natives 
more  justly  and  humanely  than  did  either  English  or 
Americans;  but  it  is  also  true  that  they  had  less 
provocation  for  injustice.  The  Indians  were  not  only 
tickle  and  thievish,  but  they  seem  to  have  been  as  a  ^ 
rule,  if  not  ferocious  and  blood-thirsty,  at  least  dis- 
posed to  attach  no  value  to  a  foreigner's  life,  and  to 
have  been  kept  in  check  solely  by  fear  of  detection. 


^Sutil  jf  Mexieana,  Viage,  24.  On  this  subject  the  Spanish  editor  says : 
'  Habiendo  baxada  el  valor  respectivo  del  cobre  por  la  concurrencia  de  laa 
embarcaciones  Europeas,  ^1  capitan  mercante  que  viene  &  traficar  sin  este 
coaocimiento  calcula  sobre  cl  valor  que  antes  tenia  para  proporcionar  sa 
cargamento :  Ueg»  &  negociar,  halla  que  los  Indies  lian  subido  el  precio  de  las 
pielcs,  J  que,  faaxo  el  cambio  que  quieren,  le  van  &  resultar  crecidas  p^rdidas ; 
olviila  los  principios  de  equidad,  cree  inaveriguables  bus  operaoionea,  y  se  vala 
de  ia  fuerza  para  sus  ventajas.' 

»BekAer'*  I'ogage,  L  101. 


INTERCOURSE  WITH  NATIVES. 


367 


The  traders  for  safety  had  to  depend  on  constant 
watchfulness;  and  they  could  not  trust  to  apprecia- 
tion of  kind  treatment.  Of  foreigners  as  of  aborig- 
ines it  may  be  truly  said  that  one  party  had  often  to 
suffer  for  wrongs  inflicted  by  another ;  and  on  both 
sides  there  were  instances  of  unprovoked  outrage.^ 

"In  trafficking  with,  us,"  writes  Captain  Cook, 
"some  of  them  would  betray  a  knavish  disposition, 
and  carry  off  our  goods  without  making  any  return. 
But,  in  general,  it  was  otherwise ;  and  we  had  abun- 
dant reason  to  commend  the  fairness  of  their  conduct. 
However,  their  eagerness  to  possess  iron  and  brass, 
and  indeed  any  kind  of  metal,  was  so  great,  that  few 
of  them  could  resist  the  temptation  to  steal  it,  when- 
ever an  opportunity  offered."^"  And  Meares:  "The 
natives  now  favoured  us  with  their  daily  visits,  and 
never  failed  to  exert  their  extraordinary  talents  in  the 
a,rt  of  thiever3^  They  would  employ  such  a  slight 
of  hand  in  getting  iron  materials  of  any  kind  as  is 
hardly  to  be  conceived.  It  has  often  been  observed 
when  the  head  of  a  nail  either  in  the  ship  or  boats 
stood  a  little  without  the  wood,  that  they  would 
apply  their  teeth  in  order  to  pull  it  out.  Indeed, 
if  the  different  losses  we  sustained,  and  the  manner  of 
them  were  to  be  related,  many  a  reader  would  have 
reason  to  suspect  that  this  page  exalted  the  purloin- 
ing talents  of  these  people  at  the  expence  of  truth. 


"31 


"  It  is  noticeable  that  nowhere  in  the  records  of  the  fur- trade  does  it  appeal 
that  any  troubles  arose  from  in-egular  sexual  relations  between  the  visitors  and 
native  women.  Most  voyagera  represent  the  latter  as  apparently  cold-blooded 
Aa  well  as  destitute  of  pei-sonal  attractions,  while  the  men  were  jealous  and 
vigilant.  The  French  sailors  found  the  women,  however,  at  several  points  on 
the  coast  more  complaisant  than  cleanly  when  they  could  elude  the  watchful- 
ness of  their  husbands ;  and  one  American  captain  of  1 825  tells  us  that  native 
women  were  regularly  admitted  to  the  ships  to  sleep  with  the  crew. 

'"Cook's  Voi/d'/e,  ii.  311.  '  lis  traversaient  un  bois  tres-foun-(?,  dans  lequcl 
11  nous  (5tait  impossiblo  do  pdndtrer  le  jour ;  ct,  so  glissant  sur  le  ventre  comme 
des  couleuvrcs,  sans  remuer  presque  une  feuillc,  ils  parvonaient,  malcrcS  uoa 
scntincUes,  k  ddrolxir  quelques-uns  de  nos  cffcts:  eafin  ils  eurcnt  I'addrcsse 
d'entrcr  de  nuit  dans  la  tente  oh  couchaient  MM. .,  qui  dtaient  do  gu.do  ti 
I'observatoiro ;  ils  enlev6rent  nn  fusil  garni  d'argent,  ainsi  quo  les  habits  de 
'Ces  deux  oiBcicrs,  qui  les  avaient  places  par  priicaution  sous  leur  chevet.'  La 
P&roust,  Voyage,  ii.  178-9. 

*^Meareer  Voyage,  xiiL 


i  It 


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1    j     r-   ' 

i         ')■           ', 

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I      ■ :  ■ 

ii     ! 

■     '.     ! 

an  THE  MARITIME  FUR-TRADE. 

Has  well  pronounces  one  tribe  "  like  all  others  on  this 
coast  without  one  exception,  addicted  to  theft.  ""^  A 
peculiarity  of  their  character  was  that  when  detected 
in  a  theft,  even  from  a  visitor  who  had  treated  them 
most  generously,  they  were  not  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree abashed;  if  the  detection  preceded  the  comple- 
tion of  the  theft  they  gracefully  admitted  their  defeat, 
but  if  it  was  later  they  could  never  understand  that 
the  original  owner  had  any  claim  to  an  article  success- 
fully stolen.  And  the  traders  generally  found  it  to 
be  best  to  adopt  the  native  view  of  the  matter  and 
trust  to  precautions  only. 

"  Trade,"  says  Captain  Sturgis,  "was  always  carried 
on  alongside,  or  on  board  the  ship,  usually  anchored 
near  the  shore,  the  Indians  coming  off  in  their  canoes. 
It  was  seldom  safe  to  admit  many  of  the  natives  into 
the  ship  at  the  same  time,  and  a  departure  from  this 
prudent  course  has,  in  numerous  instances,  been 
followed  by  the  most  disastrous  and  tragical  results." 
Dixon  tells  us  that  at  Cloak  Bay,  Queen  Charlotte 
Island,  "A  scene  now  commenced,  which  absolutely 
beggars  all  description .  .  .  There  were  ten  canoes  about 
the  ship,  which  contained  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  people;  many  of  these  brought  the  most 
beautiful  beaver  cloaks ;  others  excellent  skins,  and,  in 
short,  none  came  empty  handed,  and  the  rapidity  with 
which  they  sold  them,  was  a  circumstance  additionally 
pleasing;  they  fairly  quarrelled  with  each  other  about 
which  should  sell  his  cloak  first;  and  some  actually 
threw  their  furs  on  board  if  nobody  was  at  hand  to 
receive  them.  Toes  were  almost  the  only  article  we 
bartered ...  In  less  than  half  an  hour  we  purchased 
near  three  hundred  beaver  skins."  Each  cloak  was 
made  of  three  sea-otter  skins.^    Meares'  trade  is  de- 

'^''HaawelVa  Voyage  of  the  Columbia,  MS.,  21. 

^^ Dixon's  Voyage,  201, 222.  OaQueeti  Charlotte  Island,  he  says,  'The  chief 
usually  trades  for  the  whole  tribe ;  but  I  have  sometimes  observed  that  when 
his  method  of  barter  has  been  disapproved  of,  each  separate  family  has  claimed 
a  right  to  disi;>ose  of  their  own  furs,  and  the  chief  always  compUed  with  this 
request.'  And  Haswell,  lo;/.,  MS.,  02,  says  that  at  Barrell  Sound  the  chief 
bartered  for  all  Ms  subjects. 


ROUTINES  OF  TRAFFIC. 


369 


scribed  as  a  ceremonial  exchange  of  presents  chiefly. 
"On  our  arrival  at  the  habitation  of  the  chiefs,  where 
a  great  number  of  spectators  attended  to  see  the  cere- 
mony, the  sea-otter  skins  were  produced  with  great 
shoutings  and  gestures  of  exultation,  and  then  laid  at 
our  feet.  The  silence  of  expectation  theti  succeeded 
among  them,  and  their  most  eager  attention  was  em- 
ployed on  the  returns  we  should  make."  One  tribe 
would  not  sell  a  skin  until  the  women  permitted  it."^* 
At  one  place  on  the  Oregon  coast,  says  Has  well, "  They 
would  hand  their  skins  on  board  without  scruple  and 
take  with  satisfaction  whatever  was  given  in  return. 
This  we  very  seldom  found  to  be  the  case  in  any  other 
part  of  the  coast. ""^  "In  all  our  commercial  trans- 
actions with  this  people,"  says  Meares  at  Clayoquot, 
"we  were  more  or  less  the  dupes  of  their  cunning; 
and  with  such  peculiar  artifice  did  they  sometimes 
conduct  themselves,  that  all  the  precaution  we  could 
employ  was  not  sufficient  to  prevent  our  being  over- 
reached by  them.  The  women,  in  particular,  would 
pla,y  us  a  thousand  tricks,  and  treat  the  discovcVy 
of  their  finesse  with  an  arch  kind  of  pleasantry  that 
baffled  reproach."^" 

Iron,  copper,  and  coarse  woollen  goods  were,  one 
year  and  one  place  with  another,  standard  articles  of 
barter,  while  beads  and  gewgaws  had  less  value  than 
with  savages  in  most  other  parts  of  the  world.  So 
far,  however,  as  any  one  place  at  any  one  time  was 
concerned,  the  choice  of  a  cargo  to  suit  the  taste  of 
customers  was  a  mere  game  of  chance,  so  fickle  and 
whimsical  were  the  native  traders,  so  peculiar  and 
varying  their  ideas  of  value.  ^'    Articles  given  by  the 

'>*Meares'  Voyage,  120,  324. 

*^HamjodVa  Voyage,  MS.,  24. 

"il/earea'  Voyage,  148;  Marchand,  Voy. ,ii.6.  'Onpeutdireque,  sous lo rap- 
port de  rint6r6t  et  du  tratBc,  ils  ont  ileji  fait  do  graiida  pas  dans  la  civili;;a- 
tion,  et  que  les  HtJbreux  moderncs  auroJent  pcut-fitre  peu  do  choses  .'i  leur 
apprendre.' 

"  'The  first  adventurers  employed  iron,  beads,  glass,  and  Indian  gew- 
gaws as  the  medium  of  barter  ;  but  those  who  succeeded  them  added  British 
woollens  to  the  trade,  and  whole  villages  of  American  natives  were  seen  clad 
in  blankets . . .  After  some  time  the  Indians  became  so  fond  of  woolen  articles. 
Hist.  N.  W.  Coabt,  Vol.  I.    21 


■lit 


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tBatammm 


910 


THE  MARITIME  FUR-TRADE. 


Winships  in  1800  averaged  from  two  to  fifty  centfi 
each  for  sea-ott^r  skins.  Captain  Sturgis  "had  seen 
prime  sea-otter  skins  obtained  for  articles  that  did  not 
cost  fifty  cents  at  home,  and  had  seen  given  for  them 
articles  that  cost  here  twice  as  much  as  the  skins  would 
sell  for  inChina."  "  Such  as  were  dressed  in  furs,"writes 
another  trader,  "instantly  stripped  themselves,  and  for 
a  moderate  quantity  of  large  spike  nails,  we  received 
sixty  fine  skins."  It  Has  alreaidy  been  recorded  how 
Haswell  got  two  hundred  skins  for  one  small  chisel 
on  the  shores  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island.  An  old 
woman  on  the  same  coast  contemptuously  refused  all 
of  Dixon's  offers  of  axes  or  anything  else  for  a  curious 
lip  ornament,  but  when  some  bright  buttons  ap- 
peared she  yielded  to  the  temptation.  "Brass  pans, 
pewter  basons,  and  tin  kettles,"  were  the  articles  most 
esteemed  at  one  place,  while  at  another  near  by  only 
^ toes'  were  prized.  Yet  Dixon  found  iron  the  staple 
commodity,  "everything  else  depending,  in  a  groat 
measure,  on  fancy  and  caprice."  Says  Captain  Cook: 
''Six  of  the  finest  skins  purchased  by  us  were  got  for 
a  dozen  large,  green,  glass  beads."  Elsewhere  they 
rejected  all  pieces  of  iron  that  did  not  exceed  eight 
inches  in  length.  Of  the  articles  carried  by  Marchand, 
copper  and  tin  pots  and  kettles  were  preferred;  also 
weapons,  iron  things  generally  not  being  cared  for; 
but  only  for  articles  of  clothing,  of  which  there  were 
none  save  those  kept  in  stock  for  the  sailors,  they 
would  give  their  finest  fu;s.^ 

that  no  trade  could  be  carried  on  without  them.  '  The  fickleness  that  they 
at  times  discovered  in  their  traffic,  waa  occasionally  very  troublesome.  At 
one  time  copper  was  their  favoritf.  object;  at  another,  iron  was  the  only 
commodity  in  estimation  among  them  ;  beads  would  also  have  their  turn  of 
preference.  But  this  hesitation  in  their  choice  was  generally  determined  by 
a  medley  of  them  all.'  Meares'  Voyages,  Ixix.  121. 

^^Boston  ill  the  Northwest,  MS.,  17;  Stunjis'  Northwest  Fur  Trade,  C37; 
Meares'  Voyages,  xv.  Haswell,  Voy.,  MS.,  24,  Cl-2,  who  says  clothing  was 
more  in  demand  than  iron  at  Barrel!  Sound,  adds :  '  We  purchased  a  num- 
ber of  otter  skins  for  knives,  axes,  adzes,  etc. ;  but  h.vl  we  had  copper,  a 
piece  two  or  three  inches  square  would  have  been  far  more  valuable  to  them;' 
Dixon,  Voyage,  02,  C8,  192,  203,  208,  228-9,  245,  says:  'Saws  were  not  cared 
for.  At  our  first  trading  the  natives  took  toes  and  blue  beads,  but  the  toes 
are  held  in  the  greatest  estimation,  a  middling  sized  too  fetching  the  best 
otter-skin  they  had  got. .  .The  number  of  sea-otter  skins  purchased  by  us 


■^:r 


FICKLENESS  OF  THE  NATIVES. 


371 


ifty  cento 
had  seen 
it  did  not 
for  them 
ins  would 
rs,"  writes 
js,  and  for 
)  received 
rded  how 
lall  chisel 
.    An  old 
•efused  all 
r  a  curious 
ittons    ap- 
Irass  pans, 
tides  most 
ar  by  only 
the  staple 
in   a  great 
ftain  Cook: 
ere  got  for 
irhere  they 
Lceed  eight 
Marchand, 
■erred;  also 
cared  for; 
there  were 
ailors,  they 


leness  that  they 
roubleaome.  At 
m  was  the  only 
i,ve  their  turn  of 
y  determined  by 

Fur  Trade,  537; 
lys  clothing  was 
mrchased  a  num- 
vo  had  copper,  a 
aluable  to  them ;' 
es  were  not  cared 
sads,  but  the  toes 
fetching  the  best 
purchased  by  u« 


The  Indians  were  often  so  extravagant  in  their  de- 
mands, particularly  when  they  had  been  visited  by 
many  vessels,  that  no  traflBc  was  possible — that  is, 
without  paying  nearly  half  the  value  of  the  furs, 
which  was  not  to  be  thought  of  Thus  at  one  point 
where  furs  were  plentiful,  nothing  but  muskets  would 
be  taken;  while  at  another  place  the  Indians  would 
exchange  their  peltries  for  great-coats  only,  demand- 
ing, moreover,  two  great-coats  for  each  sea-otter  skin. 
The  Spaniards  found  that  shells  from  Monterey  would 
purchase  not  only  furs,  but  the  choicest  articles  for 
which  their  furs  had  been  bartered.    Captain  Sturgis, 

at  Queen  Charlotte's  Islands,  was  no  less  than  1821,  many  of  them  very 
fine :  other  furs  are  found  in  less  variety  here  than  in  many  other  parts  of 
the  coast,  the  few  raccoons,  a  few  pine  marten,  and  some  seals  being  the 
only  kinds  we  saw.  Toes,  at  first,  were  quite  a  leading  article  in  barter; 
but  so  great  a  number  of  traders  required  a  variety  of  trade,  and  we  were 
frequently  obliged  to  produce  every  article  in  our  possession,  before  we  could 
please  our  numerous  friends.  Thus  in  one  fortunate  month  has  our  success 
been  much  greater  than  that  probably  of  both  vessels  during  the  rest  of 
the  voyage — st)  uncertain  is  the  fur  trade  on  this  inhospitable  coast. '  '  Lcs 
vGtements,  'says  Marchand,  Voy. ,  ii.  5, '  etoient  les  seuls  efiets  pour  lesquels  il  f ut 
possibles  d'obtenir  les  belles  peaux  de  Loutre  de  la  premit-re  qualite.  Les  petits 
couteaux,  les  grains  de  verre  colore,  les  bagues,  les  boutons  de  metal,  et  touH 
les  colifichets  d'Europe  etoient  &  peine  agrdes  en  pur  don,  on  en  pot-dc-vin. ' 
Cook's  Voycu/e,  ii.  358;  iii.  438.  Says  Portlock,  Voyage,  284 :  'I  could  not  pur- 
chase a  good  skin  for  less  than  a  light-horseman's  cap,  two  yards  of  inferior 
broadcloth,  a  pair  of  buckles,  two  handfuls  of  small  beiads,  and  two  fish-hooks. 
The  articles  wo  bartered  with  were  the  light-horsemen's  caps,  striped  woollen 
blankets,  towes  18  or  20  inches  long,  buckles,  buttons,  and  t)eads.  However  I 
could  not  procure  even  a  piece  of  skin  with  any  of  the  latter  articles ;  they  were 
only  given  by  woy  of  concluding  a  bargain,  as  were  tin  kettles,  brass  pans,  and 
pewter  basons;  but  hatchets,  aSzes,  trowels,  they  would  scarcely  take  for  any- 
thing whatever. '  '  De  tous  les  articles  de  commerce  ils  ne  desiraient  ardem- 
mcnt  que  le  f er ;  ils  accept^rent  aussi  quelques  rassadcs ;  mais  ellcs  scrvaient 
plutdt  k  concluro  un  marchd,  qu'  k  former  la  base  de  I'dchangc.  Non  parvlnmes 
dans  la  suite  a  !eur  faire  recevoir  des  assiettes  et  dea  pots  d'dtain ;  mais  ces 
articles  n'eurent  qu'un  succ6s  passager,  et  le  fer  priivalut  sur  tout.'  La  Pcrouse 
Voyatje,  ii.  1 72.  'A  moderately  good  sea-otter  skin  will  fetch  from  six  to  seven 
blankets,  increasing  to  thirteen  for  the  best;  no  bargain  being  conclusive 
without  sundry  nicknaeks  similar  to  the  Chinese  cumshaw.  These  generally 
may  be  estimated  at  one  blanket,  which  should  be  worth  twelve  shillings  here. 
In  money  they  frequently  ask  forty  dollars ;  on  thfe  coast  of  California  at  San 
Francisco  and  Monterey  as  much  as  eighty  to  a  hundred. '  Belcher's  Narrative, 
i.  101.  'Este  comercio  ha  llegado  d  ser  muy  Incroso  [to  the  natives]  en  estos 
liltimos  tiempos  por  haber  aumentado  el  precio  de  las  picles  A  proporcion  de 
lo  que  ha  crecido  su  consume  y  el  concurso  do  compradores.  Decia  Macuina 
que  las  faabia  vendido  al  Capitan  Mearcs  d  diez  por  plancha  (de  cobre)  en  el 
auo  de  1788;  y  en  el  dia  se  da  una  plancha  de  media  arroba  por  cada  piel  de 
primera  calidad.  En  nuestra  corto  trato  con  los  Nuchfmases  no  conseguimos 
qae  nos  diesen  tres  pieles  de  regular  tamaiio  y  calidad  por  dos  planchas  de 
cobre  de  una  arroba  ae  peso.'  Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Viage,  1 12. 


:!i;: 


■1  ^ 


J 1 


872 


THE  MARITTJE  FUT -TRADE. 


as  elsewhere  related,  onne  obtained  a  large  quantity 
of  erinines  at  about  thirty  cents  each  from  Europe,^ 
and  with  these  he  had  no  diflBculty  in  purchasing  the 
best  skins  at  the  rate  of  five  ermines,  or  *  clicks,'  for 
each.  "  It  is  the  usage  of  the  natives,"  says  Mar- 
chand,  "  to  terminate  no  bargain  without  demanding 
a  present,  which  they  call  stoL  On  voit  que  dejh  ils 
commencent  h,  s'  europianiser"  and  on  the  same  sub- 
ject Sturgis  also  remarks:  "Several  smaller  articles 
were  given  as  presents  nominally,  but  in  reality  formed 
part  of  the  price."  "To  avoid  trouble,  which  would 
certainly  follow  if  he  yielded  in  a  single  instance,  he 
had  found  it  necessary  to  waste  hours  in  a  contest 
with  a  woman  about  articles  of  no  greater  value  than 
a  skein  of  thread."  "  Most  of  the  skins,"  writes 
Cook,  "which  we  purchased  were  made  up  into  gar- 
ments. Some  of  them  were  in  good  condition,  but 
others  were  old  and  ragged  enough,  and  all  of  them 
very  lousy. "^"^  All,  including  the  chieftains,  wore 
usually  ready  enough  to  strip  off  their  fur  cloaks  and 
reduce  themselves  to  a  state  of  nudity.*"  In  later 
years,  when  the  Indians  had  learned  to  expect  the 
traders'  regular  visits,  the  furs  were  less  frequently 
damaged  by  cutting  and  by  being  worn  as  garments ; 
but  in  respect  of  vermin  the  improvement .  was  less 
marked." 


It  is  not  possible  from  existing  sources  of  infor- 
mation to  form  a  statistical  statement  of  the  fur-trade 
south  of  Alaska.  It  was  carried  on  by  individual 
adventurers  or  private  companies;  and  only  fragmen- 
tary reports  of  prices,  profits,  or  quantities  of  furs 
obtained  were  incidentally  made  public  in  connection 
with  special  voyages.  From  1785  to  1787,  not  in- 
cluding the  operations  of  Meares,  according  to  Dixon's 

"'  Gooh's  Voyage,  ii.  401. 

'"An  exception  was  when  Wicananish  and  his  companion.''  on  his  first  in- 
terview with  Meares  could  not  be  persuaded  to  part  with  their  beantiful 
cloaks.  Meares'  Voi/.,  125. 

*'  'On  peut  dire  qu'en  prenant  une  cargaison  de  fourrures  on  prend  une 
cargaison  de  poux.'  Marchand,  Voy.,  ii.  52. 


THE  CHINA  MARKET. 


373 


statement  5800  sea-otter  skins  were  sold  in  China 
for  $160,700,  an  average  price  of  not  quite  $30  each/- 
Mr  Swan  gives  the  total  shipments  of  sea-otter  skins 
from  the  Northwest  Coast  in  1799-1802  as  11,000, 
9500,  14,000,  and  14,000,  or  a  total  of  48,500  in  four 
years."  "  More  than  once,"  said  Sturgis,  "  he  had 
known  a  capital  of  $40,000,  employed  in  a  north-west 
voyage,  yield  a  return  exceeding  $150,000.  In  one 
instance  an  outfit  not  exceeding  $50,000  gave  a  gross 
return  of  $284,000."  "He  had  personally  collected 
GOOO  in  a  single  voyage,  and  he  once  purchased  560 
of  prime  quality  in  half  a  day.*^"  "In  1801,"  says  a 
writer  in  1822,  "which  was  perhaps  the  most  flourish- 
ing period  of  the  trade,  there  were  16  ships  on  the 
coast,  15  of  which  were  American  and  one  English. 
Upwards  of  18,000  sea-otter  skins  were  collected  for 
the  China  market  in  that  year  by  the  American  vessels 
alone.""  According  to  Coxe  the  price  at  Kamchatka 
in  1772  was  from  $15  to  $40;  and  at  Kiakhta  from 
$30  to  $140.  From  $30  to  $60  were  the  figures  quoted 
by  La  Pdrouse  in  the  year  1786,  he  believing  the  latter 
price  to  be  "celui  qu'il  faut  demander  pour  obtenir 
moins."  Marchand  tells  us  that  the  average  price 
was  forced  down  in  1790  to  $15;  and  according  to 
Sturgis  the  skins  sold  for  $20  in  1802;  the  price  of 
prime  skins  advancing  to  $150  in  1846.  Mr  Hittell 
states  that  the  number  of  sea-otter  skins  taken  on 
the  coast  annually  after  1880  is  5500,  worth  in  San 
Francisco  $440,000,  or  $80  each.  The  fur-seal  skins 
are  much  more  numerous,  and  in  the  aggregate  more 
valuable.** 

Statistical  and  other  information  respecting  Russian 
fur-hunting  operations,  both  in  Alaska  and  California, 

*Wixon'8  Voyage,  315-21 ;  Id.,  Remarks,  12-13. 

'^Swan's  Northwest  Coast,  ^2i. 

**Sturgis' Northtoext  Fur  Trade,  53^1-7. 

*^ North  American  Review,  xv.  372. 

^^Coxe's  Russ.  DiHcov.,  13-lt;  La  Pirome,  Voyage,  iv.  174;  Marchand, 
Voyage,  ii.  369 ;  Sturgis'  Northwest  Fur  Trade,  530 ;  HitteWs  Commerce  and 
Industries  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  331. 


■:   ', 

1 

.    1 


aaa 


i     1 
I 


374 


THE  MARITIME  FUR-TRADE. 


is  comparatively  complete,  because  the  business  was 
carried  on  by  a  company  with  a  systematic  organiza- 
tion; but  this  matter  is  fully  treated  in  other  volumes 
of  this  work,  there  being  nothing  that  calls  for  special 
notice  in  Russian  operations  on  the  Northwest  Coast 
proper.  In  lb22,  however,  there  were  some  feeble 
premonitions  of  an  intention  to  extend  Russian  control 
over  that  coast  down  at  least  to  the  Columbia  River, 
the  northern  hunters  complaining  not  so  much  of  the 
rivalry  of  the  Americans — who  moreover  were  in 
several  respects  very  useful — as  of  their  habit  of  sell- 
ing arms  and  ammunition  to  the  Indians,  and  making 
them  in  many  cases  more  formidable  foes  to  the  forces 
of  the  Russian  American  Fur  Company.*^ 

On  the  Californian  fur-trade,  for  the  meagre  items 
that  exist  on  that  subject  in  addition  to  what  was  done 
by  the  Russians,  I  may  also  refer  the  reader  to  other 
volumes.  The  native  hunters  employed  by  the  com- 
pany and  their  Yankee  partners  did  not  quite  anni- 
hilate the  sea-otter  in  Californian  waters,  where  that 
animal  was  very  abundant,  though  producing  a  fur 
somewhat  inferior  to  that  obtained  in  the  north.  The 
Californian  Indians  succeeded  in  killing  a  few  otters 
each  year,  whose  skins  were  collected  by  the  padres 
and  others,  either  to  be  sold  clandestinely  to  Amer- 
ican contrabandistas  or  sent  to  China  via  San  Bias, 
by  the  yearly  transport  ships  and  Manila  galleons.** 
Enough  were  left  on  the  coasts  to  employ  a  dozen  or 
more  trappers  from  New  Mexico  for  a  part  of  their 

*'A  writer  in  the  North  Amer.  Review,  xv.  394,  admits  that  arms  and 
ammnnition  were  furnished  to  'independent  aboriginal  inhabitants,'  but  not 
to  natives  subject  to  Russia.  The  Indians  of  Ciayoquot  'venian  provistos 
de  fusiles  y  p6Ivora,  porque  Wicananish  ha  adquirido  muchaa  armas  en  los 
cambios  de  su  peleteria  con  los  Europeos;  y  d  estos  el  deseo  de  la  ganancia 
les  ha  hecho  caer  en  la  imprudcncia  de  dar  fomento  &  un  poder  respetable  eu 
los  dominios  de  aquel  Tais.'  Sulll  y  Mex.,  Viatje,  19-20. 

**  Sea-otter  skins  '  to  the  numberof  several  thousand  collected  on  the  coast  of 
CaUfomia  are  sent  by  the  Spanish  missionaries  to  China  [each  year]  by  way 
of  Manilla.'  IlasweWn  Voy.,MS.,  20.  'The  Spaniards  within  these  two  years 
have  imported  the  sea-otter  to  Giiina :  they  collect  their  skins  near  their  settle- 
ments of  Monterey  and  Sau  Francisco. .  .Tlie  Padres  are  the  priDcipal  con- 
ductors of  this  traffic.  In  1787  they  imported  about  200  skins,  and  the 
beginning  of  this  year  near  1500. .  .They  are  sent. .  .to  Acapulco,  and  thence 
by  the  annual  galleon  to  Maniila. '  Dixoii'a  Voyage,  320. 


CAUFORNIA  TRAFFIC. 


376 


48 


time  down  to  1840  and  later;  and  even  native  Cali- 
fornians  engaged  mildly  and  occasionally  in  the  hunt 
during  the  same  period.  La  P^rouse  had  feared  the 
effect  on  the  Chinese  market  of  the  10,000  sea-otter 
skins  that  might  easily  be  obtained  each  year  at 
Monterey  and  San  Francisco  when  their  value  became 
known;  out  beyond  discoursing  occasionally,  in  some 
grand  commercial  scheme  never  carried  into  effect,  on 
the  nutria  as  constituting  an  important  element  in 
Califomian  wealth,  the  Spaniards,  and  after  them  the 
Mexicans,  did  nothing  in  the  matter.  Spain,  as  we 
have  seen,  attached  no  value  to  the  Northwest  Coast 
by  reason  of  its  peltries.  Martinez,  indeed,  on  his  re- 
turn from  the  north  in  1789  proposed  a  fur- trading 
association  under  government  auspices;  but  the  vice- 
roy withheld  his  approval.  He  believed  the  profits 
under  the  prospective  competition  could  not  be  long 
remunerative;  and  the  extent  of  his  recommendation 
was  that  Spanish  traders  be  encouraged  to  secure  a 
portion  of  those  profits  while  they  should  last. 

While  private  English  traders  practically  aban- 
doned this  field  of  maritime  fur-trade  early  in  the 
nineteenth  century,  yet  in  later  years  the  English 
companies,  the  Northwest  and  Hudson's  Bay,  in  con- 
nection with  their  great  hunt  for  fur-bearing  animals 
in  the  interior,  engaged  to  a  considerable  extent  in 
the  barter  for  sea-otter  skins,  as  it  was  abandoned 
by  the  regular  traders,  despatching  their  vessels  on 
frequent  trips  from  the  Columbia  up  and  down  the 
coast.  So  the  Russian  company  continued  its  efforts 
uninterruptedly  until  succeeded  by  the  American 
company  still  engaged  in  this  industry.  In  1846, 
says  Sturgis,  "the  whole  business  of  collecting  furs 
upon  our  western  continent,  without  the  acknowledged 
limits  of  the  United  States,  is  now  monopoli>  J  by 
two  great  corporations,  the  Russian  and  British  Fur 
Companies."*' 

^'StunjW  Northwest  Fur  Trade,  538. 


i 

i 

1" 

1 

.h 


376 


THE  MARITIME  FUR-TRADE. 


11 


The  Boston  merchants  not  only  carried  on  the  fur- 
trade  much  more  extensively  than  those  of  other 
nations,  but  they  continued  their  operations  long  after 
others  had  abandoned  the  field — longer,  indeed,  than 
the  barter  for  skins  alone  would  have  been  profitable. 
From  time  to  time,  however,  they  combmed  new 
enterprises  with  the  old,  thus  largely  increasing  their 
profits.  Not  only  did  they  buy  otter- skins  of  the 
northern  natives  but  of  California  i  padres;  and  the 
goods  given  in  exchange  were  smuggled  with  a  most 

1)rofitable  disregard  for  Spanish  and  Mexican  revenue 
aws.  Not  only  did  they  barter  for  furs,  but  pro- 
curing native  hunters  from  Alaska  they  obtained  from 
California  large  numbers  of  skins,  half  of  which  had 
to  be  given  to  the  Russian  company;  and  some  of 
them  made  fortunes  by  hunting  fur-seals  on  the  Far- 
allones  and  other  islands.  Then  tlioy  did  a  profitable 
business  in  furnishing  the  Russian  establishments 
with  needed  articles  from  Boston,  China,  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  and  California;  and  it  is  even  stated 
that  after  1815  they  carried  io  the  Columbia  River 
all  tlu  stores  required  by  the  western  British  estab- 
MsliLients,  carrying  away  also  to  Canton  all  the  furs 
obtained  by  the  English  company."^  However  this 
may  have  been,  with  the  expedients  named  and 
others,  ini^luding  the  sandal- wood  trade  at  the  Islands, 
the  Americans  were  able  to  continue  the  fur-trade 
much  longer  than  would  otherwise  have  been  possi- 
ble. Says  Sturgis:  "The  difficulties  and  uncertainty 
in  procuring  furs  became  so  serious,  that  in  1829 
the  business  north  of  California  was  abandoned .  .  .  At 
the  present  time,  (1846,)  the  whole  amount  collected 
annually  within  the  same  limits  dees  not  exceed  two 
hundred,  and  those  of  very  ordinary  quality.  The 
north-west  trade  as  far  as  we  are  concerned  has 
ceased  to  be  of  importance  in  a  commercial  view." 
And  Greenhow,  writing  at  the  same  date:  "The  fur- 
trade  has  been,  hitherto,  very  profitable  to  those  en- 

'^SlurgU'  Northwest  Fur  Trade,  536. 


THE  CONTINENTAL  FURTRADE. 


m 


M 


gaged  in  it;  but  it  is  now,  from  a  variety  of  causes, 
declining  every  where."'^^ 

A  topic  closely  allied  to  that  of  this  chapter,  the 
annals  of  the  great  transcontinental  fur-hunt  by  com- 
panies of  different  nations,  will  be  recorded  in  all  de- 
sirable detail  in  a  later  part  of  this  volume. 

''^Greenhow'H  Or.  and  Cal.,  412-13;  Sturgii'  NorthweM  Fur  Trade,  r>3.'M). 
Since  1801  *tho  trade  has  declined,  the  sea-otter  having  liecomo  scarce. .  . 
There  are  at  the  present  time  absent  from  tiio  United  States  fourteen  vesst^ls 
engaged  in  this  trade,  combined  witli  that  to  tiie  Sandwich  islands.  .Tlicse 
vessels  are  from  200  to  400  tons  burthen,  and  carry  from  25  to  30  men  eacli, 
and  they  are  usually  about  tlireo  years  in  completing  a  voyage. .  .The  value  at 
Canton  of  the  furs,  sandal  wood, .  .carried  thitlier  tlie  liist  season,  by  American 
vessels  engaged  in  the  trade,  was  little  short  of  half  a  million  of  dolUrs. . . 
We  believe  uiis  trade  will  be  thought  too  valuable  to  be  quietly  relinquished' ' 
to  Russia.  North  Amer.  Review,  xv.  372-3. 


I      I 


ill''     ll 


!  i         !| 


'»! 


CHAPTER  XII. 

NEW  FRANCE   AND  THE   FUR-TBADE. 
1524-1763. 

Ohanox  of  Owmasmp,  in  1769-63,  or  Nobth  Ahkbioa— DisoovsitT— • 
Fbancb  m  South  Amxbioa  Ain>  Flokisa — Thb  Fishbbhin  add 

FUB-TBABEBB  OT  NEVnrOXTKDLAKD  AND  THE  St  LaWRBNCE— HiSTOBT 
OF  THE  FUB-TBACE— PeLTBIXS  A  VlTAI.  ELEMENT  IN  COLONIZATION — 

The  Cabtixb  Nephews  and  the  St  Malo  Meboeunts— La  Rooqs — 
The  Fobty  Thieves— PontobavA — Chauvin — Db  Chastes— Chah- 
PLAiN — De  Monts— The  Pobt  Botal  Company— The  Jesuits  in 
New  Fbance — Tabousao  Becomes  the  Centbi:  of  the  Fub-tbade — 
New  England  and  New  Yobk  Fub-tbadb — Comte  db  Soissons — 
The  Company  of  St  Malo  and  Ro\7en— Champlain's  Misbule — The 
Fbanoiscans  Celebbat?.  Mass  in  New  Fsanob — The  Caens— New 
Fbance  undeb  Richelieu — The  Hundbed  Associates— Sib  William 
Alsxandeb  and  the  Bbothebs  Kibk — The  Hurons  and  the  Ibo- 
quois — Troubles  in  Acadia — Disooveby  and  Occupation  of  the 
Mississipfi  Valley  by  Db  Soto,  Mabquette,  Joubt,  La  Salle, 
Hennepin,  and  Ibxbvillb — The  Obeat  Fub  Monopolies  of  New 
France— French  and  Indian  War- Final  Conflict— Treaties- 
Boundaries. 

Thus  far  in  this  history  we  have  directed  our  atten- 
tion more  especially  to  affairs  relative  to  the  seaboard 
of  the  great  north-west,  merely  glancing  at  o.:;  .ora- 
tions by  land  in  various  quarters.  Let  us  now  turn 
and  review,  still  very  briefly,  the  early  affairs  of 
French  and  English  in  Canada,  their  gradual  move- 
ments westward,  and  finally  the  occupation  as  a  game 
E reserve  of  the  immense  area  to  the  north  and  west 
y  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain. 

All  England  rang  rejoicings,  all  save  the  little  vil- 
lage where  dwelt  Wolfe's  widowed  mother.    Scotland 

(878) 


THE  GREAT  LANDHOLDER. 

too  was  glad;  for  on  the  plains  of  Abraham  the  bay  • 
onets  of  her  wild  highlanders  had  unlocked  oppor 
tunity  for  multitudes  of  her  shrewd  sons.  Nor  were 
Anglo-American  colonies  displeased;  for  with  the  re- 
duction of  a  foreign  power  perched  since  birth  upon 
their  border,  was  removed  a  standing  menace,  which 
had  made  them  hesitate  to  declare  independence  of 
their  too  severely  protecting  mother,  as  seventeen 
years  later  they  did  not  fail  to  do.  It  was  in  Sep- 
tember 1759  that  the  citadel  of  Quebec  surrendered; 
and  one  year  after  Canada,  with  all  her  possessions 
east  of  the  Mississippi,  passed  to  the  British  crown. 

Hitherto  France  had  been  the  great  landholder  upon 
this  continent.  Nearly  all  that  is  now  British  America 
was  hers;  nearly  all  that  is  now  the  United  States 
she  claimed  and  held.  Of  all  this  continental  triangle, 
from  Darien  to  Labrador  and  Alaska,  there  only  re- 
mained to  other  European  powers  the  comparatively 
insignificant  areas  of  Central  America  and  Mexico,  a 
few  little  patches  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  a  narrow 
border  round  Hudson  Bay,  and  the  far-off  Russian 
American  corner,  together  with  what  we  call  the 
Northwest  Coast — all  the  rest  belonged  to  France; 
and  of  this,  by  the  peace  of  Paris  in  1763,  and  subse- 
quently following  the  conquest  of  Canada,  Franco 
hastened  to  divest  herself,  that  portion  west  of  the 
Mississippi  going  secretly  to  Spain,  and  all  the  re- 
mainder being  swept  into  the  maw  of  Great  Britain. 

If  not  the  earliest  to  obtain  footing  in  America,, 
Francis  I.  was  not  far  behind  his  rivals  of  Spain  and 
England;  for  while  Cortds  was  seating  himself  on 
Montezuma  s  tlirooe  and  Henry  VIII.  was  hesitating 
whether  to  dispute  Pope  Alexander's  partition,  Gio- 
vanni YentVAdVLO,  a  Florentine  in  the  French  service, 
croL=ised  to  Carolina,  and  thence  coasted  northward 
to  New^oLiUdlanJ,  where  oven  twenty  yi^ars  previous 
the  fishermen  of  Normandy  and  Brittany  had  plied 
their  craft. 


;r:  H 


380 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  THE  I    ^-TRADE. 


Ten  years  later — that  is  to  say  in  1534,  still  three 
quarters  of  a  century  before  John  Smith  entered  Ches- 
apeake Bay,  or  Carver  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock — - 
Jacques  Cartier  sailed  from  France  under  the  au- 
spices of  Philippe  de  Brion-Chabot  and  found  the  St 
Lawrence,  which  the  following  yer.r  be  iscended  to 
Montreal.  Erected  into  a  viccjo/s^Vo,  xier  Jean 
Franfois  de  la  Roque,  Sieur  de  Kojer^ui,  La  Nou- 
velle  France*  was  again  visited  by  Curtior,  with  cer- 
tain exclusive  rights,  in  1541;  in  the  year  following 
came  Roberval,  but  only  to  find  himself  the  woful 
follower  of  preceding  woes.  Then  rested  colonization 
in  this  region  for  half  a  century;  perturbed  French- 
men filling  the  interval  with  buccaneering  and  prot- 
estantizing. 

For  while  like  a  grim  shadow  the  sixteenth-  century 
superstitions  of  Spain  hung  quiescent  over  the  greater 
part  of  Europe,  France  was  alive  with  heresv.  Hnd 
from  the  burning  of  men  and  burying  alive  of  ■  oi  eu 
for  opin'on's  sake,  the  Huguenots,  with  a  Fp;  It  kliig 
of  restless  orthodox  adventurers,  in  1555  un  le^  Ml'e- 
gagnon,  and  again  in  1562  under  Jean  Rib'i.ult,  tu  ned 
and  sought  homes  in  the  New  World. 

Villegagnon  landed  his  colony  on  an  island  in  the 
harbor  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  with  an  arrogance  char- 
acteristic of  the  adventurers  of  that  ^.ay  took  pos- 
session of  all  South  America  for  the  king  of  France, 
caUin^^  it  La  France  Antarctique.  After  quarrelling 
fiercely  with  certain  of  his  Calvinistic  asso-^'  '/ces  about 
the  lej^ality  of  mixing  water  with  the  ^  ap.  of  the 
eucharist,  and  making  the  sacramental  hwiu*  '  com- 
meal  instead  of  wheaten  flour,  he  returnee)  \vith  all 
his  foUowers  to  Europe,  tVu-  missing  an  opportunity 
which,  but  for  the  !i.;>ortaril  theological  issues  that 
must  be  immediatr;ly  settKu,  Might  indeed  have  given 
the  contiinent  to  F.'ancc. 

'  Cartier  mistook  the  native  word  kanata,  which  signifies  a  collection  of 
huts,  for  the  name  of  the  country,  which  in  consequence  became  known  later 
aa  Canada,  tiiough  for  a  century  or  two  called  New  France. 


p. 


>:■  f 


OFF  NEWFOUNDLAND. 


381 


^-f 


Florida  was  the  landing-place  of  Ribault;  and  when 
Calvin's  French  disciples  revelled  in  this  fruitful 
wilderness,  there  was  not  a  European  besides  them 
north  of  that  Cibola  whose  seven  cities  with  their 
unspeakable  wealth,  the  natives  assured  them,  were  but 
twenty  days  distant,  and  that  by  water.  Next  in  1 564, 
Rend  de  Laudonni^re  brought  to  this  shore  a  company 
of  French  Calvinists,  not  of  the  stern  stuff  of  which 
successful  colonists  are  made,  but  rather  pirates,  des- 
tined to  be  massacred,  nine  hundred  of  them  some 
say,  by  the  Luther-hating  Spaniards  under  Pedro  de 
Menendez,  Ribault  himself  falling  with  the  rest.  In 
retaliation  Dominique  de  Gourgues  in  1568,  while 
Menendez  was  in  Spain,  surprised  and  slaughtered 
the  Spaniards,  four  hundred  in  number;  after  which 
he  abandoned  to  the  natives  for  demolition  the  fort 
which  had  been  built.  Thus  died  Huguenot  effort  in 
Florida.  It  was  not  for  France  tu  plant  protestantism 
in  America. 

The  next  we  hear  of  New  France  is  in  1578,  when, 
off  Newfoundland,  besides  one  hundred  Spanish,  fifty 
Portuguese,  and  fifty  English  vessels,  there  are  one 
hundred  and  fifty  French  fishing  craft  and  some  twenty- 
five  Biscayan  wlialers.  Soon  these  fishe**men  find  their 
way  up  the  St  Lawrence  and  ply  a  more  lucrative  trade, 
exchanging  trinkets  for  beaver  and  bear  skins. 

And  here,  it  may  be  said,  begins  the  history  of  the 
fur-trade  in  America,  which  for  two  and  a  half  cen- 
turies is  indeed  the  history  of  Canada.  Not  that  the 
skins  of  wild  beasts  had  not  before  this  been  bought 
and  sold,  but  now  for  the  first  time  do  we  see  the 
traffic  in  peltries  assuming  under  royal  protection  ^ 
primary  influence  on  colonization.  In  early  times,  and 
mdeed  in  some  localities  until  a  comparatively  recent 
date,  Canada  has  presented  this  anomaly,  that  while 
properly  classed  among  agricultural  colonies,  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  soil  has  been  of  less  importance  than 
fishing  and  fur-trading. 


J    :  t 


t:;: 


3''  i 


■f 


''%m\ 


I 


•''t.h. 


1} 

i     ■■■ 

I  ! 


'IM 


!'■ ,  .  )| 


'.  ji 


■:    '  m 


!  'V 


482 


ITKW  PRANCE  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 


The  history  of  the  fur-trade  is  the  history  of  explo- 
ration, with  its  full  quota  of  adventurers  and  heroes. 
To  the  courageous  endurance  of  fur-hunters  is  due 
the  earlier  opening  to  the  civilized  world  of  distant 
and  inhospitable  regions,  and  the  extension  of  geo- 

graphical  knowledge  and  settlement.  Thus  in  some 
egree  was  lifted  the  veil  that  hid  the  Ultima  Thule 
from  the  Latin  world.  As  early  as  the  sixth  century 
Rome  made  tributary  to  her  comfort  the  wild  beasts 
of  the  north ;  and  this  trade  would  have  been  consid-- 
erable  but  for  difficulties  of  conveyance  and  profits  of 
middle-men,  which  made  the  article  too  expensive  for 
common  use.  By  the  eleventh  century,  however,  in- 
tercourse being  freer,  prices  were  less  exorbitant,  and 
furs  became  fashionable  throughout  Europe,  particu- 
larly among  the  nobility,  who  reserved  for  themselves 
the  choicest  kinds.  At  one  time  skins  were  almost 
the  only  article  of  export  of  certain  northern  coun- 
tries. They  were  sometimes  employed  as  a  medium 
of  exchange  and  taxation.  In  this  commodity  Kussia 
received  tribute  from  Siberia,  whose  wealth  m  furred 
animals  had  alone  made  her  an  object  worth  the  con- 
quest. England  obtained  supplies  from  Russia  and 
northern  Asia  through  Hanseatic  and  Italian  traders, 
and  notwithstanding  the  expense  of  this  route  the 
custom  of  wearing  furs  must  have  become  prevalent, 
since  Edward  III.  in  1337  thought  fit  to  prohibit 
their  use  to  those  whose  income  was  less  than  one 
hundred  pounds  a  year.  During  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury the  English  opened  direct  trade  with  Russia,  and 
a  British  company  was  allowed  to  establish  ports  on 
the  White  Sea,  and  a  dep6t  at  Moscow  for  its  com- 
merce with  Persia  and  the  Caspian  region;  but  this 
promising  trade  was  necessarily  abandoned  when  Eliz- 
abeth issued  a  decree  forbidding  the  use  of  foreign 
furs. 

The  opening  of  trade  with  northern  America 
proved  most  opportune  for  tlie  European  market.  It 
was  like  finding  a  vast  mine  of  gold;  indeed  in  the 


EXCLUSIVE  RIGHTS. 


T'"' 


New  World  furs  were  to  the  French  what  gold  was 
to  the  Spaniard,  and  the  obtaining  of  them  fre- 
quently in  exchange  for  petty  articles  of  little  cost  or 
value  was  often  easier  than  the  working  of  the  richest 
gold  mine. 

Here  upon  the  St  Lawrence  at  this  time  furs  were 
plentiful  and  easily  secured ;  it  is  said  that  even  the 
bison  then  inhabited  these  parts.  Walrus-tusks  like- 
wise became  an  article  of  traffic,  which,  with  the  other 
attractions,  drew  annually  from  St  Malo  fleets  of  ves- 
sels. Wrangling  with  each  other,  and  outraging  the 
natives,  the  French  fur-traders  spread  along  the  sea- 
board, coasted  the  islands  of  the  gulf,  and  ascended 
the  streams,  plying  their  vocation  by  methods  which 
led  to  subsequent  disorder. 

Upon  the  strength  of  their  uncle's  services,  two 
nephews  of  Cartier,  Noel  and  Ch4ton,  whose  success- 
ful traffic  had  excited  the  jealousy  of  their  competitors 
to  that  extent  that  they  seized  and  spitefully  burned 
several  of  their  vessels,  in  1588  asked  and  obtained 
from  Henri  III.  letters  patent  giving  them  the  same 
exclusive  rights  along  the  St  Lawrence  and  its  trib- 
utaries which  were  once  accorded  Cartier  himself. 
But  so  great  was  the  storm  raised  by  the  merchants 
of  St  Malo,  by  reason  of  this  favoritism,  that  the 
grant  was  soon  revoked. 

The  triumph  of  the  St  Malo  merchants,  however, 
was  of  short  duration,  for  in  1598  the  domination 
of  Acadia,  as  Nova  Scotia  with  indefinite  limits  was 
then  called,  Canada,  and  the  region  contiguous  of 
almost  limitless  extent,'^  was  given  to  the  Marquis  de 
la  Roche,  a  Catholic  nobleman  of  Brittany.     Among 


■  ■ ' ! 


l-iiJ 


I   i 


'The  pretensions  of  the  several  European  powers  in  asserting  their  claims 
to  American  territory,  often  of  unknown  and  almost  boundleBS  exte.it,  fre- 
quently border  the  ludicrous.  Thus  Lescarbot,  the  geographer,  describing 
the  limits  of  La  Roche's  government  ir.  1011,  writes:  'Amsi  notre  nouvelle 
France  a  pour  limites  du  c6t(5  d'ouest  les  ten'cs  jiisqu'  h.  la  mer  dite  Pacifique, 
au  dec^  du  tropique  du  Cancer;  au  midi  les  lies  de  la  mer  Atlantique  du 
■c6t<S  de  Cuba  et  Tile  Espagnole;  au  levant  la  mer  du  Nord  qui  baigne  la 
nouvelle  France;  et  au  septentrion  cetto  terre  qui  est  dite  ioconnue  vers  la 
>aer  Glacde  jusqu'au  Pole  arctique.'    See  also  La  Hontan'a  Voy. 


!   I 


384 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 


II  ! 


other  exclusive  rights  obtained  by  La  Roche  in  the 
colonization  of  New  France  was  that  of  trading  in 
furs,  and  the  noisy  Bretons  of  St  Malo  were  obliged 
again  to  stand  aside.  Famine  and  pestilence  swept 
away  La  Roche's  best  efforts,  but  private  adventurers 
crept  inland  and  continued  a  peddling  traffic  with  the 
natives. 

For  example,  among  the  colonists  of  La  Roche 
were  forty  convicts,  whom  on  reaching  Sable  Island 
he  landed,  while  he  went  farther  to  choose  a  site  for 
a  city.  But  the  ship  being  driven  away  by  a  storm, 
the  outcasts  were  left,  some  to  kill  each  other,  and 
the  remainder  to  wander  for  five  years,  when  twelve 
of  their  number,  all  that  were  left,  were  rescued  and 
carried  back  to  France.  Arrayed  in  valuable  furs, 
their  long  beards  hanging  upon  their  breasts,  they 
uncovered  their  shaggy  heads  before  the  king,  who 
permitted  them  to  embark  in  trade  on  their  own  ac- 
count, the  skins  brought  back  affording  them  sufficient 
capital.  The  men  of  St  Malo  were  again  lords  in  the 
ascendant. 

With  the  opening  of  the  seventeenth  century 
French  colonization  in  America  becomes  permanent. 
To  speculation  and  self-aggrandizement  as  incentives 
is  now  added  religious  zeal.  Luther  and  Rome  arc 
still  at  war  in  France,  and  Henri  IV.  is  in  a  dilemma. 
As  in  France,  Protestants  may  enjoy  in  America 
freedom  of  opinion  and  worship,  but  Catholics  alone 
may  make  proselytes  among  the  natives. 

In  1599  Pontgrav^,  a  merchant  of  St  Malo,  and 
Captain  Chauvin,'  who  had  secured  the  royal  privi- 

'F.  X.  Garneau,  UHintoire  du  Canada,  torn.  t.  lib.  viii.  cap.  1,  asserts 
that  Chauvin's  was  the  first  regular  patent  granted ;  this  I  am  at  a  loss  to 
comprehend,  as  I  find  on  good  authority  those  which  I  have  already  named. 
There  may  be  distinctions  between  regular  and  irregular  patents  which  I  do 
not  understand,  and  which  I  cannot  determine,  not  having  before  me  all  the 
patents  granted  at  that  time.  The  fact  is,  no  one  dared  to  cross  the  ocean 
in  those  days  and  colonize  and  trade  without  exclusive  advantages;  there 
was  no  necessity  or  object  in  doing  so;  and  I  can  but  think  M.  Gamcau  mis- 
taken, though  his  Ilintory  of  Canada  is  exceedingly  valuable,  by  far  the  best 
extant,  and  such  as  would  be  an  honor  to  any  country. 


n 


■5- ■  I 


DE  :iIOXTS. 


3So 


\eg;cH  formerly  conceded  to  La  Roche,  cross  the  sea, 
and  building  some  huts  at  Tadousac,  there  Ic^ave 
sixteen  men  to  gather  furs;  but  some  the  merciless 
winter  kills,  while  others  are  driven  to  take  refuge 
with  the  natives. 

Chauvin  dies,  and  his  mantle  falls  on  Aymar  de 
Chastes,  governor  of  Dieppe,  whom  Pontgrave  now 
persuades  to  form  a  trading  society,  with  the  leading 
merchants  of  Rouen  and  several  men  of  rank  as  chief 
partners.  The  command  of  an  expedition  is  given  to 
a  naval  officer,  Samuel  de  Champlain,  who  in  1603, 
with  three  barks  of  twelve  or  fifteen  tons  each, 
sails  for  the  St  Lawrence,  which  he  in  company 
with  Pontgrave  ascends  as  far  as  the  Sault  St  Louis, 
and  then  returns  to  France.  Meanwhile,  De  Chastes 
dying,  Pierre  du  Guat,  Sieur  de  Monts,  succeeds  to 
his  privileges  as  viceroy  of  Acadia.  De  Monts  is  a 
Calvinist,  though  he  by  no  means  objects  to  the 
presence  of  the  Catholic  clergy  in  his  expedition. 
His  sovereignty  lies  between  the  fortieth  and  fiftieth 
parallels,  the  territory  beyond  those  limits  being  re- 
garded as  worthless.*  To  the  exclusive  control  of 
government  and  the  soil,  a  monopoly  of  the  fur-trade 
and  all  other  commerce  was  added. 

It  was  a  discordant  company  that  sailed  with  De 
Monts  from  H^vre  de  Grace  in  1604  to  coloni;;e 
Acadia.  There  were  gentlemen  and  vagabonds,  arti- 
sans and  idlers,  honest  men  and  villains;  gamblers 
fought  over  their  dice,  and  ministers  of  Christ  fell  to 
fisticuffs  as  closing  arguments  in  theological  disputes.^ 

Arrived  in  Acadian  waters,  De  Monts  found  fi^  e 

*  Tl  e  Due  de  Sully  held  in  light  esteem  even  these  lands.    In  his  memoirs 

he  writes:   'This  colony  which  was  this  year  sent  to  Canada  was  among  the 

number  of  things  that  did  not  meet  my  approbation.     There  was  no  kind  of 

'  riches  to  bo  expected  from  those  parts  of  the  new  world  which  lie  beyond  the 

fortieth  degree  of  latitude.' 

^Champhiin  was  greatly  amused  at  some  of  these  demonstrations.  In  his 
Voj/aiji'K  lie  la  Noure/k  France  Occide.iitalt  he  siiys:  'J'ai  vu  le  niinistro  et 
notre  curC  s'entrebattre  h,  coups  de  poing  sur  le  ditt'L'rend  dc  la  religion.  Jo  no 
spais  pas  (jui  <5toit  le  plus  vaillant,  ou  qui  donnoit  le  ineilleur  coup,  mais  je 
spais  tr^s  bien  (jue  le  niinistre  Be  plaignoit  qui!qucfois  au  siciir  ilc  Monts 
d'avoir  (ttA  battu,  et  \'uidoit  en  cette  fa9on  les  points  de  la  coutroversie.' 
Hut.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    2a 


I  i.    1 


!    '      !| 


8M        NEW  FRANCE  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

vessels  quietly  collecting  furs,  which,  following  the 
terms  of  his  commission,  he  seized  and  appropriated 
to  his  own  use,  though  the  unfortunate  traders  prob- 
ably had  never  heard  of  such  a  man  as  De  Monts, 
certainly  not  of  the  exclusive  privileges  lately  ac- 
corded him.  At  Port  Royal,  now  Annapolis,  was 
erected  a  fort  consisting  of  wooden  buildings  enclosing 
a  quadrangular  court,  with  cannon-mounted  bastions 
and  palisades.  L'Ordre  de  Bon-Temps  was  created, 
and  a  winter  of  good  cheer  and  festivity  was  passed, 
which  augured  ill  for  a  colony  with  so  much  work 
before  it.  The  association  originated  by  Pontgravd 
was  continued  and  enlarged  by  De  Monts;  but  the 
merchants  of  St  Malo  and  Dieppe  never  ceased  in 
their  efforts  to  overthrow  the  monopoly,  and  finally 
succeeded.  This,  with  the  seizure  by  a  party  of 
Dutchmen  of  a  year's  accumulation  of  peltries  at  the 
dep6t  of  this  society,  completed  its  ruin  after  three 
years  of  basy  industry.  A  hundred  thousand  livres 
the  Port  Poyal  Company  had  spent  in  this  adventure, 
in  return  for  which  six  thousand  were  given  them, 
which  were  collected  by  taxation  from  the  fur-traders 
who  supplanted  them. 

And  novv'  in  IGll  appear  the  Jesuits  in  New 
France,  and  under  the  protection  of  Marquise  de 
Guercheville  force  Poutrincourt  to  admit  them  into 
the  abandoned  fort  of  De  Monts  at  Port  Royal, 
whence  they  go  out  in  their  cap  and  robe,  close- 
fitting  and  black,  gliding  through  the  forest  and  sit- 
ting round  distant  camp-fires,  restless  in  their  holy 
zeal,  until  from  the  St  Lawrence  to  California  the 
blessed  cross  is  carried.  Now  suddenly  hordes  of 
scalping  savages  become  saints,  no  less  eager  than 
their  teachers  to  kill  all  who. do  not  profess  Christ. 
Fostered  by  fanatics  at  home,  the  Society  of  Jesus 
establish  missions  in  New  France,  and  after  some  con- 
flict with  the  colon;  /^  buy  out  the  temporal  power, 
and  become  proprietors  of  a  large  part  of  what  now 


I- 


flts-thadixg  PARTNEnsmra. 


387 


constitutes  the  United  States  and  British  America. 
Down  upon  AeaJia  like  a  bird  of  evil  purpose  next 
comes  Samuel  Argall,  with  his  English  crew,  and  in 
1613,  notwithstanding  France  and  England  were  then 
at  peace,  takes  possession  of  the  country,  destroys 
Port  Royal,  and  then  retires. 

Meanwhile  De  Monts  again  obtains  a  monopoly  of 
the  fur-trade  for  one  year,  and  in  1607  sends  two 
ships  to  the  St  Lawrence,  one  under  Pontgravd  to 
trade  for  furs,  and  the  other  under  Champlain  for 
purposes  of  colonization.  The  Basques  who  are  there 
peltry- hunting  are  put  down,  and  Tadousac,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Saguenay,  becomes  the  centre  of  the 
fur -trade.  Thence  the  Montaguais,  of  Algonquin 
affinity,  in  their  light  birchen  canoes  ascend  the 
streams  in  every  direction  for  furs,  and  roam  the 
stunted  forests  as  far  as  Hudson  Bay. 

Where  Quebec  stood  later  Champlain  builds  a  fort, 
and  then  sets  out  to  find  a  new  route  to  India,  finding 
Lake  Champlain  instead,  while  the  Iroquois  open 
their  long  and  terrible  role  of  revenge. 

Elsewhere  the  peltry  interest  assumes  importance. 
George  Wajnnouth  trades  with  the  natives  of  Maine 
in  1605;  and  in  1610  and  subsequently,  while  the 
Dutch  merchants  open  a  lucrative  traffic  on  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson,  John  Smith  forms  a  partnership  with 
four  wealthy  LoncI  n  merchants  for  fur-trading  and 
colonizing  purposes  in  New  England. 

De  Monts,  failing  to  obtain  a  renewal  of  his  mo- 
nopoly, continues  operations  without  it,  and  the  St 
Lawrence  again  swarms  with  competitive  traders. 
Proceeding  to  Paris,  Champlain  makes  Comte  de 
Soissons  the  king's  lieutenant-general  in  New  France, 
and  Soissons  then  makes  Champlain  his  lieutenant  in 
return.  Monopoly  in  furs  is  again  in  order.  A  society 
for  colonization  and  traffic,  with  exclusive  privileges, 
but  yet  in  which  every  merchant  who  will  may  par- 
ticipate, is  formed,  and  the  merchants  of  La  Rochelle, 


J^M 

yiwM 

■yih        i 

■''w 

H     ! 

; 

■  ;i  J 

.kI:;^ 


388 


NEW  PRANCE  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 


Ill 


St  Malo,  and  Rouen  are  invited  to  join.  The  mer- 
chants of  La  Rochelle  decHne,  and  carry  on  a  contra- 
band trade  in  defiance  of  the  law,  whi'e  the  othcn? 
form  the  company  of  St  Malo  and  Rouen,  and  build 
a  factory  and  fort  at  Montreal.  In  IGll  Cham  plain 
proceeds  to  Montreal,  while  a  hungry  crew  hunt  in  his 
wake.  Montreal  becomes  the  rendezvous,  where  every 
summer  fleets  of  canoes  come  from  distant  lakes  and 
streams,  where  Huron  and  Frenchmen  meet,  and  furs 
and  fire-water  are  exchanged,  and  no  little  scalping  is 
done,  in  which  latter  refinement  the  chivalrous  Cham- 
plain  joins  for  sport. 

That  Soissons'  speedy  death  should  place  Henri 
of  Bourbon,  Prince  of  Conde,  at  the  head  of  French 
American  affairs,  did  not  prevent  Champlain  from 
carrying  it  royally  in  New  France,  The  souls  of 
savages  now  chiefly  concerned  him ;  their  bodies  were 
of  trifling  moment.  In  his  Indian  policy  he  was  gov- 
erned neither  by  justice,  humanity,  nor  interest.  In 
the  wars  of  the  Montaguais  and  Hurons  with  the 
Iroquois  he  took  a  base  and  foolish  part,  applying  the 
arts  of  his  civilization  to  the  cruelties  and  treacheries 
of  savagism.  Instead  of  cultivating  the  friendship  of 
all,  and  dealing  fairly  with  all,  holdmg  meanwhile  the 
balance  of  power  in  his  own  hands,  he  made  allies 
of  those  nearest  him,  and  then  rashly  threw  himself 
against  the  most  powerful  people  of  the  east.  Life  at 
the  settlements  became  a  vagabond  existence;  the 
winters  were  passed  by  the  traders  in  a  state  of  tor- 
pidity, and  the  summers  in  drinking  and  trafficking. 

In  1613  Champlain  penetrated  northward  into  the 
land  of  the  Ottawas,  and  two  years  later  he  visited 
the  Nipissings,  and  thence  crossed  to  Lake  Huron, 
afterward  discovering  and  naming  Lake  Ontario.  To 
the  great  perplexity  of  the  natives,  who  wondered 
why  men  should  systematically  turn  the  good  things 
of  their  God  to  bitterness,  mendicant  Franciscans, 
they  of  strict  observance  called  Recollets,  appeared 
in   their   coarse   gray  garb   with   peaked  hood  smd 


P!' 


CARDINAL  RICHELIEU. 


389 


Itnotted  cord,  and  planting  their  altar  near  Chain- 
jtlain'ii  fortified  dwellings  at  Quebec  in  IGlo  ciile!)rated 
their  fii.st  mass  in  New  France,  although  half  a  cen- 
tury later  the  Franciscans  were  an  excluded  order. 

Yet  more  bitter  disorder  followed  the  suppression 
in  1G21  of  the  company''  of  St  Malo  and  Rouen, 
The  two  Huguenots,  William  and  Emery  de  Caen, 
on  whom  the  monopoly  was  now  ccnicrrcd  by  the 
Viceroy  Montmorency,  were  so  beset  by  the  enraged 
traders,  that  they  were  obliged  temporarily  to  admit 
them  as  partners. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  previous  magnificent  at- 
tempts, Canadian  settlement  in  1G27  consisted  of  little 
more  than  scattering;  collections  of  tradimj-huts,  with 
Montreal,  Tadousac,  Quebec,  Trois  Rivieres  and  the 
rapids  of  St  Louis  as  centres.*  And  yet  the  traffic 
was  increased  from  fifteen  thousand  t'o  twenty-two 
thousand  beaver  as  the  annual  shipment;  for  this 
state  of  things,  for  obtaining  the  skins  of  wild  beasts, 
was  indeed  better  than  a  state  of  agricultural  inter- 
ference. 

Then  came  forward  the  great  Richelieu,  and  took 
NewFrance  under  his  wing.  Hnting  the  Huguenots,  ho 
stripped  the  Caens  of  their  p'  "  Iges,  placed  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  hundred  associates,  under  the  name  of  La 
Compagnie  des  Cent  Associds  de  la  Nouvelle  France, 
with  a  capital  of  three  hundred  thousand  livres,  and 
obtained  from  the  crown  a  monopoly  of  all  commerce 
for  fifteen  years,  and  a  perpetual  monopoly  of  the  fur- 
trade.  In  return  the  company  agreed  to  carry  to  New 
France  during  the  year  1G28  not  less  than  two  hun- 
dred artisans;  and  within  the  next  fifteen  years  four 
thousand  men  and  women  were  to  be  conveyed  thither, 

*'A  cette  (^poque,' Charlevoix  remarks,  'lo  Canada  consiatait  dans  lo  fort 
de  QuLbec,  cuvironncJ  do(iaelqiica  iiiuchantcs  riiaisona,  ct  du  quelqiios  baraquos, 
deux  oil  trois  cabiuiea  dans  Tile  do  Moiitn?al,  autant  iiciit-otre  ii  Ta<lous«ac  ct 
en  quelqiies  autrea  endroits  sur  le  Saiiit-Laureni,  pour  lo  commerce  dcs  jicl- 
letcriesetde  la  poche;  ciifin,  un  conimcucemciit  d'lmbitation  ii  truia  llivioics. ' 
See  KoltVs  IIM.  Discov.,  82-3;  Itayual,  Jlitt.  Phil.,  viii.  UG-lOl. 


;    '   I 


i    ■ 


300 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 


and  there  supported  at  the  expense  of  the  company 
for  three  years.  None  but  ]'\'euchmon  and  CathoUes 
should  be  permitted  a  residence  in  the  country.  Had 
these  brilhant  opportunities  been  embraced  and  the 
promises  kept,  we  might  see,  through  this  feudal  pro- 
prietorship of  a  commercial  and  colonization  company, 
the  whole  vast  domain  of  northern  America  become 
permanently  French  in  thought,  languau'c,  and  insti- 
tutions as  now  it  is  English. 

About  this  time  war  broke  in  France,  and 

England  helped  the  Huguenots,  oir  William  Alex-  ■ 
ander  had  attempted  to  colonize  Acadia,  and  now, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  brothers  Kirk  and  other 
Calvinist  rebels  and  refugees,  he  essayed  no  less  a 
thing  than  to  wrest  from  France  her  American  pos- 
sessions. 

Appearing  in  the  St  Lawrence  while  famine  reigned 
at  Quebec,  the  English  sacked  the  fort  at  Capo 
Fournientd,  attacked  and  sank  the  vessels  of  the 
Hundred  Associates,  and  sailed  for  home.  The  fol- 
lowing year  the  cross  of  St  George  was  planted  by 
Louis  Kirk  at  Quebec.  In  the  treaty  which  followed, 
Canada  was  restored  to  the  French,  but  only  to  fall 
again  into  the  hands  of  the  English  one  hundred  and 
thirty  years  later. 

The  treaty  was  of  little  moment  unless  enforced. 
Hence  to  Emery  de  Caen  in  1G32  was  given  a  com- 
mission to  clear  New  France  of  the  English,  for  which 
service  he  was  to  enjoy  a  monopoly  of  the  fur-trade 
for  one  year,  after  which  exclusive  privilege  was  to 
revert  to  the  Hundred  Associates. 

Champlain  meanwhile  became  saintly  in  his  fanati- 
cism, and  turned  the  trading-post  at  Quebec  into  a 
Jesuit  mission.  Brandy  and  debauchery  were  ban- 
ished, and  civilized  and  savage  vied  with  each  other  in 
prayers  and  repentance.  Jesuit  missions  were  estab- 
lished among  the  Hurons.  In  1G35  Champlain  died 
and  was  buried  bv  the  Blackfriars. 


:i^ 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  V^ILLEY. 


m 


1^  <: 


The  war  of  extermination  between  ^.lie  Hurons  an;l 
the  Iro(jUois  which  now  raged  under  jNIontinagny, 
originated  chiefly  from  the  presumptive  hopes  of 
trartic  and  revenge  raised  in  the  breasts  of  the  Hurons 
bv  the  Hundred  Associates,  followint'  the  envenomed 
policy  of  Champhiin.  The  fruit  of  their  evil  exam])lo 
they  were  now  made  to  eat.  After  spending  more 
than  a  million  livres  in  these  disastrous  struggles, 
the  Hundred  A  sociates  were  glad  to  relinquish  their 
rights  to  the  pt^^ple  for  an  annual  seigniorial  rent  of 
one  million  beaver.  By  1G50  the  downfall  of  the 
Hurons  was  complete. 

In  1G48  fifty -one  envoys  were  sent  from  New 
England  to  Quebec,  and  from  Canada  to  Boston, 
having  in  view  a  treaty  of  perpetual  amity  between 
the  two  colonies,  which  were  to  remain  neutral  in  all 
disputes  of  the  mother  countries.  The  negotiations 
failed. 

The  Iroquois,  after  their  dispersion  of  the  Hurons, 
fell  upon  the  French.  Trade  in  skins  meanwhile  was 
much  reduced,  and  so  remained  until  the  ratification 
of  a  treaty  in  1G62.  The  Compagnie  des  Cent  As- 
socit^s  had  dwindled  to  forty-five  members,  when  in 
1GG3  the  governor-general.  Baron  d'Avaugour,  ad- 
vised Louis  XIV.  to  dissolv^e  it  and  himself  to  resume 
territorial  jurisdiction,  which  was  done,  and  Canada 
became  a  royal  province  of  France. 

Serious  contentions  followed  the  treaty  of  St  Ger- 
main, by  which  France  was  made  mistress  of  Acadia. 
For  fifty  years  jealousy  was  rife,  and  wars  succeeded 
each  other.  In  1G54  Cromwell  seized  Port  Royal, 
and  granted  the  province  to  La  Tour,  Temple,  and 
Crown,  as  an  English  dependency;  but  by  the  treaty 
of  Breda  in  1GG7  Acadia  was  again  restored  to  France. 

For  the  first  time  since  Fernando  de  Soto  in  1541 
vauntingly  led  his  bedizened  train  from  Florida  to 
the  Mississippi,  and  the  following  year  with  clipped 
courage  made  his  bed  beneath  its  waters,  the  valley 


i  ■  . 


ili!: 


1,1, 


■     -i 


', .  1 1 


■   !   li 


I  ; 


^92 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 


of  the  Great  River  now  takes  a  prominent  jdaco  in 
history.  No  section  of  equal  extent  and  importance 
in  all  the  two  Americas  has  changed  permanent  pro- 
prietorship so  often  as  this.  Spain,  in  silken  vesture 
and  burnished  armor,  with  blood-hounds  for  hunting 
natives,  and  chains  with  which  to  bind  them,  first 
found  this  mighty  stream;  France  with  breviary  and 
crucifix,  in  humble  attitude  and  garb,  first  peacefully 
explored  and  planted  settlements  upon  its  banks; 
England  first  conquered  it  from  a  European  power 
and  held  its  eastern  bank,  while  Spain  claimed  the 
western,  and  subsequently  conquered  from  England 
the  Florida  portion  of  the  eastern;  and  last  of  all, 
thus  far,  the  United  States  was  the  first  by  honorable 
treaty  to  obtain  possession. 

Several  missionary  and  trading  expedi^.ons  had 
been  made  into  the  region  beyond  lakes  Michigan  and 
Superior,  and  information  of  the  Father  of  Waters 
given,  when  in  1073  M.  Joliet  and  Pere  Marquette 
crossed  the  narrow  portage  between  Fox  River  and 
the  Wisconsin,  and  'embarking  in  two  light  canoes 
glided  down  to  the  Mississippi  and  descended  the  river 
to  the  thirty-third  parallel,  near  the  spot  touched  by 
Soto.  Their  provisions  exhausted,  and  their  mission, 
they  returned,  Marquette  to  his  missionary  labors 
among  the  Indians,  and  Joliet  to  Quebec. 

To  Robert  de  la  Salle  it  remained  to  descend  the 
Great  River  to  its  mouth  and  determine  whether  it 
discharged  into  the  gulf  of  Mexico  or  into  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  La  Salle  was  a  fur- trader,  having  a  factory 
at  Lachine,  near  Montreal,  whence  he  made  frequent 
visits  to  lakes  (}nturio  arid  Erie.  To  the  governor  and 
others  he  suggested  tiiat  the  Pncific  might  perhaps  be 
better  reached  by  ascending  than  by  descending  the 
^Mississippi.  lu  1680,  having  received  royal  privileges, 
he  sf^nt  Pero  Hennej.un  down  the  Illinois  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi, with  instructions  to  ascend  the  latter  stream 
as  far  as  he  was  able,  which  proved  to  be  to  the  Sault 
St  Antoine,  while  two  years  later  La  Salle  himself 


w 


ENGLISH  JEALOUSY. 


8Qi 


descondcd  the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth  and  tool^  pos- 
session of  the  country,  calling  it  Louisiane,  lictuin- 
iug  to  Quebec,  La  Salle  embarked  for  France,  wlioro 
his  report  caused  great  excitement.  To  the  bold  dis- 
coverer was  given  the  colonization  of  Louisiane,  which 
term  then  embraced  the  whole  of  that  vast  tract 
drained  by  the  Mississippi,  and  which  now  became  a 
province  of  New  France. 

Sailing  from  France  for  the  Mississippi  in  July 
1G84,  with  four  shi^js  and  two  hundred  and  eighty 
emigrants,  La  Salle  missed  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
lost  one  vessel,  and  finally  in  a  sad  plight  struck  the 
coast  of  Texas,  where  a  colony  was  planted,  thus 
adding  that  country  to  his  discovery.  While  seeking 
his  lost  river,  La  Salle  wandered  into  the  basin  of 
the  Colorado,  where  he  was  traitorously  shot  by  one 
of  his  company,  leaving  it  with  Lemoine  d'Ibervillo 
to  lay  in  IGO'J  the  foundation  of  the  future  colony.  In 
due  time,  by  posts  and  settlements  up  the  St  Law- 
rence, round  the  great  lakes,  and  down  the  fertile 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  the  two  extremities  of 
French  American  domain  became  united.'' 


I  i 


Now,  more  than  ever,  the  jealous}^  of  tlie  English 
colonists  was  aroused.  Their  actual  occupancy  in 
North  America  was  confined  to  a  narrow  space  on 
the  Atlantic  seaboard,  while  the  French  and  Sj)anish 
claimed  all  rtie  rest.  Indeed,  France  had  loft  but 
little  footing  even  for  Spain,  the  ]\Icxican  and  Cen- 
tral American  isthmuses,  together  with  the  lands 
tlrained  by  the  Rio  del  Norte  and  the  Rio  Colorado, 
and  on  the  Pacific  the  two  Californias  of  undefined 
limits,  being  but  a  bagatelle  compared  with  the  vast 
regions  of  the  middle  and  north.^ 

'  'The  lilies  of  Frince  cut  on  forest  trees,  ami  crosses  erected  on  blulTs  of 
the  Mississippi,  at  length  marked  a  chain  of  posts  from  the  Mexican  gulf  to 
Jliidsou's  liay.'  Uurifn  Exudu-^  of  thi'  Wvxte.ii  NalionH,  i.  .S8(i.  '  T(jut  lo  NorJ 
dii  Missouri  nous  <  sfc  totiilenieut  incomiu.'  L<'  Pa/i'  dn  I'nilz,  Jli.'if.  Lu'iisidiic, 
i.  327.  To  the  expedition  of  LaSuUe  aie  added  tlio  subsequent  adventures  of 
Hennepin,  in  Am.  Aiiii'i.  ib'oc,  Trniin.,  i.  Ol-'JI. 

" '  La  Lotiisiiino  situeodans  la  p.irtio  Septentrionale  do  rAm«^ri(pio,  est  l)orn(''a 
au  Midi  par  lo  (iolfo  du  Mexicj^ue,  au  Levant  par  la  Caroline,  Colonic  Anylaise,  & 


':, 


l,ifi 


I        i 

;  i 


i! 


i 


' 


394 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 


When  in  1682  Lefebvre  de  la  Barre  assumed  the 
governor-g-eneralship  r. '  ^nada  in  place  of  the  Count 
de  Frontenac,  hostilities  had  broken  out  between  the 
Iroquois  and  the  Illinois.  It  was  said  that  the 
people  of  New  Netherlands,  now  New  York,  wishing 
to  monopolize  the  fur-trade  of  that  region,  Avere  con- 
stantly exciting  the  Iroquois  against  the  French,  and 
to  the  latter  it  now  seemed  necessary  that  they  should 
uosist  the  Illinois. 

Taking  the  field  against  the  Iroqinois,  Le  Barro 
failed  to  accomplish  any  important  purpose;  and  his 
successor,  the  IMarquis  de  Denonvillo,  succeeded  but 
little  better  in  attempting  to  exclude  the  Iroquois 
and  English  traders  from  the  St  Lawrence.  After  a 
period  of  unwonted  tranquillity,  in  August  1689  four- 
teen hundred  Iroquois  suddenly  appeared  at  Lachine 
and  massacred  the  inhabitants. 

Following  the  dissolution  of  the  Hundred  Asso- 
ciates, in  1664  was  formed  for  New  France  another 
withering  monopoly,  known  as  the  West  India  Com- 
pany. Although  exclusive  trade  was  vested  in  the 
association  for  forty  years,  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard 
of  Africa  was  given  them  as  well  as  America;  and 
although  Louis  XIV.,  in  addition  to  all  the  privileges 
formerly  granted  the  Hundred  Associates,  placed  a 
premium  of  forty  livres  on  every  ton  of  exported  or 
imported  merchandise,  the  company  finally  fell  in 
pieces  by  the  very  weight  of  royal  favors,  for  com- 
modities so  rose  in  price  that  purchasers  could  not  be 
found,  and  the  importation  of  goods  ceased.  In  1666 
Colbert  withdrew  from  the  monopolists  the  peltry 
traffic,  and  at  the  same  time  relieved  them  from  the 

partie  du  Caiiad.o,  au  Couchant  par  le  nouveau  Mexique,  au  Nord  en  partic  par 
le  Canada:  le  restc  n"a  point  de  bornes,&  8'<5xtend  jusqu'anx  Torres  incunnuca 
voisines  de  la  liaye  de  Hudson.'  Le  Pctija  du  Pratz,  Hist.  Lonmane,  i.  138. 
•At  the  close  of  the  year  1 7o7,  Franco  possessed  twenty  times  as  much  American 
territory  aa  England  ;  and  five  times  as  much  as  England  nnd  Spain  together.' 
liUljHilh's  U.  S.,  270.  'Putting  aside  tlie  untenable  claims  wliicli  France 
assertctl  in  the  patents  granted  to  De  Monta,  she  actually  possessed  settle- 
ments in  all  |iarts  of  Nortii  America,  as  far  as  Mexico  on  the  south  and  Call- 
furuia  on  tlic  Wcst.'  Durife  L'xodus,  ii,  U. 


T^ 


Pf 


DIVERS  MONOPOLIES. 


305 


restriction  of  their  trade  to  France.  Still  the  insti- 
tution could  not  thrive;  and  with  a  hundred  vessels 
employed,  and  witli  a  debt  of  three  and  a  half  millions 
of  livres,  in  1674,  the  company  became  extinct.  These 
wise  rulers  had  yet  to  learn  of  laisser  faire,  to  learn 
that  trade  thrives  best  when  let  alone. 

The  peltry  monopoly  in  Canada  now  took  an  inde- 
pendent departure,  and  was  hereafter  less  involved 
with  other  royal  privileges,  although  to  Oudiette,  into 
whose  hands  from  the  West  India  Company  it  fell, 
were  also  farmed  the  duties  on  tobacco,  which  were 
then  ten  per  cent.  This  continued  until  1700,  when 
the  people  again  begged  relief. 

Roddes  was  the  next  fur-king;  and  after  him 
Piccaud,  who  paid  seventy  thousand  francs  per  annum 
for  the  monopoly,  and  formed  an  association  called 
the  Company  of  Canada,  with  shares  at  fifty  livres,  of 
which  any  Canadian  might  take  any  number.  With 
this  association  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  whoso 
history  w^  shall  trace  in  the  next  chapter,  was  con- 
cerned. The  Canada  Company  falling  into  dissolution, 
Aubert,  Nerot,  and  Guyot  agreed  to  pay  its  debts — 
1,812,000  francs — for  its  privileges.  With  the  ex- 
piration of  their  term  the  monopoly  of  Aubert  and 
Company  fell  in  1717  to  the  Western  Company,  as 
the  Mississippi  Bubble  Scheme  of  John  Law  was  at 
one  time  known. 

This  was  the  grand  epoch  of  the  fur-trade  in 
Canada  under  the  old  adventurous  and  lawless  regime. 
Beaver-skins  were  the  life  of  New  France.  It  was  all 
in  vain  that  the  government  sought  to  control  this 
traffic;  and  what  is  strangest  of  all  to  us  is  that  after 
a  century  of  failures  rulers  could  not  see  that  it  was 
not  possible.  No  more  than  the  United  States  with 
all  her  armies  would  have  been  able  to  guard  the  gold 
baidced  in  the  Sierra  Drainage,  could  Franco  guard 
the  wild  beasts  of  the  Canadian  forests,  or  prevent 
her  people  from  matching  and  skinning  them. 

Aii    one    a.-.oiig    the    many    preventive    measures 


f  ! 


1^  i 


f  i'!    1 


I  i. 


1 

1   ■ 

1  !      ! 
i         i 

',  \-  V    '■ 

!  !  !'      \ 
■ft-  ^>  - , 

1  q-  i 

■■'■  I 


3M  NEW  FRANCE  AND  THE  rUR-TR.\DE. 

adopted  by  the  king,  an  annual  fair  was  ordered  held 
at  Montreal.  It  was  at  the  opening  of  this  commer- 
cial by- play  that  the  arm-chaired  governor- general, 
whom  we  read  so  much  about  in  all  the  books,  took 
his  seat  on  the  common,  and  midst  much  solemn 
smoking  harangued  the  savages  ranged  round  him 
upon  the  benefits  accruing  to  mankind  by  reason  of 
the  peltry-packs  which  they  had  brought  from  distant 
forests  to  trade. 

The  scenes  enacted  here,  where  the  highest  mer- 
chants erected  booths,  and  huckstering  savages  stalked 
the  street,  and  half  the  town  were  drunk  or  nearly  so, 
were  conducive  neither  to  commercial  prosperity  nor 
to  good  morals.  Infatuated  with  the  trade,  scores  of 
young  men  every  summer  returned  with  the  savages 
to  their  distant  homes,  and  became  almost  savage  them- 
selves, paddling  their  canoes  and  ranging  the  woods, 
whence  the  clan  of  voyageurs  and  courcurs  dcs  bois 
greatly  multiplied,  and  became  a  striking  feature  of 
the  century.  For  this  forest  traffic  licenses  were 
issued,  but  many  preferred  to  take  their  chances 
without  them. 

An  illustration  of  the  futility  and  absurdity  of 
grvernment  protection  and  trade  monopoly  here  pre- 
sents itself.  While  Oudiette  and  his  associates  held 
sway,  the  supply  increased  so  largely  as  to  ruin  them 
The  hunters  might  sell  to  the  merchants;  but  the 
merchants  might  sell  only  to  Oudiette,  and  Oudiette 
must  take  all  the  furs  offered  him  at  a  fixed  price. 
The  consequence  was  that  wlien  from  over  supply 
the  market  became  glutted,  and  France  refused  to 
take  them  at  half  tbeir  cost,  Oudiette  was  obliged 
to  succumb;  and  the  only  v/ay  out  of  the  difhculty,  his 
successors  found,  was  to  burn  three  fourths  of  the  stock 
on  hand.    And  this  was  done  more  than  once. 


Round  the  trading-posts  planted  by  La  Salle  along 
the  Mississippi,  and  the  missions  established  by  the 
Jesuits  south  and  west  of  Lake  Michigan,  little  set- 


■■■f 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  COMPANY.  897 

tlements  sprang  up,  until  in  1711,  when  England 
declared  war  against  France,  throughout  the  great 
valley  were  scattered  fur-traders  of  every  class,  whoso 
intercourse  on  the  north  M'as  with  Quebec,  and  on  the 
south  with  the  Isle  Dauphin,  in  ISIobilc  Bay. 

In  1712  Antoine  Crozat  obtained  from  the  French 
court  the  appointment  of  governor  of  Louisiana,  with 
a  monopoly  for  mining  and  trading  in  that  region  for 
sixteen  years.  Crozat  attempted  to  open  commercial 
relations  Avith  Mexico,  and  in  17 13  despatched  a 
vessel  to  Vera  Cruz,  but  the  viceroy  ordered  its  im- 
mediate departure.  Moreover,  the  Virginians  greatly 
troubled  him  by  interfering  with  his  peltry  trade 
among  the  Natchez  and  other  native  nations  of  the 
Mississippi.  Crozat  was  already  a  millionaire,  and  very 
grasping.  By  charging  exorbitant  prices  for  his  goods, 
and  paying  the  minimum  rate  for  furs,  he  soon  drove 
hunters  out  of  the  country,  when  he  threw  up  his 
patent  in  disgust.  It  finally  fell  with  others  into  the 
meshes  of  the  famous  Mississippi  Bubble  scheme. 

New  adventurers  entered  the  field  in  1717  under 
the  name  of  the  Western  or  Mississippi  Company, 
before  mentioned,  which  was  connected  with  the 
Bank  of  France,  and  whose  charter  was  to  run  for 
twenty-five  years.  To  this  were  added  the  dormant 
rights  of  the  Santo  Domingo  Association,  formed 
in  1698,  the  Senegal  and  Guinea  Companies,  the 
Chinese  Company  of  1700,  the  Old  West  India 
Company,  the  Canada  Company,  and  Aubert  and 
Company. 

The  capital  of  the  Mississippi  Company  was  origi- 
nally one  hundred  millions  of  livres,  based  on  a  pop- 
ular belief  in  the  resources  of  that  country.  It  was  a 
colonization  scheme  invented  by  the  Scotchman  John 
Law  to  free  the  French  government  from  debt.  To 
absorb  new  issues  the  name  was  changed  to  that  of 
the  West  India  C^ompany,  now  revived  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  resources  of  the  Mississippi,  by  means  of 
certain  financial  legerdemain,  were  pledged,  and  im- 


m  ■ 

In  i^ 


i:i'i 


I 


.i  '-m 


398  NEW  FRANCE  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 

mediately  to  be  applied  to  the  payment  of  this  indebt- 
edness of  two  thousand  millions  of  livres.  The  future 
for  ten  centuries  was  discounted.  For  a  time  the  in- 
terest was  promptly  paid,  and  the  shares  rapidly  ad- 
vanced. Then  madness  seized  the  people.  The  stock 
ros  one  hundred  per  cent.,  one  thousand  per  cent., 
two  thousand  and  fifty  percent.!  Then  a  crash,  and 
the  ruined  ten  thousand  fell  a-cursing  their  late  idol, 
wishing  to  hang  him. 

In  1723  the  defunct  West  India  Company  was 
succeeded  by  the  Company  of  the  Indies,  with  the 
duke  of  Orldans  as  governor.  His  jurisdiction  ex- 
tended over  all  the  colonies  of  France,  whether  in 
America  or  elsewhere.  From  the  wreck  of  the  Law 
scheme  a  trading  monopoly  in  the  Louisiana  and 
Illinois  territories  was  saved,  which  continued  until 
1731,  in  which  year  the  exclusive  rights  passed  under 
immediate  regal  sway,  and  so  continued  throughout 
the  remainder  of  French  domination. 

With  the  building  of  Fort  Oswego  •>.  keen  competi- 
tion set  in  between  the  French  and  British  fur- 
traders,  the  latter  being  disposed  to  pay  the  natives 
higher  prices  than  the  French  had  been  accustomed  to 
pay.  The  evil  effects  arising  therefrom  were  in  some 
degree  obviated  by  the  king,  who  by  taking  charge 
of  the  forts  at  Kingston,  Niagara,  and  Toronto,  and 
cutting  off  hitherto  misapplied  bounties  to  dealers, 
was  enabled  to  compete  with  the  British,  and  pay 
the  natives  higher  prices.' 

Until  1713,  when  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  trade* 
in  the  Hudson  Bay  and  other  territories  must  be  re- 
linquished, almost  the  entire  peltry  traffic  of  North 


"At  this  time  the  average  price  of  beaver-skina  in  money,  at  Montreal 
was  2  livrea  13  sous,  or  about  '2s.  3d.  sterling,  per  pound.  HmUh'B  hit. 
Canada,  i.  Iviii.  It  is  not  possible  precisely  to  fix  the  value  of  furs  expcrtCL' 
from  Canada  under  French  rdrjimt.  D'Auteuil  places  the  annual  returns  in 
1077  at  550,000  francs,  and  in  1715  at  2,000,000  francs.  From  the  cust<im8 
registers  Governor  Murray  found  the  returns  of  1754  valued  at  1,547,885 
livi'es,  and  those  of  1765  at  1,265,650  livres.  F.  X.  Gameau,  Canada,  tom.  i. 
lib.  viii.  cap.  1,  estimates  the  value  of  peltry  exported  from  New  France, 
immediately  before  and  after  the  coni^uest,  at  3,500,000  Uvres. 


FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  W.\R. 


m 


America,  as  we  can  but  observe,  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  French.  Every  effort  was  made  by  the  governor.^ 
of  New  York  to  lessen  French  influence  in  the  west, 
but  without  much  success.  The  Enghsh  possessed 
some  advantages;  European  goods  were  lower  at 
Boston  and  New  York  than  at  Quebec  and  Montreal, 
and  there  was  considerable  contraband  trade  between 
the  colonists,  even  the  monopolists  themselves  intro- 
ducing into  Canada  cloth  from  Albany;  but  in  the 
main  during  these  earlier  competitive  times  the  French 
found  favor  with  the  savages,  while  the  English  were 
more  suspiciously  regarded. 

Seeing  that  the  advantages  of  contraband  traffic 
were  employed  against  their  fur  interests  by  the 
Canadian  traders,  in  1720-7  laws  prohibiting  the 
exchange  of  European  goods  for  Canadian  peltry  were 
passed  by  the  New  York  assembly,  which  was  a  heavy 
blow  to  the  French  traders.  In  retaliation  Louis 
XIV.  forbade  by  edict  all  commercial  intercourse  with 
the  British  colonies.  Thereafter  the  blighting  mo- 
nopolies met  with  little  opposition  in  New  France. 
Those  who  dealt  in  peltries  bought  privileges  from 
them,  usually  in  lLj  form  of  factory  licenses,  granted 
as  a  rule  for  three  years.  Those  who  held  these  tem- 
porary privileges  of  course  made  as  much  of  them  as 
possible  while  opportunity  lasted,  and  the  poor  savage 
was  usually  the  sufferer." 

The  English  possessions  in  America  were  granted 
to  settlers  in  strips  fronting  on  the  Atlantic  and  ex- 
tending through  on  fixed  parallels  to  the  Pacific. 
Thus  to  the  London  Company  were  given  by  James  I. 
all  lands  lying  between  the  thirty-fourth  and  thirty- 
eighth  lines  of  latitude;  to  the  Plymouth  Company 
the  forty-first  to  the  forty-fifth  parallels,  the  belt  be- 
tween being  common;  to  the  Council  of  Plymouth 

'"  Mr  Bell,  the  English  editor  of  Gameau's  Flistoire  du  Canada,  states  that 
'in  1754  at  a  weatera  post,  on  one  occasion  beaver-skins  were  bought  f(jr  four 
grains  of  pepper  eacli ;  and  that  as  much  aa  800  francs  were  realized  by  selling 
a  pound  of  vennilion,  probably  dealt  out  in  pinches.' 


u 


!;  Iv  : 


3:   "U 


■ 


If'  \ 


1  i 


400 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  THE  FUR-TRADE. 


the  fortieth  to  the  forty- eighth  parallel,  and  so  on. 
Now,  as  the  two  nationalities  quarrelled  on  tlieir 
respective  frontiers,  the  French  would  point  trium- 
phantly to  the  discoveries  of  Joliet  and  La  Salle, 
while  the  English  declared  their  lands  had  no  west- 
ern bound. 

Banding  for  mutual  protection,  the  American  colo- 
nies resorted  to  arms  as  England  declared  war  ajjainst 
France.  Each  seeking  allies  among  the  natives,  the 
French  and  Indian  war  was  inaugurated,  which  should 
forever  settle  this  question  of  colonial  supremacy. 
The  immediate  cause  of  this  war  was  the  intrusion  of 
French  fur-gatherers  south  of  Lake  Erie,  to  prevent 
which  the  Ohio  Company  was  formed  by  a  number  of 
Virginians  for  the  purpose  of  taking  possession  of  the 
disputed  territory.  The  French,  however,  were  too 
quick  for  them.  Bienville  with  three  hundred  men 
occupied  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  in  the«  summer  of 
1749;  but  it  was  not  until  after  1753,  when  twelve 
hundred  men  were  sent  down  the  Alleghany  by  Du 
Quesne  to  colonize  the  country,  and  Washington  was 
sent  to  remonstrate  with  General  St  Pierre,  com- 
mander of  the  French  forces  in  the  west,  that  hos- 
tilities broke  out.  Then  followed  the  expedition  and 
defeat  of  the  English  under  Braddock  in  1755.  In 
retaliation,  with  wanton  cruelty,  the  English  drove 
the  French  from  Acadia.  Meanwhile  Johnson  won 
a  victory  over  the  French  at  Lake  George.  In  175G 
Washington  repelled  the  enemy  in  the  valley  of  the 
Shenandoah,  while  Montcalm  successfully  led  the 
French  across  Lake  Ontario,  and  the  following  year 
made  a  brilliant  compaign  into  the  Lake  George 
country.  In  1758  the  English  acquired  Cape  Breton 
and  Prince  Edward  Island,  but  failed  before  Ticon- 
deroga.  Fort  Frontenac  was  taken  by  Bradstreet,  and 
Du  Quesne  was  burned.  Twelve  million  pounds  were 
voted  by  the  British  parliament  to  carry  on  the  war, 
and  Amherst  was  placed  in  command  of  the  British 
and  colonial  forces,  which  by  midsummer  1759  num- 


[■]' 


PURCHASE  OP  LOUISIANA. 


401 


bered  fifty  thousand  men,  while  the  French  army 
scarcely  exceeded  seven  thousand.  It  was  therefore 
no  great  feat  to  crush  them;  and  nothing  else  would 
satisfy  Pitt.  To  this  end  three  campaigns  were 
planned:  Amherst,  with  the  main  division,  was  to 
march  against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point;  Pir- 
deaux  was  to  take  Niagara  and  Montreal,  while  Wolfe 
was  to  capture  Quebec.  Each  accomplished  his  pur- 
pose. On  the  ocean  the  war  lingered  for  three  years 
after  Montreal  had  fallen,  but  the  British  were  finally 
victorious,  and  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  made  the 
10th  of  February  1763,  half  of  the  area  of  North 
America  changed  hands.  To  Spain,  with  whom  Eng- 
land had  also  been  at  war,  France  surrendered  that 
portion  of  Louisiana  lying  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
while  Spain  ceded  to  England  all  her  domain  east  of 
that  river.  And  thus  it  was  made  plain  that  decaying 
media3val  institutions  should  not  stand  before  the  en- 
lightened and  liberal  progress  of  the  New  World. 
'  By  the  treaty  of  Paris,  made  the  3d  of  November 
1783,  by  which  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  was  recognized,  Florida  was  ceded  by  Great 
Britain  back  to  Spain,  and  all  English  territory  south 
of  the  great  lakes  and  east  of  the  Mississippi  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  American  confederation. 

The  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  called  Lou- 
isiana, was  held  by  Spain  until  1800,  when  Napoleon 
caused  a  secret  cession  of  that  domain  to  be  made 
to  France,  and  prepared  to  place  an  army  at  New 
Orleans,  which  should  there  maintain  his  authority; 
but  the  United  States  remonstrating,  and  affairs  at 
home  thickening.  Napoleon  finally  authorized  the  sale 
of  Louisiana.  Mr  Livingston  and  James  Monroe  were 
appointed  by  the  President  to  negotiate  the  purchase. 
Terms  were  agreed  upon  by  tl-e  30th  of  April  1803, 
and  for  $11,250,000  together  with  the  promise  to 
pay  certain  claims  of  American  citizens  due  from 
France,  not  to  exceed  $3,750,000— $15,000,000  in 
all — Louisiana  was  added  to  the  United  States. 

Hist.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    26 


^;t      IM-.^ 


)    ■      ( 


r^  I 


^ ; 


li  ; 


l; 


I  i 


408 


NEW  FRANCE  AND  THE  rUR-TRADE. 


In  determining  the  boundaries  of  this  purchase, 
Spain  and  Great  Britain  were  concerned  no  less  than 
the  United  States  and  France.  The  Mississippi  River 
from  the  thirty-first  parallel  to  its  source  was  the 
eastern  bound,  and  the  gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  north 
of  the  Sfibine  River  the  southern  without  question. 
The  thirtj'^-first  parallel  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Appalachicola,  and  down  that  stream  to  the  gulf,  was 
claimed  by  the  United  States,  France,  and  England 
as  the  south-east  boundary.  To  this,  however,  Spain 
dissented,  asserting  Iberville  and  lakes  Maurepas  and 
Pontchartrain  to  be  the  true  line  between  Louisi- 
ana and  w^est  Florida.  But  she  was  finally  overruled. 
On  the  south-west  the  line  ran  along  the  Sabine 
River  to  the  thirty -first  parallel ;  thence  due  north  to 
Red  River,  and  along  that  stream  to  the  one  hun- 
dredth degree  of  longitude  west  from  Greenwich; 
thence  north  to  the  Arkansas,  and  up  that  river  to 
the  mountains,  following  them  to  the  forty-second 
parallel  of  latitude.  Thus  far  the  western  limits  were 
fixed  after  much  disagreement;  and  when  the  United 
States  would  continue  the  boundary  line  along  the 
forty-second  parallel  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  Spain  made 
but  slight  objection,  and  finally  in  the  treaty  of  1819 
gave  her  consent. 

The  northern  limits  of  what  should  be  United  States 
territory  affected  only  that  country  and  Great  Britain, 
and  the  line  of  partition  was  finally  made  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  Pacific. 
Thus  by  the  most  momentous  event  of  Jefferson's 
administration  the  possession  of  the  great  valley  of 
the  Mississippi  fell  to  the  United  States.  Out  of  the 
southern  portion  of  the  newly  acquired  domain  was 
formed  the  territory  of  Orleans,  while  the  remainder 
continued  to  be  called  the  territory  of  Louisiana." 

"'Between  the  years  1803  and  1819  there  was  some  ground  for  contro- 
versy, but  Bince  the  latter  date  none  whatever,  except  as  to  the  northern 
line.'  Riilpath's  (J.  S.,  379,  note;  m  American  State  Papers  see  topics  Treaty 
qf  Paris,  1763 ;  JJeJinite  Treaty  between  Great  Britain  and  the  U.  S.,  17S3; 
Text  of  the  Loui'<iana  Cemion,  1S03;  Boundary  Convfntioiw  between  the  U.  S, 
<nul  Great  Britain,  1818  and  1840;  Treaty  of  Washington,  1819. 


■WIP 


i:'l 


CESSIONS  AND  TREATIES. 


401 


By  the  treaty  of  Washington  of  the  22cl  of  Feb- 
ruary 1819,  east  and  west  Florida  were  ceded  by 
Spain  to  the  United  States;  in  consideration  for 
which  the  latter  power  relinquished  all  claim  to 
Texas,  and  promised  to  pay  her  own  citizens  a  sum 
not  to  exceed  five  millions  of  dollars  damaged  done 
them  by  Spanish  vessels.  The  Sabine  River  at  the 
same  time  was  made  the  eastern  boundary  of  Mexico. 

For  many  years  in  several  particulars  that  portion 
of  the  partition  line  between  Canada  and  the  United 
States  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  Lake  Huron 
had  been  in  dispute.  At  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  in 
1814,  it  was  decided  to  refer  the  matter  to  tiiree  com- 
missioners, but  it  was  not  until  the  Webster- Ash- 
burton  treaty  of  the  9th  of  August  1842  that  the 
question  was  finally  settled,  that  portion  of  the  treaty 
of  October  1818  fixing  the  forty-ninth  parallel  from 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods  westward  as  the  dividing  line 
being  confirmed." 

'*It  appears,  in  their  ignorance  of  western  geography,  statesmen  of  that 
daj  supposed  the  forty-ninth  parallel  crossed  the  Mississippi  somewhere,  and 
it  was  to  tliis  point  only,  Bouchetto  affirms,  that  partition  should  have  been 
carried.  'But  it  was  afterwards  found,'  he  says,  liiil.Dom.,  i.  8-9,  'that  such 
a  line  would  never  strike  the  river,  as  its  highest  waters  did  not  extend  be- 
yond lat.  47°  3G'  north,  whilst  the  jioint  of  tlie  Lake  of  the  Woods,  whence 
the  lino  was  to  depart,  stood  in  lat.  49"  20'  north,  and  therefore  104  geograplii- 
cal  miles  fartlier  north  than  the  source  of  the  Mississippi.  The  fourtli  articlo 
of  the  treaty  of  London  in  1794  provided  for  the  amicable  adjustment  of 
this  anomaly,  but  its  intentions  were  never  carried  into  effect;  and  the  sub- 
ject came  under  the  consideration  of  Lord  Holland  and  the  late  Lord  Auck- 
land, on  one  side,  and  Mr  Monroe  and  Mr  Pickering  on  the  other,  during  the 
negotiations  of  1806.  The  British  negotiators  contended  that  the  nearest 
line  from  the  I^ake  of  the  Wootls  to  the  Mississippi  was  the  boundary,  ac- 
cording to  the  true  intent  of  tlie  treaty  of  1783 ;  the  Americans  insisted  that 
the  line  was  to  run  due  west,  and,  since  it  could  never  intersect  the  Missis- 
sippi, that  it  must  run  due  west  across  the  whole  continent.'  As  I  shall  have 
occasion  to  discuss  this  matter  at  length  in  another  place,  I  will  let  it  rest 
for  the  present. 


M' 


\^ 


til 


U  v; 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


FOftEST  LIFE  AND  FURHUNTINO. 


Northern  and  Wej  ■t:rn  Fxtr  Territory — Physical  Featcbb^— Fai  itats 

OF  FUR-BEARINQ  AXIMALS — VOYAOE0RS— CoDREURS  Di  S  BoU-  -AnOLO- 

American  Trapper — His  Characteristics  Compared  vh'  i  Those  of 
THE  French  Canadian — Boating  —  Brigades — Running  Rapids  — 
Travel — Dbess — Food — Caching. 

Picture  in  your  mind  a  sweep  of  country  three 
thousand  by  two  thousand  miles  in  extent,  stretching 
from  ocean  to  ocean  across  the  continent's  broadest 
part,  from  Labrador  to  Alaska,  and  on  the  Pacific 
from  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  the  river  Umpqua;  picture 
this  expanse  bright  with  lakes  and  linking  streams, 
basined  by  intersecting  ridges  between  which  are 
spread  open  plains  and  feathei  lOi  '  warm  valleys 
and  frozen  hills,  fertile  v  t-'  ,  marshes,  dry  scraggy 
undulations,  and  tbirf-  ^rts  in  qiv'ok  succession; 

picture  it  a  primeval  ^  iness  thick,  inhabited  by 
'.vild  beasts  and  thinly  pc  ;)lecl  y  wild  men,  but  w^th 
civilization's  latest  invention  rought  to  their  border 
and  kept  for  their  present  curse  and  final  extin'^tion 
in  small  palisaded  squares  fifty  or  three  hundred  aiiles 
apart  by  white  men  who  ever  and  forever  urged  the 
wild  man  against  the  wild  beast  for  the  benefit  of  the 
mighty  and  the  cunning — imagine  such  a  scene,  and 
you  have  before  you  the  domain  and  doings  f  the 
Honorable  Hudson's  Bay  Company  as  it  was  fifty 
years  ago. 

For  cler.rer  conception,  place  yourself  upon  the 
continental  apex  near  the  great  National  Park  and 
between  the  springs  of  the  Columbia,  the  Colorado, 

(Mi) 


I   '! 


THE  CONTINENTAL  APEX. 


405 


the  Atliabasca,  tho  Saskatchowan,  and  the  Missouri 
rivors.  Tho  waters  of  tlie  lirst  flow  westward,  tlioso 
of  the  second  southward,  of  the  third  nortliward,  of 
tho  fourth  north-eastward,  and  of  tho  fifth  south-east- 
ward. From  where  you  stand,  tlie  continent  slopes 
in  every  direction.  Britisli  America  slopes  northward 
from  the  United  States  border  to  the  Frozen  Ocean ; 
the  United  States  slopes  southward  from  the  British 
American  border  to  tho  Californian  and  Mexican 
gulfs;  from  the  groat  Rocky  Mountain  water- shed 
tho  continent  slopes  eastward  to  tho  Atlantic  and 
westward  to  the  Pacific. 

By  four  main  mountain  systems  and  a  latitudinal 
divide  of  low  table-land  are  formed  tho  four  hydro- 
graphical  basins  of  North  America,  whence  into  tho 
northern,  western,  and  eastern  oceans  and  tho  southern 
gulfs  is  discharged  one  third  of  all  the  fresh  water 
that  stands  or  Hows.  Those  four  ranijes,  which  cut 
the  continent  into  longitudinal  strips,  are  all  [)arallol 
to  the  ocean  shore  line,  to  which  they  lie  nearest. 
Between  the  Appalachian  system  of  tho  east  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains  of  tho  west  is  tho  central  plain  of 
tho  continent,  which  sweeps  from  the  gulf  of  Moxico 
through  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  round  by  the 
St  Lawrence  to  Nelson  River.  Beyond  the  -AOth 
parallel  divide,  wnich,  as  from  the  east  it  approaches 
the  R(  "}.y  Mountains,  is  at  once  a  physical  as  well  as 

f)olitica'.  partition  lino,  and  on  to  tho  Frozen  Ocean 
ios  £t  broken  level  of  transfixed  billows  seemingly 
limitless,  and  in  its  cold  winter  dress  as  silent  as  a 
petrified  sea.  Westward  of  the  Stony  Mountains,  and 
until  the  Cascade  and  Snowy  ranges  are  reached,  is  a 
sandy  basin,  desert  toward  the  south  but  at  tho  north 
fertile.  Last  of  all,  crossing  the  Cascade  -Nevada  ridge 
we  come  upon  tho  warm  garden-valleys  of  tho  Pacific, 
the  Willamette  of  Oregon,  and  the  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin  of  California,  protected  on  their  west  by 
the  Coast  Range.  Of  lesser  altitude  than  either  the 
Snowy  or  tho  Rocky  ranges,  the  Coast  Mountains  for 


l1 

.'        • 

1 

E   , 

i'    • ! 


-I 


4uo 


FOREST  LIFE  AND  FUR-HUNTING. 


the  most  part  rise  from  the  very  verge  of  the  ocean; 
and  though  broken  in  placcb,  and  sometimes  separated 
from  the  sea  by  a  low  level  surface  twenty-five  or  lift}/ 
miles  in  width,  they  form  a  continuous  chain  from  the 
Californian  Gulf  to  Bering  Strait.  At  San  Fran- 
cisco Bay  they  open  to  the  Californian  valley  drain- 
age, on  the  Oregon  coast  to  that  of  the  Columbia; 
on  reaching  the  48th  parallel  the  range  breaks  in  an 
archipelago,  twelve  hundred  islands  here  guarding  the 
shore  for  seven  hundred  miles,  and  then  strikes  the 
mainland  again  at  mounts  Fairweather  and  Elias. 
South  of  California  all  the  ranges  of  western  North 
America  combine  in  a  series  of  more  or  less  elevated 
mountains  and  plateaux.  The  Chepewyan  Mountains, 
by  which  name  the  northern  extremity  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  is  known,  form  the  water- shed  between  the 
Mackenzie  and  the  Yukon.  On  the  east  side  of  the 
main  continental  ridge  are  lesser  parallel  ridges  which 
subside  into  plain  as  the  rivers  are  reached;  on  the 
western  side  mountain  and  plain  are  more  distinctly 
marked.  In  Oregon  there  are  the  Blue  Mountains; 
as  a  divide  between  Oregon  and  California  we  have 
the  Siskiyou  Mountains,  where  the  Coast,  Cascade, 
and  Nevada  ranges  meet,  with  snow-capped  Mount 
Shasta  as  their  sentinel;  in  Alaslca  there  is  the 
Ajaskan  chain,  extending  f;  om  the  Alaskan  peninsula 
beyond  the  Yukon  Biver.  The  interior  of  British 
Columbia  is  a  mountainous  plateau. 

British y^merica  was  the  fur-hunter's  paradise.  Cold 
enough  to  require  of  nature  thick  coverings  for  her 
animal  creations;  fertile  enough  to  furnish  food  for 
those  animals;  rugged  enough  in  soil  and  climate  to 
require  of  native  man  constant  displays  of  energy; 
sterile  and  forbidding  enougb.  to  keep  out  settlers  so 
long  as  better  land  might  be  had  nearer  civilization, 
t  offered  precisely  the  field,  of  all  the  world,  a  fur 
irporation  might  choose  for  a  century  or  two  of 
exclusive  dominion. 

Starting  from  the  rugged  shores  of  Labrador,  we 


u 


PHYSICAL  FEATURES. 


I8r 


leave  without  regret  its  bleak  interior  table-land,  cov- 
ered with  stunted  poplar,  spruce,  bircli,  willow,  and 
aspen,  and  strewn  with  casibon-moss-covered  bowlders, 
and  pass  round  through  Canada,  with  its  irregular 
plateaux,  its  wet  wooded  terraces  and  alluvial  plains 
covered  with  hard-wood  forests,  when  we  enter  Rupert 
Land  and  Canada's  north-west  territories. 

Prominent  here  is  frozen  stillness,  if  it  be  winter, 
or  if  summer  general  wetness,  with  substrata  of  ice. 
Inland  seas,  lakes,  and  watercourses  stand  conspicu- 
ous. Not  to  mention  the  bays,  sounds,  and  channels 
which  communicate  by  straits  directly  with  the  ocean, 
here  is  a  chain  of  lakes  beginning  with  Superior,  the 
largest  body  of  fresh  water  on  the  globe,  and  stretch- 
ing due  north-west;  Winnipeg,  with  Wlnnipegoos  and 
Manitoba  beside  it,  Deer,  Wollaston,  Athabasca,  Great 
Slave,  Great  Bear,  and  scores  of  lesser  sheets.  By 
reason  of  these  aqueous  concatenations,  this  linking 
of  lakes  and  rivers,  one  can  travel  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific,  from  the  gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  almost  wholly  by  water. 

Thr>jughout  much  of  this  domain  the  climate  is 
dreary,  the  country  treeless,  and  game  scarce.  The 
winters  are  extremely  cold,  the  sunnners  short,  with 
plentiful  rainfalls  along  the  eastern  border,  whose 
wealth  is  in  its  fisheries  rather  than  in  its  furs.  The 
richest  of  all  that  region,  agriculturally,  is  ihe  fertile 
belt  extending  from  lied  River  to  the  Saskatcliewan 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  at  the  threshold  of  wliicli 
on  the  cast  lies  the  Laurentian  wilderness.  North  of 
(50°  vegetation  almost  wholly  ceascii;  and  yc^t  God's 
creatures  are  nowhere  more  jjoisteror.s  in  their  frolics 
than  here.  • 

Notwithstanding  so  much  general  moisture,  there 
are  wide  tracts  sterile  from  (hyncss.  Between  the 
Qu'A})pelle  and  the  Saskatchewan,  west  of  the  lOOth 
meridian,  is  a  long  lonely  waste  of  treeless  j)lain,  rolHng 
midst  tliicket-fringed  hills,  while  north  of  the  chain 
of  lakes  spreads  an  inunensity  of  aritl  surface  feebly 


Pli^  I  kj 


^■f.ii 


i     1;     i,, 

I    ■  ^ 


::!:i 


40S 


FOREST  LIFE  AND  FUR-HXJNTINa. 


supporting  a  stunted  vegetation,  often  declining  into 
deseit  absolute.  West  of  this  we  find  desert,  prairie, 
and  forest;  Peace  River  flows  through  much  rugged 
country,  between  high  banks  rehevcd  in  places  by 
woodai  terraces,  but  once  upon  the  higher  level  the 
indentations  disappear,  leaving  the  eye  to  meet  copses 
and  prairies  in  endless  perspective. 

Although  spring  is  tardy  after  the  long  cold  winter, 
yet  flowei-s  are  quick  enough  to  bloom  and  grass  to 
grow  wlien  once  the  snow  melts,  and  summer  with  its 
ripening  sun  and  pure  elastic  air  seems  suddenly  to 
drop  upon  the  land,  and  finally  to  overspread  the  sur- 
face with  a  waiTU  transparent  haze,  as  if  in  tenderness 
to  veil  the  land  from  such  unaccustomed  joy. 

In  autumn  nature  assumes  her  most  gorgeous 
drapery.  Even  the  shivering  shrubs  that  nestle  in 
some  hollow  or  nervously  cling  to  the  base  of  hills 
show  color  when  the  frost  strikes  them,  while  the 
luxuriant  forests  revel  in  rainbow  hues.  A  fortnight 
later,  and  the  gold  and  amber-leaved  beech,  the  red 
and  3-ellow  leaved  maple,  and  the  copper-leaved  oak, 
are  stripped  of  their  gaudy  drapery  and  stand  naked 
upon  an  endless  sheet  of  snow.  Then  breathes  upon 
them  the  moist  breath  of  nature,  and  lo!  every  twig 
is  jewelled,  encased  in  ice  which  glitters  in  the  sun 
like  a  forest  of  glass. 

Pass  over  the  mountains  into  British  Columbia, 
and  on  the  rough,  hilly  plateau  are  found  water,  and 
woixl,  and  plain,  though  there  is  no  lack  of  wild, 
rolling  mountains,  bare  and  by  no  means  prepossess- 
ing. Rivere  here  j)low  their  deep  furrows  through 
the  uneven  surface,  and  leap  down  the  sides  of  the 
plateau.  There  are,  first  the  Fraser,  then  Thompson 
Kiver,  and  Stuart,  Babine,  Quesnelle,  Okanagan,  antl 
Chilcotin  lakes  and  rivers.  Almost  all  the  tributaries 
of  the  great  rivers  here  have  a  freak  of  becoming  in- 
flated by  a  sense  of  their  importance,  and  so  widening 
in  places  into  lakes.  The  rivers  and  lakes  of  the 
western  slope  are   less   in   number  and  extent  than 


^^IBiF 


SURFACE  AND  CLIMATE. 


40ft 


those  of  the  eastern.  With  the  Mackeniiie,  Peace 
River,  the  Athabasca,  Saskatchewan,  St  Lawrence, 
Mississippi,  Missouri,  Yellowstone,  Platte,  Arkansas, 
and  Rio  del  Norte,  we  have  the  Colorado,  the  Sacra- 
mento, the  Columbia,  and  the  Yukon. 

The  upper  regions  are  rainy,  and  the  lower  lands, 
where  fertile,  are  densely  wooded  in  the  deepest 
green.  There  is,  however,  in  the  interior  much  undu- 
lating lightly  wooded  land,  as  well  as  open  prairie  of 
greater  or  less  adaptation  to  pastoral  and  agricultural 
purposes.  As  a  rule  the  valleys  are  fertile,  and  the 
liill-sides  are  wooded,  while  the  plateaux  are  barren. 
A  largo  level  tract  between  Thompson  and  Eraser 
rivers  is  wooded.  There  are  places  in  these  high- 
lands of  awful,  unspeakable  grandeur;  towering  cliffs, 
yawning  chasms;  places  where  granite  walls  tower  a 
thousand  feet  and  more  above  foaming  water-falls, 
which  dash  down  cliffs  and  thunder  through  ravines, 
drowning  the  wild  beasts'  roar,  and  flinging  rainbows 
through  the  descending  spray  upon  the  sky.  Into 
the  clear  liquid  blue,  for  example,  of  Stuart  Lake, 
where  the  salmon  after  his  wonderful  journey  from 
the  Pacific  rests  as  a  stranger,  forest-clad  promon- 
tories stretch  themselves,  while  from  its  western  and 
northern  shores  tall  mountains  rise.  Near  the  highest 
land  that  separates  the  Arctic  from  the  Pacific  is 
Macleod  Lake,  whence  to  the  Coast  Range  extends 
an  uneven  plateau,  south  of  which  are  seas  of  gi-ass 
with  shores  of  forest. 

Excepting  north-western  Alaska, the  Pacific  slope  is 
warmer,  and  toward  the  south  drier  than  cori'espond- 
ing  latitudes  on  the  Atlantic;  and  yet  in  places  it  is 
cold  enough.  The  coast  of  British  Columbia  is  broken 
into  islands  and  inlets  which  afford  multitudes  of  ex- 
cellent harbors.  A'^ancouvcr  Island  is  rock}^  moun- 
tainous, and  wooded.  Climate  here  is  modified  by 
the  ocean.  The  site  of  Victoi'ia  is  one  of  the  most 
j)icturesquo  in  the  world.  The  whole  Northwest 
Coast  near  the  sea  is  warm  and  wet,  rain  falling  abun- 


m 

fl 


I 

?  i 


it 


?? 


410 


FORI^ST  LIl-E  AND  FUR-HUNTINa. 


'  Im 


clantly  during  all  the  months  of  the  year.  The  southern 
shore  of  Alaska  presents  a  remarkable  contrast  in  this 
respect  to  northern  Labrador  and  southern  Greenland, 
being  for  so  high  a  latitude  exceedingly  mild,  owing  to 
the  warm  currents  sent  northward  from  the  Japan  Sea. 
East  of  the  Cascade  Range  the  climate  is  more  like 
that  of  California,  being  dry  in  summer  and  rainy 
during  winter.  In  the  interior  it  is  warmer  in  summer 
and  colder  in  winter  than  on  the  coast. 

Descending  southward  through  the  transparent 
waters  of  Admiralty  Inlet  and  Puget  Sound,  whose 
gravelly  shores  are  feathered  by  dense  forests  ex- 
tending far  back  in  opaque  wilderness,  we  come  to 
the  Columbia,  flowing  from  afar  silently,  majestically, 
though  here  and  there  falling  in  cataracts  or  rushing 
boisterously  through  narrow  mountain  gorges,  the 
fertile  fields  of  Oregon  often  drenched  in  moisture, 
then  to  the  drier  valleys  of  California;  and  finally 
turning  to  the  eastward  we  encounter  the  arid  sands 
of  Arizona.  East  of  the  Cascade -Nevada  range  we 
find  the  same  meteorological  gradations.  Between 
the  Blue  Mountains  and  the  Cascade  Range  in  the 
northern  part  there  is  much  level  country  wh*ose 
woodless  surface  of  yellow  sand  and  clay  when  cov- 
ered with  bunch-grass  and  shrubs  was  deemed  worth- 
less, but  since  converted  into  fields  of  waving  grain. 
Proceeding  southward,  the  Great  Basin  is  entered, 
and  the  sandy  sagebrush  country  of  Nevada  and 
Utah.  East  of  the  Blue  Mountains  are  bare  rocky 
chains  interlaced  w^ith  deep  gorges,  through  which 
flows  and  foams  the  melted  snow  from  the  surround- 
ing summits.  Though  there  are  on  the  Pacific  slope 
hundreds  of  lakes  so  pellucid  as  to  bring  apparently 
within  arm's  length  pebbles  ten  or  twenty  feet  distant,, 
yet  there  are  some  unattractive  sheets,  thick  and 
murky  with  saline  substances,  and  having  no  visible 
outlet,  the  greatest  of  which  is  Great  Salt  Lake  of 
Utah. 

Eastern  Washington  is  elevated  and  irregular,  the 


"«^     lll^jL.:- 


HABITATS  OF  ANIMALS. 


m 


western  part  only  being  densely  wooded.  Idaho  and 
Montana  consist  of  rolling  table-lands,  with  many  de- 
pressed valleys.  Intersecting  ranges  of  mountains 
I'ear  their  summits  in  places  into  the  region  of  per- 
petual snow.  The  climate  of  the  lower  lands  is  mild. 
Forests  of  pine,  fir,  and  cedar  are  interspersetl  with 
grassy  plains.  The  Wahsatch  Mountains  divide  Utah, 
the  western  part  with  Nevada  belonging  to  the  Great 
Basin  with  no  outlet  for  their  waters,  while  the 
eastern  part  is  drained  by  the  Colorado.  All  this 
region  is  arid,  with  sluggish  streams,  brackish  lakes, 
and  sandy  plains,  interspersed  with  small  short  ridges 
of  mountains. 

The  term  prairie  is  applied  to  a  variety  of  open 
level  surfaces.  There  are  the  alluvial  prairies  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  the  sandy  prairies  of  the 
Qu'Appelle  and  Assiniboine,  with  their  saline  ponds 
half  hidden  by  willow  and  aspen.  Likewise  parts  of 
the  hnv  fertile  belt  of  the  Red  River  we  might  call 
prairie.  The  word  plains  is  also  applied  to  innu- 
merable localities;  but  what  emigrants  to  Oregon  and 
California  understood  as  the  Plains  was  the  ccuniry 
they  were  obliged  to  cross  with  so  much  tedious  labor 
which  stretches  westward  from  the  Missouri  along  the 
Platte,  and  far  to  the  north  and  to  the  south  of  it. 

Animals  of  various  kinds,  and  fish  and  fowl,  were 
originally  distributed  in  prodigal  profusion  through- 
out this  region,  though,  as  we  have  seen,  there  were 
sterile  places  in  which  game  was  scarce. 

Almost  everywhere  beaver  were  plentiful;  the 
sharp-toothed  otter,  on  which  no  other  beast  but 
man  preys,  likewise  had  a  wide  range,  having  been 
seen  in  Mexico  and  Central  America;  and  on  all  the 
plains  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  were  builaloos: 
and  indeed  the  buffalo  once  found  its  way  westward 
as  far  as  the  plains  of  the  upper  Columbia,  but  its 
residence  there  was  of  short  duration.  Moose  flour- 
ished about  the  Athabasca  and  Peace  River  country. 


IV:  VU, 


<  r 


\    i. 


mi 


rM's:  i 


I  < 


412, 


FOREST  LIFE  AXD  FUR-HUNTING, 


In  Arctic  quarters  were  reindeer,  herds  of  ten  thou- 
sand being  sometimes  driven  from  thickets  to  the 
shore  of  the  ocean;  also  musk-oxen,  white  foxes,  and 
polar  bears;  brown,  grizzly,  and  cinnamon  bears  were 
their  neighbors  on  the  south  and  dominated  the  forests 
as  far  as  Mexico.  So  numerous  here  during  summer 
were  geese,  swans,  ducks,  pelicans,  bustard,  cranes,  and 
cormorants  as  to  cloud  the  sky,  and  so  noisy  as  to 
fling  round  the  listener  a  curtain  of  sound.  The 
ermine  was  a  northern  animal,  while  the  habitat  of 
the  American  sable  or  marten  was  a  little  south,  say 
between  latitude  65°  and  37°;  yet  its  presence  on  the 
Arctic  shores  has  been  attested.  Mention  may  be 
made  of  the  walrus  on  Arctic  shores,  and  seals,  sea- 
unicorns,  and  black  and  white  whales.  Geese  and  ducks 
were  everywhere  from  the  Mexican  gulf  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  and  swans  were  plentiful  in  places.  Wolves 
were  numerous  at  the  north,  and  coyotes  south.  In 
the  northern  forests  were  also  the  raccoon,  badger, 
and  musk-rat;  the  gray  fox  fancied  the  prairie. 

Between  the  northern  and  southern  extremes  the 
elk  ranged;  likewise  the  black-tailed  deer.  The  red 
deer  or  white-tailed  deer  enjoyed  a  wider  range,  cov- 
ering in  fact  almost  the  entire  continent.  The  ante- 
lope belonged  specially  to  the  great  plains.  The 
mountain  sheep  and  goats  found  their  homes  among 
the  rocky  crags  of  the  continental  range.  Lewis  and 
Clarke  saw  mountain  sheep  at  the  Cascades.  The 
grizzly  bear,  the  largest  of  American  carnivora,  lived 
in  the  mountains,  though  descending  every  autumn 
to  the  plains  for  grapes  and  berries.  The  California 
lion  is  little  more  than  a  hufje  cat,  but  with  senses 
exceedingly  acute ;  the  panther  is  his  smaller  brother. 
The  wolverene  spread  over  the  whole  of  northern 
North  America,  extending  as  far  south  as  latitude  39°, 
or  perhaps  farther.  The  great  interior  valley  between 
Hudson  J3av  and  the  tjulf  of  Mexico  was  the  habitat 
of  the  American  badger;  south-west  of  this  limit  was 
the  Mexican  badger.     The  special  domain  of  the  sea- 


^^mm 


m 


\-' 


DRESSING  SKIKS. 


413 


otter  was  the  Northwest  Coast,  whose  shores  and 
inlands  it  covered  from  Alaska  to  Lower  California. 
Fish  of  all  sorts  abounded  in  the  lakes  and  rivers, 
the  piscatorial  feature  of  the  Pacific  slope  being  its 
salmon.  Over  the  plains  northward  and  westward 
from  the  gulf  of  Mexico  innumerable  bands  of  cattle 
and  horses  ran  wild.  Most  marketable  furs  are  pro- 
cured north  of  the  fortieth  parallel.^ 

It  was  the  policy  of  the  fur  companies  not  to  ex- 
haust any  part  of  the  country;  hence  when  it  is 
found  that  animals  are  on  the  decrease,  the  district  is 
abandoned  for  a  time.  There  were  places  where 
beaver  were  trapped  but  one  season  in  five.  The 
beaver  was  usually  taken  by  means  of  a  smooth-jawed 
steel-trap,  fastened  to  a  stake  driven  in  the  pond  near 
the  dam.  Most  fur-bearing  animals  were  captured  by 
a  steel-trap,  poisoning  and  shooting  being  objection- 
able on  account  of  injury  to  the  skin.  There  was  the 
clumsy  dead-fall  contrivance,  among  others,  which 
the  steel  spring  trap  superseded. 

When  stripped,  the  skin  was  stretched  until  dry, 
after  which  it  was  folded,  with  the  fur  inward.  Ten 
or  twenty  made  a  bundle,  which  when  tightly  pressed 
and  corded  was  ready  for  transportation.  The  eighty- 
four  or  ninety-pound  packs  of  the  British  American 
companies  were  uniform  in  size  and  shape,  and  were 
pressed  by  wedges  or  screws  into  the  smallest  compass 
and  bound  with  thongs,  the  smaller  and  finer  skins, 
such  as  the  marten,  musk-rat,  and  otter,  of  which 
there  are  often  four  or  five  hundred  in  a  bale,  being 
put  in&ide  and  inclosed  by  the  coarser  kinds,  deer, 
wolf,  buffalo,  and  bear. 

Hunters  commonly  used  the  brains  of  the  animal 
for  dressing  the  skin.    After  the  flesh  and  grain  were 

^Parliament  Papers,  lied  Hirer  Settlement,  142;  Dobba'  Hudson's  Bay,  25j 
39,  43 ;  Ketvhouse's  Trapper's  Gtiiile,  215 ;  Jiichardson's  Polar  Jieyions,  274-84 ; 
Ballantyue's  l/udxon  Bay,  60,  CO ;  tsvenes  in  the  Rocly  Mountains,  288 ;  WilLes' 
Nar.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Exped.,  v.  144;  Farnhnm's  Trnxls,  4.1G;  Morijnn's  Ain, 
/?ca;r)-,  218-47;  Hearne's  Journey,  2-2f\;  BunieU's Hecollcdiovx,'^\>^.,\.  118-20; 
Victor's  nirrrrf  West,  C4-[);  Lririxnnl  ('I -r/ys  Journey,  'Ml ;  aud  man}' other 
works  belonging  to  hunting  iind  natural  history. 


h. 


H      fl 


414 


FOREST  LIFE  .\ND  FUR-HUNTING. 


removed  from  the  pelt  it  was  soaked  in  a  decoction 
of  brains  and  water,  and  rubbed  with  the  hands  as 
it  dried. 

Between  1812  and  1841  the  southern  fur  districts  of 
the  Pacific  States,  that  is  to  say  the  California  coun- 
try lying  between  Oregon  and  Mexico,  aside  from  in- 
dividual trappers  and  private  trading  companies,  was 
occupied  by  the  Russians.  Likewise  at  the  extreme 
north-west,  from  Simpson  River  to  Bering  Strait, 
the  Russians  held  sway;  while  from  1821  to  1841, 
between  these  two  distant  points  the  intermediate 
region  as  well  as  the  interior  back  of  Alaska  was 
dominated  solely  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

The  company  then  numbered  among  its  servants 
many  French  Canadians,  as  well  as  Scotch,  English, 
and  Irish,  though  at  first  Orkney  men  were  chiefly 
employed  as  boatmen,  hunters,  and  laborers.  I  will 
now  endeavor  to  give  the  reader  more  complete 
knowledge  of  the  origin  and  character  of  that  singular 
class,  the  Canadian  boatmen  and  fur-hunters,  and  then 
proceed  to  institute  some  comparisons  between  them 
and  the  Anglo-American  wood-ranger. 

Out  of  the  desire  of  Montreal  merchants  for  the 
distant  savage's  stock  of  peltries  arose  a  class  sni 
generis.  There  is  no  being  like  the  Canadian  voya- 
geur — or,  if  he  be  on  land,  the  coureur  des  hois — 
except  himself  He  cannot  be  called  a  cross  between 
French  and  Indian,  though  that  would  be  the  nearest 
approach  to  race  measurement  that  we  could  make. 
His  Gallic  original  he  certainly  retains,  volatile  enough 
at  first,  but  when  sublimated  by  sylvan  freedom  from 
restraint  he  is  a  new  creation.  It  was  his  nature, 
different  from  that  of  other  men,  that  made  him  thus; 
for  of  none  but  a  Frenchman,  not  matter  what  were 
the  engendering  circumstances,  could  a  voyageur  be 
made,  any  more  than  another  metal  beside  potassium 
thrown  upon  water  would  float  and  burn. 


^f 


mm- 


COUREURS  DES  BOIS. 


m 


Originally  the  wild  animals  of  America  were  hunted 
only  for  food  and  clothing  sufficient  to  supply  tlio 
moderate  requirements  of  so  thinly  peopled  a  region. 
But  with  the  advent  of  the  all-devouring  white  men 
eastern  forests  were  soon  made  tenantless,  and  the 
trader  was  obliged  gradually  to  press  west  and  north. 

In  a  surprisingly  short  time  the  French  Canadian 
would  become  half  savage,  and  so  attached  to  his  wild 
life  and  associates  that  civilization  with  its  stifling  con- 
ventionalities and  oppressive  comforts  became  forever 
after  distasteful.  To  the  fur-trade  the  coureurs  des 
bois  were  as  the  miners  in  gold -producing  districts. 
It  was  they  who  risked  the  danger  and  performed  the 
labor,  while  the  prudent  politic  trader  reaped  the  har- 
vest. The  coureurs  des  bois  were  forest  pedlers  rather 
than  hunters;  they  seldom  engaged  in  trapping,  but 
confined  themselves  principally  to  trafficking  with  the 
natives;  they  were  a  go-between,  assisting  both  the 
hunter  and  the  merchant.  To  the  early  French  trader 
they  were  a  forest  factotum,  but  with  British  domi- 
nation their  calling  declined,  and  they  became  simply 
voyageurs,  or  boatmen.  They  were  the  first  in  Canada 
to  link  savagism  to  civilization,  and  in  the  conscience- 
less race  that  followed  they  were  dragged  to  death 
with  the  sylvan  society  they  loved. 

Like  the  orthodox  miner,  they  were  always  penni- 
less. Success  had  little  to  do  with  permanent  pros- 
perity. Obtaining  from  the  merchant  credit  for  such 
articles  as  they  required,  knives,  hatchets,  guns,  am- 
munition, tobacco,  calico,  blankets,  beads,  and  other 
trinkets,  they  set  out  from  the  trading-post  singly  or 
in  companies  of  two,  three,  or  four,  in  canoes  usually 
of  birch  bark,  which  they  could  easily  carry  round  the 
many  rapids  they  encountered,  or  even  for  some  dis- 
tance across  the  country.  Sometimes  they  joined  their 
stock  and  labors  in  an  adventure  of  six  »r  twelve 
months,  and  penetrating  the  more  distant  parts  they 
either  followed  the  natives  in  their  hunting  excursions, 
or  meeting  them  on  their  return  relieved  them  of  their 


\   I 


i  'i 


i't  1 


410 


FOREST  LIFE  AND  FUR-HUNTINO. 


precious  burdens  in  exchange  for  such  trifles  as  capti- 
vated the  red  man's  childish  eye. 

Returning  with  rich  cargoes,  not  unfrequently  at- 
tended by  a  concourse  of  savage  huntsmen  with  their 
wives  and  children,  they  were  greeted  with  smiles 
among  general  rejoicings.  Settling  their  account  with 
the  merchant,  thus  insuring  fresh  credit,  thoy  gave 
themselves  up  to  pleasure,  and  quickly  squandered  all 
their  gains.  A  few  short  days  and  nights  sufficed  to 
place  their  finances  exactly  where  they  were  a  year  or 
ten  years  before — that  is,  at  zero;  and  it  is  a  question 
in  which  they  most  delighted,  the  free  licentiousness 
of  the  forest  or  the  drunkenness  and  debauchery  of 
civilization. 

Because  the  Frenchman  was  so  unlike  the  Indian, 
so  much  more  unlike  him  than  was  the  Englishman, 
in  the  closer  relationships  he  was  less  unendurable 
to  the  American  aboriginal  than  any  other  foreigner. 
Like  the  Spaniard,  the  Indian  was  pompous,  proud, 
superstitious,  treacherous,  and  cruel;  like  the  English- 
man, he  was  cold,  dignified,  egotistical,  crafty,  and  co- 
ercive. Now  the  Frenchman  may  have  a  purpose,  but 
he  never  forgets  that  he  is  a  Frenchman.  Without 
the  slightest  hesitation  he  braves  danger  and  embraces 
fatigue;  without  being  one  whit  less  courageous  than 
the  Spaniard  or  Englishman,  possibly  he  may  not  be 
so  enduring.  In  this  respect  he  is  not  unlike  the 
Indian ;  without  a  murmur  he  accepts  suffering  as  his 
fate,  bearing  up  under  it  with  the  utmost  good-humor; 
but  the  apex  of  patience  passed  and  he  at  once  suc- 
cumbs. There  is  no  wailing  over  his  fate;  overcome 
by  labor  and  misfortune,  or  lost  or  starved  in  the 
forest,  he  lays  himself  down  to  death  with  the  same 
nonchalance  with  which  he  bore  life's  heavy  burdens. 

But  it  was  his  French  suavity  of  manner,  his  mer- 
curial light-heartedness  and  soft  winsome  ways  that 
captivated  the  stern,  staid  North  American,  and  made 


the  savage  love  to  have  him  near  him. 


The  English- 


V: 


THE  FREXCHMAN. 


'Dw 


man  was  a  being  ti)  be  respected  and  feared,  the 
Frenchman  to  be  embraced  and  loved  j  hence,  when 
from  Montreal,  soon  after  Cartier  had  found  that 
place,  the  sons  of  sweet  Franco,  with  hearts  as  light 
and  buoyant  as  their  little  boats,  paddled  their  way 
far  up  streams  new  to  European  eyes,  and  with  the 
fearless  playfulness  of  kittens  spread  their  brilliant 
trinkets  before  eyes  glittering  with  admiration,  and 
coaxed  and  cajoled  these  dismal  denizens  of  the  forest, 
quickly  falling  into  their  ways,  quickly  perceiving  all 
their  weaknesses,  quickly  throwing  off  whatever  re- 
maining shreds  of  civilization  might  yet  be  hanging  to 
themselves,  and  becoming  as  filthy  and  as  free  as  the 
lordliest  savage  there,  eating,  drinking,  and  smoking 
with  the  men,  laughing,  chatting,  n  id  marrying  with 
the  women,  filling  the  air  with  fra;Lfrant  good  cheer 
and  merriment  wherever  they  went — no  wonder 
these  hard-featured,  hard-hearted,  beastly,  and  bloody 
grown-up  babes  of  the  wood  welcomed  such  compan- 
ionship, and  rejoiced  in  the  coming  of  a  French  trader 
as  in  the  arrival  of  a  prismal  ray  from  a  new  orb. 

And  so,  coming  and  going  between  town  and  en- 
campment, boating  streams  and  lakes,  and  tramping 
forests  and  prairies,  working,  playing,  buying,  selling, 
laughing,  singing,  praying,  swearing,  but  always  either 
sweating  for  gain  or  revelling  in  a  speedy  riddance  of 
their  hard  earnings,  they  easily  adapted  to  change 
of  circumstance  and  dress,  change  of  heart,  head,  and 
nature. 

They  easily  affected  the  weaknesses  of  their  forest 
friends;  adopted  long  hair,  which  if  light  and  curled 
delighted  dusky  maids;  arrayed  themselves  in  gim- 
cracks,  decorating  their  broad  bonnets  with  eagle 
feathers,  and  their  leathern  hunting-coats  with  bear 
or  horse-hair  fringes;  and  if  sufficiently  renegade 
and  vagrant  they  did  not  disdain  to  render  tlicir 
features  more  expressive  by  vermilion,  grease,  and 
ochre,  to  receive  their  boiled  buffalo  meat  and  lighted 
pipe  from  the  hand  of  an  affectionate  and  admiring 

Hmt.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I. 


27 


t  I 


■■m 


4M 


FOREST  LIFE  AND  FUR-HtJNTINO. 


native  nymph,  or  even  to  assist  in  the  national  scalp- 
takings. 

Tlieir  beautiful  language  greatly  deteriorated  when 
brought  into  such  familiar  contact  with  the  harsh 
guttural  of  the  American  aboriginal.  In  disposition 
and  daily  intercourse  with  each  other  they  were 
affectionate  and  obliging,  addressing  each  other  as 
'cousin'  and  'brother,'  with  constant  interchange  of 
kind  offices.  Except  when  under  engagement,  at 
which  times  they  worked  fast  and  faithfully,  they 
were  as  lazy  as  they  were  improvident.  To  their  em- 
ployers they  were  respectful  and  submissive.  In  all 
his  long  and  perilous  joumeyings,  Mackenzie  mentions 
but  one  act  of  wilful  disobedience,  and  that  was  a 
refusal  to  descend  a  fearful  rapid  in  a  crazy  canoe,  to 
which  any  free  agent  in  his  senses  would  have  objected. 
And  although  a  willing,  competent,  and  faithful  man, 
for  this  single  act  he  was  stigmatized  by  his  com- 
mander and  his  comrades  as  poltroon  and  coward 
throughout  the  remainder  of  the  journey. 

No  less  prominent  in  the  character  of  the  French 
Canadian  than  his  companionableness  in  aboriginal 
quarters  is  his  contentedness  in  lowly  estates.  He 
seems  to  take  to  Scotch  service  as  naturallyas  to  savage 
domesticity.  Although  he  loves  to  talk,  and  dance, 
and  sing,  he  does  not  disdain  work,  particularly  if  ad- 
ministered spasmodically  and  in  not  too  large  doses. 

This  willingness  always  to  remain  the  Scot/chman's 
beast  of  burden  may  be  traced  likewise  from  his  origin 
and  American  environment.  His  mother  country 
and  his  ancestors  were  a  mixture  of  feudalism  and  de- 
mocracy, of  popery  and  protestantism.  The  people 
were  nothing,  the  government  everything.  Priests 
and  princes  divided  between  them  the  fruits  of  the 
peasant's  labor.  So  in  the  early  settlement  of  the 
St  Lawrence  feudal  seigneurs  brought  their  droits 
d'aubaine  and  droits  de  moulinage,  which  made  a 
stockade  the  necessary  beginning  of  every  town. 
There  the  old  system  was  continued;  seigneurs  were 


i 


HALF-BREEDS. 


410 


bom  of  seigneurs,  and  serfs  of  serfs.  Government  was 
not  for  the  bourgeoisie;  and  the  more  haughtily  the 
Britisher  carried  himself,  the  more  obedient  became 
the  poor  voyageur.  The  independent  hfo  which  ho 
lost  with  loss  of  country,  the  aboHtion  of  the  license 
system  and  general  change  of  customs,  I  will  not  say 
were  not  severely  felt.  It  was  a  sad  blow  to  the 
French  Canadian  when  from  his  unrestrained  condi- 
tion he  was  obliged  to  descend  and  take  service  with 
his  country's  enemies;  but  being  forced  to  it  he  yielded 
gracefully. 

Religion,  I  must  say,  laid  its  fetters  lightly  upon 
the  Gallic  adventurer  in  the  New  World;  for  unlike 
the  Spanish  zealot  or  the  English  ])uritan,  the  mer- 
curial mind  of  the  Frenchman,  who  at  home  was 
something  of  a  free -thinker,  became  emancipated 
from  traditional  thraldom  almost  immediately  upon 
landing  among  the  strange  scenes  of  the  western 
wilderness;  so  that  while  on  the  St  Lawrence,  Jesuit, 
Franciscan,  and  Calvinist  fought  for  the  promul- 
gation of  their  own  peculiar  faith,  the  tough  cou- 
rours  des  bois,  delighting  in  adventure,  cared  little  for 
either. 

As  the  blood  of  the  Frenchman  mixed  more  and 
more  with  that  of  the  native  American  the  occupation 
of  voyageur  fell  into  the  hands  of  half-breeds,  in  whom 
was  united  to  some  small  extent  the  intelligence  of 
civilization  with  the  instinctive  cunninor  of  savajjism. 
From  the  former  they  mherit  a  social  disposition, 
from  the  latter  gregarious  habits.  Their  home  in 
winter  is  a  fixed  log-house,  in  summer  a  movable 
wigwam.  Their  lazy  efforts  at  agriculture  are  usually 
crowned  with  ill  success;  though  where  the  blood  is 
properly  brewed  with  suitable  sun  and  soil  they  have 
produced  fine  farms.' 

*See  Silliman's  Jotimal,  January  1834,  311-29;  Raynal,  Hist.  Phil.,  viii. 
97-9;  S'vipson^ft  Life,  59-63;  besides  general  history  and  travels;  Robinson's 
Oreat  Fur  Laud,  40-55;  Will:es'  Nnr.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex/ml.,  iv.  407,  418-19; 
AtlnUic  Monthly,  ^smwaxy  1870;  Do?nen<'ch'K  Beneiis,  i.  '244-5;  Irvl'uj's  Bonne- 
ville's  Adc,  27-8,  32;  Aiulcrnon'n  Northu-tut  Coast,  MS.,  23-5. 


i  (« 


FOREST  LIFE  AND  FUR-HUXTIXG. 

Although  the  Anglo-American  wood -rangers  be- 
came demoralized  enough  in  their  intimacy  witli  the 
natives,  and  although  they  were  perhaps  coarser,  more 
binital  and  bloody  in  their  state  of  semi-savagisni  than 
the  French,  the  trapper  upon  the  United  States  fron- 
tier never  became  so  a  part  of  the  Indian  with  whom 
lie  associated  as  did  the  Canadian;  and  for  the  very 
good  reason  that  he  could  not. 

Between  the  English  colonists  and  the  American 
aboriginals  there  was  ever  a  deadly  antagonism,  which 
did  not  prevail  in  Canadian  hunting-grounds,  where 
the  fur-trade  was  regarded  as  of  greater  importance 
than  agricultural  occupation.  A  fierce  hatred  of  the 
intruding  race,  as  the  progressive  people  of  the  United 
States  rapidly  crowded  their  way  westward,  was  re- 
turned by  the  intruders  with  merciless  contempt  and 
injustice. 

Upon  the  broad  shoulders  of  the  usually  tall,  spare, 
tough  frame  of  the  trapper  whose  birthplace  may  be 
Kentucky,  Missouri,  New  York,  or  Connecticut,  a 
big -boned  frame,  interknit  with  sinews  of  steel,  it  is 
not  uncommon  to  see  a  head  holding  at  once  the 
sagacity  of  the  savage  and  the  instinct  of  the  wild 
beast,  together  with  the  stronger  cunning  of  civiliza- 
tion, the  whole  faced  by  features  of  almost  child- 
like openness  and  simplicity.  Yet  stir  the  inner  pool 
with  any  injury,  and  straightway  that  so  lately  guile- 
less countenance  will  Ijlaze  with  hellish  hate,  while  the 
muscles  move  convulsively  and  hot  blood  courses 
through  swollen  veins,  and  the  eyes  shoot  forth  forked 
revenge.  Being  himself  the  righter  of  his  wrongs, 
he  means  to  do  the  work  of  justice  thoroughly.  He 
never  forgets  a  kindness  or  an  injury;  and  unless 
maddened  by  drink  or  injustice,  he  is  as  harmless  as 
a  sleeping  serpent.  As  surely  as  the  unlettered  abo- 
riginal race  fades  before  predominant  civilization,  so 
surely  sinks  the  civilized  man  who  ventures  alone 
upon  the  sea  of  savagisf  i 

If  possible,  the  reck*'.  ..£  extravagance  of  the  fur- 


THE  PUR-HUNTER  AND  THE  MINER. 


421 


hunter  was  more  insane  than  that  of  the  miner.  Think 
of  a  life  of  danger  and  privation  in  the  distant  wilder- 
ness for  (<ae,  three,  or  five  years,  witli  at  least  equal 
chance  of  never  returning;  think  of  the  toil  attending 
the  slow  accumulation  of  furs  and  of  brinjrino'  them  to 
market,  then  at  last  of  arriving  at  a  rendezvous,  fort, 
or  town;  think  of  the  whole  catch  being  every  dollar 
the  poor  fool  is  worth,  except  what  he  may  carry  on 
ids  back;  think  of  the  results  of  all  this  risk  and  labor 
being  squandered  in  three  days,  in  two  days;  or  of  the 
hunter  after  a  single  night's  revelry  going  back  to 
the  forest  as  poor  as  when  he  first  went  there,  again 
to  gather  and  to  squander.  I  say  the  fur-hunter  is, 
if  possible,  more  insane  in  his  dissipations  than  the 
gold-hunter:  for  the  former  takes  greater  risks,  and 
is  sure  of  never  securing  a  fortune,  which  the  latter 
never  forgets  is  within  his  range  of  possibilities. 

Since  the  discovery  of  gold  in  fur-hunting  districts 
the  two  pursuits  have  often  been  united.  In  British 
Columbia  many  mined  during  summer  and  trapped 
in  winter.  Nor  were  partners  and  proprietors  free 
from  this  propensity  to  prodigality.  Nowhere  was 
ever  seen  more  lavish  hospitality  during  the  earlier 
years  of  this  century  than  in  the  homes  of  the  Fro- 
bishers,  the  McGillivrays,  and  the  McTavishes  of 
Montreal,  who  vied  with  each  other  in  luxurious  osten- 
tation and  conviviality.  When  the  fur  king  travelled, 
he  was,  like  the  repres'.ntative  Californian  of  1850, 
a  marked  man.  More  particularly  the  jeweller  knt;vy 
him. 

Once  having  fallen  within  the  subtle  influence  of 
forest  fascinations,  few  ever  were  content  to  return 
to  the  stilling  atmosphere  of  straitlaccd  convention- 
alisms. Of  all  the  thousands  who  left  loving  hearts 
and  wended  their  way  to  the  wilderness,  not  one  in 
ten  was  ever  heard  of  by  his  friends  again.     Some 

Eerished  from   hunger  or  fatigue;  some  were;  stung 
y  venomous  reptiles,  or  were  torn  in  pieces  by  wild 
beasts;  some  fell  from  cliffs  and  others  were  awallowcd 


FOREST  LIFE  AND  FUR-HUNTINO. 


J 


by  treacherous  waters;  fever  seized  some  and  icy 
■winter  others;  and  finally  there  were  those  who  were 
tortured  to  death  by  savages,  and  those  who  were 
shot  irom  behind  by  their  comrades  for  the  pack  which 
they  carried,  while  some  few  died  in  their  blankets  in 
peace.  And  yet,  while  the  bones  of  the  ninety  a'od 
nine  lie  bleaching  in  the  wilderness,  the  one  returning 
with  horse  or  boat  packed  high  with  rich  peltries 
alone  is  remembered.  I  am  told  by  an  old  fur-trader, 
wh<i  has  given  me  many  facts  of  interest,  riiat  while 
stationed  at  various  post*  he  was  obliged  to  L:-'  g  into 
the  field  attnual  recruits,  :     -   k    '  .ne  new  man 

for  every  tir©  mmk,  out  the  ^'  .     4X\6.  tliict  in 

a  term  of  th>w  years,  du;.  n  two   h:ndrod 

might  have  be<$n  employed,  not  more  than  forty  w  /uld 
be  known  to  be  alive.  The  enticements  of  fur-Jiunting 
were  much  the  i*ame  as  those  of  gold-gathering.  Both 
were  alluring  in  their  risks  no  less  than  in  their  re- 
wards. While  holding  their  victim  firmly  witliin  thfir 
grasp,  both  encouraged  him  with  the  perpetual  hope 
of  some  day  returning  to  home  and  friends,  ev  o  Kim- 
self  not  knowing  that  he  would  not  if  he  could. 

It  is  the  fate  of  progressive  humanity  always  V>  be 
wanting  something;  nor  do  I  see  that  it  matters  much 
whether  it  be  empire,  fame,  or  beaver-skins  that  urge 
men  forward.  As  we  are  constituted,  something  with- 
in must  prompt  action,  else  were  we  already  dead, 
though  fortune  flit  us  for  years  t/)  come.  Here  in 
the  wilderness  we  see  comforts  abandoned  and  life  sys- 
tematically risked  for  so  poor  a  trifle  that  many  would 
not  reach  out  their  hand  to  obtain  it.  Witliout  a  mur- 
mur we  see  hardships  met  before  which  hrave  men 
might  quail  without  dishonor ;  met  and  held  i/j  cheer- 
ful embrace  until  violent  death  or  premature  old  age 
cuts  short  their  career.  As  matters  of  course,  long, 
difiicult,and  dangerous  journeys  are  undertaken  month 
after  month  and  year  after  year,  in  which  patience  and 
endurance  are  equally  tried.  Long  excursions  are 
sometimes  made  to  far-off  trading-grounds,  involving 


BOATMEN  AND  WOOD-R^VNGERS. 


433 


restless  travel  day  and  night  in  order  to  return  before 
snows  enclose  them  to  their  destruction,  and  this  only 
to  be  caught  for  the  winter  in  the  wilderness  without 
shelter,  and  dependent  for  food  wholly  on  the  j^reca- 
rious  supply  of  wood  or  stream.  Their  daily  hie 
consisted  of  thrilling  adventures  and  hair-breadth 
escapes,  perils  and  sufferings  unheard  of,  yet  which 
when  passed  they  deemed  scarcely  worth  the  men- 
tioning. 

There  was  a  class  on  the  United  States  frontier 
called  free  trappers,  who  were  their  own  masters  in 
everything,  hunting  only  on  their  own  account,  cither 
singly  or  in  companies  of  two  or  four.  They  were 
much  courted  by  traders,  who  by  retaining  them  near 
at  hand  not  only  added  to  their  strength  and  safety, 
but  to  their  profits,  as  with  their  liquor  and  sup[)lies 
it  was  seldom  difficult  to  secure  all  the  furs  a  hunter 
could  gather,  and  keep  him  in  debt  beside. 

In  fur-hunting  parlance  the  word  voyage  was  ap- 
plied to  all  terraqueous  journeys,  and  voyagetws  were 
simply  boatmen,  that  is  to  say,  French  Canadian  boat- 
men, though  their  duties  wer(3  various,  and  as  such 
they  retained  their  pcculiaritii;s  until  their  calling 
was  extinguished  by  the  spread  of  civilization.  The 
coureiirs  des  hois,  or  rangers  of  the  woods,  or  bush- 
rangers as  they  are  sometimes  called,  were  those 
originally  brought  into  yet  closer  contact  with  the 
nastives,  eating,  sleeping,  and  hunting  with  them,  and 
so  degenerating  into  savagism,  only  the  more  quickly 
to  disappear  with  their  savage  friends,  while  the  boat- 
men, as  individual  traffic  became  less  profitable,  took 
service  with  the  fur  companies,  and  by  pusliing  farther 
and  farther  into  the  wilderness,  retained  their  indi- 
viduality until  their  occupation  was  gone.  The  wood- 
runner  of  Canada  was  about  on  a  par  with  the  trapper 
of  the  United  States,  one  who  hunted  either  for 
himself  or  for  an  expedition  or  company,  while  the 
bctatman  proper  almost  necessarily  took  servi^^e  either 


4k 


FOREST  LIFE  AND  FUR-HUNTIXG. 


Ul 


m 


93' 


for  a  longer  or  shorter  period,  especially  in  later  years, 
with  a  fur-hunting  company. 

The  French  Canadians  have  been  called  the  finest 
boatmen  in  the  world.  This  statement,  perhaps,  is 
true  if  confined  to  white  men.  But  there  are  many 
tribes  of  Indians  and  islanders  more  expert  with 
their  canoes — as  for  example  the  Vlaskans  and  the 
Kanakas — than  any  European,  however  savagized  by 
forest  life. 

The  orthodox  fur-hunting  canoe  was  birch  bark, 
sewed  with  spruce-root  fibre,  and  the  seams  made 
tight  with  resin.  They  were  from  thirty  to  forty  feet 
long,  five  or  six  wide,  light  and  graceful,  gaudily 
painted,  and  capable  of  carrying  three  passengers, 
with  a  crew  of  eight ;  and  though  readily  floating  four 
tons  of  freight,  might  be  easily  borne  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  two  men.  But  the  birch  canoe  was  not  the 
one  usually  employed  in  the  Oregon  waters.  Here 
prevailed  the  bateau,  thirty-two  feet  long  and  six 
and  a  half  feet  amidships,  made  of  quarter-inch  pine 
boards,  both  ends  sharp,  without  keel,  and  propelled 
either  with  oars  or  paddles.  Larger  and  smaller  boats 
than  these  were  made ;  also  canoes  consisting  of  a  single 
log  dug  out.  A  boat  was  made  at  Oka.nagan  specially 
for  the  trade  and  modelled  after  a  whale-boat,  only 
larger.  They  were  clinker-built,  with  all  the  timbers 
flat,  and  so  light  as  to  be  easily  carried.  In  their 
construction  pine  gum  was  used  instead  of  pitch. 

Discharged  from  an  engagement,  the  voyageurs 
were  very  much  like  sailors  ashore.  Some  few  carried 
their  earnings  to  their  wives,  but  most  of  them  lav- 
ished their  gains  upon  their  sweethearts,  bought  for 
themselves  new  finery,  and  ate,  drank,  and  played 
until  nothing  was  left. 

To  make  up  a  company  of  voyageurs  for  an  cxp«»iii* 
tion  was  like  enrolling  a  crew  of  sailors  for  v  oyagt*. 
They  were  usually  engaged  for  a  certain  -niie,  and 
received  part  of  their  pay  in  advance,  as  they  w^re 
proverbially  penniless,  and  needed  an  outfit,  beskiuft 


INL.\ND  NAVIGATION. 


425 


; 


having  old  scores  to  pay.  Then  there  must  be  a  gen- 
eral carouse  with  their  friends  before  parting,  at  which 
they  drink,  fight,  frolic,  and  dance  until  it  is  time  for 
them  to  take  their  place  in  the  boat. 

It  is  a  wild  unfettered  life,  a  buoyant,  joyous,  rev- 
elling, rollicking  life,  full  of  beauty,  with  ever  fresh 
and  recurring  fascination.  See  them  as  they  sit  at 
night  eating,  smoking,  and  chatting  round  the  ruddy 
camp-fire,  with  weary  limbs  and  soiled  clothes,  after 
a  day  of  many  portages,  or  perhaps  after  a  wreck  in  a 
rapid,  or  a  beating  storm,  their  dark  luxuriant  hair 
falling  in  tangled  masses  round  their  bronzed  faces, 
and  their  uncouth  figures  casting  weird  shadows  on 
the  background  foliage.  See  them  as  they  i-isc  from 
their  hard  though  welcome  bed,  at  the  first  faint 
streak  of  dawn  on  a  frosty  morning,  to  the  guide's 
harsh  leathern -voiced  call  of  "Level  Ibve!"  joking 
good -humor  gradually  arising  out  of  the  wheezes, 
sneezes,  grunts,  and  grumbles  of  their  somnolence. 
See  them  now,  merry  and  musical  as  larks,  throwing 
themselves  with  their  luggage  into  the  boats,  and 
shoving  from  the  bank  out  upon  the  placid,  polished 
water,  striking  up  their  morning  song  to  the  soft,  low 
rhythmic  dip  of  their  paddles,  which  rise  and  fall  in 
unison  as  if  moved  by  one  hand.  The  deepening 
Hush  upon  the  sky,  as  from  some  huge  beacon-fire, 
hidden  beyond  the  distant  hills,  marks  the  approach 
of  all-awakening  day;  or  if  through  the  trees  the  sun 
is  first  seen  flooding  the  landscape  with  a  crackling 
lijjfht  and  setting  ablaze  the  ice-covered  foliafje,  it 
were  enough  to  turn  cold  petrifaction  into  responsive 
being. 

Landing  about  nine  o'clock,  breakfast  is  hastily 
cooked  and  eaten;  then  comes  the  long,  strong,  heavy 
pull  of  the  day  if  it  be  up  the  stream,  or  the  frequent 
death-dodging  descent  of  rapids  if  it  be  downward; 
a  fivc-rninute  pipe  of  tobacco  every  two  hours,  drams 
at   atated  intervals,  usually  three  or  four  a  day  if 


496 


FOREST  LIFE  AND  FUIMIUNTING. 


liquor  be  plentiful,  and  luncheon  in  the  boat  at  noon; 
and  thus  the  usual  routine  wears  time  away. 

One  other  picture,  and  only  one,  may  fittingly  be 
hung  beside  that  of  hyperborean  morning,  and  that 
is  summer's  golden  sunset.  Paint  Jehovah,  joy,  and 
life  with  a  handful  of  clay!  Faintly,  ah!  how  faintly 
to  yearning  consciousness  nature's  surpassing  radiance 
is  felt ;  but  no  tongue  of  man  may  name  it.  Never- 
theless these  poor  ignorant  French  boatmen  felt  it, 
were  thoroughly  in  sympathy  Avith  it,  wore  indeed  a 
part  of  it;  and  from  their  lips  broke  spontaneous  song, 
half  prayer,  half  praise,  which  brought  them  nearer 
heaven  than  might  have  done  ',ny  cathedral  choir. 
The  play  of  beauty  which  the  sun  flings  back  in  its 
diurnal  departure  is  best  reflected  where  the  planet 
has  been  least  mutilated  by  man.  Nothing  can  be 
more  impressive  than  nature's  silent  voice  felt  in  the 
fragrant  air,  breathed  over  the  placid  lake  by  the 
gently  waving  forest,  all  glowing  in  glimmering  twi- 
light. 

But  it  was  when  reaching?  the  end  of  a  long  and 
perilous  journey  that  the  voyageur  merged  into  his 
gayest  mood.  It  was  then  the  elaborate  toilet  was 
made :  men  and  boats  decorated,  with  ribbons,  tassels, 
and  gaudy  feathers  streaming  from  gaiters  and  cap;  it 
was  then,  in  their  most  brilliant  bunting,  the  chanson  d 
Vaviron  was  struck  and  the  plaintive  paddling  melody, 
vrhich  the  distant  listener  might  almost  fancy  to  be 
the  very  voice  of  mountain,  wood,  and  stream  united, 
swelled  on  nearer  approach  into  a  iiymn  of  deep  manly 
exultation,  imd  with  flourish  of  psiddle  keeping  time 
to  song  and  chorus  they  swept  rotmd  bend  or  point, 
and  landed  with  a  wiioop  and  wild  ualloo  which  caused 
the  timid  deer  or  eagle  poised  on  cloud-tipped  moun- 
tain to  pause  and  listen,  or  which  mignt  almost  bring 
to  life  the  tree-top  buried  nmmmy  of  their  red-faced 
friend.  It  was  a  most  brilliant  and  inspiriting  scene 
to  stand  upon  the  bank  and  witness  th*^  arrival  of  a 
brigade  of  light  canoes,  dashing  up  with  arrow  swift- 


THE  FUR  BRIGADE. 


m 


ness  to  the  very  edge  of  the  little  wharf  before  the 
fort,  then,  like  a  Mexican  with  his  mustang,  coming 
to  a  sudden  stop,  accomplished  as  if  by  miracle  by 
backing  water  sinmltancously,  each  with  his  utmost 
strength,  then  rolling  their  paddles  all  together  on 
the  gunwale,  shake  from  their  bright  vermilion  blades 
a  shower  of  spray,  from  which  the  rowers  lightly 
emerge  as  from  a  cloud. 

At  any  of  the  forts  along  the  route  great  was  the 
joy  upon  the  arrival  of  the  annual  express  which 
brouijht  letters  from  friends  and  intelligence  from  th^ 
outside  world.  The  cry  once  raised,  it  rapidly  passed 
from  mouth  to  mouth :  "The  express  I"  "The  express  I" 
and  before  the  boats  had  touched  the  bank  a  motley 
crowd  had  gathered  there;  and  if  such  a  sight  has 
been  frequent  and  exhilarating  at  all  the  posts  during 
the  past  century  what  shall  we  say  of  the  numerous 
fleets  that  enlivened  the  solitudes  during  the  palmy 
days  of  the  Northwest  Company?  Between  Montreal 
and  Fort  William  not  less  than  ten  brigades  of  twenty 
canoes  each  used  to  pass  and  repass  every  summer, 
carrying  supplies  to  the  country  above ^  and  bringing 
down  fuTfc,  all  their  traffic  then  passing  over  this  route. 

Upon  a  stranger  the  effect  of  these  passing  brigades 
was  most  thrilling;  how  then  must  it  have  been  with 
him  who  through  tedious  summers  and  long  dreary 
winters  was  for  years  buried  in  these  western  wilds? 
buried  until  coming  back  to  city  bustle  was  like  re- 
turning to  life,  and  who  now  found  himself  surrounded 
by  forty  or  sixty  of  these  fantastically  painted  and 
bright-paddled  boats  rushing  through  the  water  at 
reindeer  speed  under  a  cloud  of  flying  spray  toward 
their  last  landing,  while  in  the  breast  of  every  tug- 
ging oarsman  there  were  twenty  caged  hozannas  which, 
rising  faintly  first,  were  poured  in  song  upon  the  breeze 
from  five  hundred  trcnmlous  tongues,  until  finally, 
breaking  all  control,  they  would  burst  forth  in  one  loud, 
long  peal  of  triumphant  joy. 

Sometimes  a  fur  brigade  was  a  fleet  of  boats,  some- 


m 


428 


FOREST  LIFE  ANT)  FUR-HUNTINO. 


times  a  train  of  horses,  and  sometimes  a  train  of  dog- 
sledges.  It  was  not  uncommon  in  the  mountains  of 
British  Columbia  to  see  two  hundred  horses,  laden 
each  with  two  packages  of  furs,  winding  with  the 
narrow  trail  round  cliffs  and  through  passes  on  their 
way  from  the  bleak  uplands  to  canoe  navigation  on 
some  river. 


Probably  there  is  nothing  more  extiting  in  a  fur- 
hunter's  life,  or  in  any  life,  unless  it  bo  where  one  is 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  probability  of  death  in 
the  form  of  an  attacking  foe,  man  or  beast,  than  the 
running  of  rapidsj  which  in  the  watercourses  of  hyper- 
borean America  are  a  feature. 

Rapids  were  run  under  two  conditions,  uninten- 
tionally and  intentionally.  The  explorer  descending  an 
unknown  stream  might  find  himself  suddenly  in  the 
toils  of  waters.  An  ominous  roar  would  first  notify  him 
of  danger  from  which  retreat  was  impossible,  the  only 
course  being  in  directing  the  boat  down  the  torrent.  At 
such  times  thought  and  action  must  be  simultaneous ; 
for  the  boatman,  knowing  nothing  of  the  current  or 
what  the  next  instant  would  bring  forth,  had  only  his 
eye  to  guide  him,  and  should  his  frail  craft  strike  upon 
a  rock  it  was  dashed  in  pieces.  It  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive of  a  place  where  coolness  and  quickness  were 
more  requisite,  for  besides  the  tumult  in  which  he 
found  himself  engaged,  he  knew  not  the  moment  when 
he  might  come  upon  a  perpendicular  fall  or  other  un- 
known passage  to  inevitable  destruction. 

Such  cases,  however,  were  not  common.  There  wag 
excitement  enough  in  shooting  a  rapid  where  knowl- 
edge was  united  with  skill  and  the  venture  was  made 
deliberately. 

Rapids  were  run  with  full  or  half- loaded  boats; 
sometimes  part  of  the  men  would  step  out  to  lighten 
the  boat;  or  cargo  and  men,  all  save  the  boatmen, 
might  be  discharged,  leaving  the  canoe  empty. 

As  the  rapid  is  approached  the  bowman  and  steers- 


•      nUNXIXG  OF  RAPIDS. 


429 


man  rise  erect  and  quickly  exchange  their  oars  for 
short  paddles;  then  propping  their  knees  against  the 
gunwale,  as  much  to  steady  the  boat  as  themselves, 
they  hold  their  paddles  in  the  water  edgewise  with 
the  canoe,  while  the  middle-men  put  forth  all  their 
strength  upon  their  oars  that  it  may  be  the  better 
guided. 

Thus  into  the  seething  flood  the  frail  bark  down- 
ward plunges.  Now  it  rushes,  as  if  to  inevitable 
destruction,  tovrard  a  rock;  but  one  strong  simul- 
taneous stroke  of  bowman  and  steersman,  who  always 
act  in  concert,  sheers  it  fore  and  aft  to  one  side, 
while  onward- it  goes  midst  the  hisses  of  fierce  cur- 
rents, rising,  falling,  beating  and  beaten  against, 
wdiirled  here  by  an  eddy,  thrown  violently  there 
against  a  bowlder  which  makes  its  ribs  crack,  escap- 
ing one  danger  only  to  find  itself  instantly  upon  an- 
other, until  finally  with  long-drawn  breath  it  reaches 
the  quiet  waters  below,  if  indeed  it  be  not  wrecked 
in  the  perilous  passage. 

It  is  interesting  to  mark  the  carriage  respectively 
of  voyageur  and  Indian  in  such  emergencies :  one  mer- 
rily chants  his  boat  song,  the  other  is  stern  as  silent 
death.  Yet  as  the  Frenchman  in  many  respects  so 
readily  became  Indian,  so  the  Indian  in  some  few 
things  beside  drinking,  smoking,  swearing,  and  the 
like,  became  French.  In  due  time  the  savage  boat- 
man so  far  forgot  his  taciturnity  as  to  take  up  the 
custom  of  singing,  which  enabled  him  to  paddle  more 
steadily  and  keep  better  time.  It  is  etiquette  now 
among  the  natives  of  British  Columbia  for  the  steers- 
man to  load  with  the  song,  the  crew  joining  only  in 
the  chorus. 

Between  the  canoemen  there  was  quite  a  distinc- 
tion. The  foreman  and  steersman  were  those  on 
whose  skill  and  nerve  the  safety  of  life  and  cargo 
depended;  hence  their  pay  was  often  twice  or  thrice 
as  much  as  the  middle -men,  who  merely  propelled 
the  boat. 


430 


FOREST  LIFE  AND  FUR-HUNTINO. 


To  make  these  merry  boatmen,  who  in  the  face  of 
fatigue,  hunger,  or  danger  would  strike  into  a  Cana- 
dian barcarolle  as  they  lustily  plied  their  paddles, 
material  was  necessary  different  from  that  brought 
from  the  Orkney  Islands,  which  was  well  enough  in 
its  way,  to  be  sure,  staid  steady  Scotchmen,  but  slow, 
clumsy,  without  skill  and  without  enthusiasm,  and  far 
from  tlieir  border  land  of  naturalness. 

While  boats,  horses,  and  sometimes  carts  were  em- 
ployed in  summer  travel  in  many  parts  of  British 
North  America,  only  snow-shoes  or  sledges  drawn  by 
dogs  could  be  used  in  winter,  the  streams  being  frozen 
over.  A  dog's  sled,  to  which  three  or  four  intelligent 
brutes  are  hitched  tandem,  is  usually  about  nine  feet 
long  by  sixteen  inches  in  width.  It  consists  of  two 
thin  boards,  of  oak  or  birch,  turned  up  in  front  and 
lashed  together  with  deer -thongs,  sometimes  with 
sides,  but  often  without.  Sleds  of  double  width  are 
made,  before  which  dogs,  usually  six  in  number,  are 
harnessed  two  abreast.  Four  dogs  will  draw  from 
two  to  four  hundred  pounds  twenty-five  or  thirty-five 
miles  a  day. 

Thus  journeying  as  day  departs  and  the  crimson 
light  fro:n  the  western  horizon  flushes  the  cold  white 
solitude,  the  traveller  looks  about  him  for  a  resting- 
place.  Water  and  wood  are  usually  the  first  con- 
siderations in  selecting  a  site;  sometimes  feed  for 
animals  and  protection  from  savages  claim  attention. 
Quick  work  is  made  of  it  when  each  of  the  party  has 
his  special  duty  and  knows  how  to  perform  it.  An 
Indian  woman  will  have  her  lord's  tent  ready  while 
yet  his  animals  are  scarcely  unladen.  Camping  in  the 
forest  in  winter,  while  one  is  felling  trees  for  the  fire 
another  spreads  branches  for  beds;  others  prepare 
food,  brought  in  by  the  hunters,  attend  to  cargoes  and 
boats,  or  wagons  and  animals,  as  the  case  may  be.  A 
fur-trader's  tent  or  lodge  on  the  United  States  frontier 
consisted  of  eight,  ten,  or  twelve  poles,  the  lower  ends  of 
which  ^'ere  pointed  and  placed  in  the  ground  so  as  to 


DRESS  AND  FOOD. 


4S1 


describe  a  circle  eight  or  ton  foot  in  diainctor,  the  hhnit 
tops  being  drawn  together  and  fastened  by  thon<;s. 
This  frame  was  then  covered  by  dressed  buffalo-sknis 
sewed  together,  but  left  open  in  one  place  for  entrance. 
Nothing  was  more  cheering  than  a  l)lazin'jc  logcamp-liro 
in  the  wilderness  at  night,  and  nothing  more  ])ietu- 
rcsque  than  a  band  of  hunters  in  their  long  hair  and 
fanciful  costume  flitting  before  the  ruddy  glow  which 
threw  weird  figures  upon  the  surrounding  I'oliage,  or 
reposing  at  full  length  after  supper,  smoking,  lau^ihing, 
chatting,  and  story-telling. 

Of  the  French  and  Scotch  fur-hunter  the  ordinary 
dress  was  a  striped  or  colored  cotton  shirt,  open  in 
front,  leathern,  woollen,  or  corduroy  trousers,  and  a 
blue  cloth  or  blanket  capote,  that  is,  an  outside  gar- 
ment made  from  cloth  or  a  blanket,  having  a  hood,  and 
serving  the  double  purpose  of  cloak  and  hat.  This 
was  strapped  closely  to  the  body  by  a  scarlet  worsted 
vest.  Capotes  were  sometimes  made  of  leather,  lined 
with  flannel  and  edged  with  fur,  which  made  them 
very  warm.  The  corduroy  pantaloons  were  frequently 
tied  at  the  knee  with  bead  gaiters.  When  the  capoto 
was  not  employed,  head-dresses  were  as  varied  as  they 
were  fantastic.  Some  wore  coarse  cloth  caps;  over 
their  long  black  glistening  hair  some  wound  a  colored 
handkerchief  into  a  turban ;  black  beaver  hats  among 
the  more  foppish,  and  bonnets  with  gold  and  silver 
tinsel  hat-cords  were  now  and  then  seen,  almost  hid- 
den, however,  under  feathers  and  tassels.  Ornamental 
moccasins  covered  the  feet;  round  their  swarthy  necks 
brilliant  cotton  handkerchiefs  were  tied  sailor  fashion, 
and  from  their  scarlet  belt  were  suspended  knife  and 
tobacco  pouch.  Leggings  were  frequently  worn;  and 
when  the  cold  was  intense,  two  or  three  suits  would 
be  put  on  at  once.  The  voyageurs  loved  to  decorate 
any  part  of  their  dress  with  plumes  and  bunches  of 
divers  colored  ribbons  with  the  ends  gayly  floating  in 
the  breeze. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER.  N.Y.  USSO 

(716)  872-4503 


'f 


o^ 


432 


FOREST  LIFE  AND  FUR-HUNTING. 


Somewhat  similar  was  the  dress  of  the  United 
States  trapper,  though  greatly  modified.  The  blanket 
coat,  often  without  the  hood,  the  moccasins,  and  the 
deerskin  pantaloons  were  there,  though  in  place  of 
ribbons,  feathers,  and  tassels  leather  frmges  answered 
every  purpose.  As  an  outside  garment  a  shirtof  leather 
or  flannel  was  worn  belted  round  the  waist.  Kit 
Carson  dyed  with  bright  vermilion  the  long  fringes 
<jtf  his  soft  pliable  deerskin  hunting  shirt  and  trousers, 
not  disdaining  to  ornament  the  latter  with  porcu- 
pine quills  of  various  colors.  A  rich  fur  cap  covered 
his  head  and  embroidered  moccasins  his  feet.  On  his 
left  shoulder  he  carried  his  gun,  while  under  his  right 
arm  hung  his  bullet-pouch  and  powder-horn.  At 
his  belt  were  fastened  sheath-knife,  tomahawk,  and 
whetstone. 

For  food  the  fur-hunter  took  what  he  could  get. 
As  a  rule  his  chief  dependence  was  his  rifle.  His  diet 
was  principally  meat,  fresh  or  dried.  Sometimes  for 
months  or  even  years  he  saw  neither  bread,  salt,  nor 
any  vegetable.  Meat  alone,  fish,  flesh,  or  fowl,  was  all 
his  larder  contained,  and  well  contented  was  he  always 
to  have  it  full,  even  of  his  sole  sustenance.  To  a  cap- 
tive among  the  Indians  hving  only  on  meat,  bread 
becomes  distasteful. 

But  usually  each  fort  had  its  little  garden-patch,  and 
in  some  instances  even  grain  was  raised.  The  rations 
a  voyageur  received,  however,  were  very  difierent  in 
the  several  parts  of  the  fur-hunting  region.  Thus  in 
New  Caledonia  there  might  be  given  him  for  his 
day's  food  a  dried  salmon  or  eight  rabbits;  at  Atha- 
basca it  would  be  eight  pounds  of  moose  meat;  on 
the  Saskatchewan  ten  pounds  of  bufialo  meat;  at 
English  River  three  white  fish,  while  in  the  far  north 
his  fare  would  be  half  ^sh,  half  reindeer.  Rations, 
however,  were  by  no  means  regular;  when  food  was 
plentiful,  all  fared  sumptuously;  when  scarce,  each 
contented   himself  with  his  portion,  whatever  that 


I-  ! 
I     > 

?  [ 
:  t 
-•   ,1 


PEMICAN. 


m 


might  be.  Every  edible  substance  that  came  to 
hand  was  utilized.  Roots  were  sometimes  dug  and 
berries  dried.  Greese  and  ducks  were  taken  at  Fort 
York  in  great  quantities  in  summer  and  salted  for 
winter  use. 

Complaints  were  frequent  at  the  fur  companies' 
posts  by  the  servants  as  to  the  quantity  f^md  quality 
of  their  food.  Wilkes  testifies  that  the  men's  ra- 
tions at  Fort  Vancouver  were  not  what  they  should 
be.  When  a  little  forethought  and  application  were 
sure  to  bring  abundance  there  seems  no  excuse  for  a 
lack  of  plain  healthy  food.  Men  receiving  seventeen 
pounds  per  annum,  though  board  was  included,  could 
not  sometimes  with  their  wajxes  thrown  in  obtain  food 
and  clothes  enough  to  make  them  comfortable:  and 
the  fur-hunters'  ideas  of  comfort  were  by  no  means 
extravagant.  Much,  however,  was  the  fault  of  the 
men  themselves;  for  land  was  allotted  them,  and  time 
allowed  in  which  to  plant  and  gather;  or  if  that  were 
too  much  to  expect,  wives  were  furnished  them  of 
whom  it  was  the  fashion  to  make  drudges. 

In'preserved  food  the  great  staple  is  pemican — that 
is,  dried  meat  pounded.  The  flesh  commonly  used  is 
that  of  the  buffalo,  deer,  elk,  or  antelope,  and  for  long 
keeping,  as  in  Arctic  voyages,  it  may  be  prepared 
with  fat,  spices,  and  raisins.  For  it,  as  for  many  of 
their  forest  conveniences  and  comforts,  the  fur-hunters 
are  indebted  to  the  Indians. 

Pemican  is  prepared  by  cutting  the  lean  flesh  into 
thin  slices,  and  partially  cooking  or  curing  them  in  the 
sun,  by  exposure  to  frost,  or  by  placing  them  on  a 
wooden  grate  over  a  slow  tire.  When  dried  they  are 
pounded  between  two  stones  or  with  other  implements. 
Often  the  sun-dried  flesh-flakes  are  baled.  But  this 
is  simply  dried  meat;  it  must  be  broken  into  small 
pieces  before  it  is  pemican.  When  thus  pulverized 
it  is  put  into  a  bag  made  of  the  animal's  hide,  with 
the  hair  outside;  after  being  well  mixed  in  about 
equal  proportions  with  the  melted  fat  of  the  animal, 


IIWT.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    28 


i 


lUi     ! 


■M- 


434 


FOREST  LIFE  AND  FUR-HUNTING. 


the  bag  is  sewed  up,  when  it  cools  and  hardens,  and 
is  ready  for  storage  or  transportation.  In  this  state 
it  will  keep  for  years,  but  should  it  be  massed  in  large 
quantities  it  is  inclined  to  ferment  in  warm  weather, 
in  which  case  it  must  be  opened  and  aired. 

It  is  usually  eaten  uncooked,  and  without  salt  or 
other  seasoning;  when  flour  is  at  hand,  some  may  ad- 
vantageously be  added,  and  the  whole  boiled  in  water, 
in  which  state  in  Hudson  Bay  countries  it  is  known 
as  robbiboo.  Berries  are  sometimes  added,  when  it 
is  called  sweet  pemican.  It  is  a  healthy,  nutritious 
food,  and  though  not  palatable  at  first,  habit  and 
hunger  soon  reconcile  the  palate  to  its  use.  Pemican 
is  specially  adapted  to  long  journeys,  being  nutriment 
in  a  greatly  condensed  form;  a  hundred-pound  bag, 
measuring  three  feet  by  ten  inches,  will  comfortably 
sustain  four  men  a  month.  It  is  made  in  all  the  great 
buffalo  ranges,  the  chief  dep6ts  for  its  manufacture  in 
British  America  being  the  Red  River  and  Saskatche- 
wan districts. 

Of  incalculable  benefit,  not  only  to  the  poor  Indian 
but  to  his  white  extinguisher,  has  been  the  flesh  of 
the  buffalo,  whether  in  the  form  of  fresh  or  dried 
meat  or  pemican;  indeed,  without  it  long  journeys 
in  certain  directions  and  at  certain  seasons  could  not 
be  made.  Dried  buffalo  meat,  which  is  regarded  as 
plainer  food  than  pemican,  so  crusty  as  to  break  to 
pieces  in  one's  fingers,  with  cold  water  has  been  the 
principal  fare  of  uncomplaining  thousands  for  years. 

In  wilderness  travel  it  often  becomes  necessary  to 
abandon  articles  which  for  some  reason  cannot  be  car- 
ried, or  to  store  them  for  use  on  returning.  A  boat  may 
be  broken,  animals  or  men  may  succumb  under  fatigue, 
or  provisions  may  be  required  in  a  certain  place  at  a 
future  time.  Contingencies  thus  arise  in  which  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  secure  property  from  molestation 
by  savages  or  wild  beasts. 

This  IS  done  by  hiding  it  either  in  the  branches  of 


M 


CACHING. 


m 


ot* 


trees,  or  in  hollow  logs,  but  usually  underground ;  and 
goods  thus  hidden  are  said  to  be  cached,  from  cacJier, 
to  conceal. 

The  greatest  skill  and  care  are  requisite  to  perform 
this  feat,  so  that  the  prying  eyes  of  man  or  nose  of 
beast  shall  not  discover  the  things  hidden.  The  situ- 
ation chosen  should  be  as  dry  as  possible;  then  form 
a  circle  two  feet  in  diameter,  remove  the  surface 
carefully  and  sink  a  hole  perpendicularly  eighteen  or 
twenty  inches,  after  which  widen  it  as  you  go  down, 
so  as  finally  to  have  a  subterranean  pitcher-shaped 
cavity  six  or  eight  feet  deep,  large  at  the  bottom  and 
small  at  the  top.  The  earth  thus  removed  must  be 
carefully  taken  away  and  thrown  into  a  stream,  or 
otherwise  made  to  disappear.  For  a  floor  are  laid 
sticks,  on  which  dried  grass  or  skins  arc  spread,  thus 
gi.ing  moisture  an  opportunity  to  settle  at  the  bot- 
tom, without  destruction  to  the  property.  Sticks  are 
likewise  placed  against  the  sides  to  serve  as  protection 
against  the  damp  earth.  The  goods  are  then  stowed 
away,  and  over  all  a  skin  is  laid ;  the  top  of  the  hole 
is  filled  with  earth,  which  is  covered  with  the  original 
sod  or  surface  so  as  to  present  as  natural  and  undis- 
turbed an  appearance  as  possible. 

All  tracks  are  carefully  obliterated,  and  if  in  the 
ibrest,  the  place  is  strewed  with  leaves  and  branches 
as  in  its  original  state. 

Note  is  taken  of  the  direction  ^nd  distance  from 
any  prominent  object,  so  that  upon  description  a 
person  not  present  at  the  caching  can  find  the  place. 
Of  course  holes  of  larger  or  smaller  dimensions  are 
made  according  to  necessity. 

In  very  cold  latitudes  meat  is  hidden  and  preserved 
in  a  river  by  cutting  a  hole  in  the  ice  and  suspending 
it  from  a  stick  in  a  bag,  and  then  pouring  water  over 
the  aperture  until  the  surface  is  smooth  ice  again. 
This  method  of  concealment  may  have  been  taught 
explorers  by  the  natives,  who  practised  it  long  before 
white  men  set  foot  upon  these  shores,  or  even  by  their 


'1 


T*^' 


^  i- 


I]1M:^:1 


1      >•.  :  i.. 


%  .. 


;if. 


i'>. 


486 


lOBBST  LITE  AND  FUR-UUNTINO. 


own  dogs,  whose  instinct  directs  them  to  cache  their 
surplus  food.' 

*Thoee  who  desire  fnller  descriptions  will  find  them  in  Fmlayaon't  Hint. 
Vaneourer /aland,  MS.,  9S;  Complon'a Northwest  CVxut,  MS.,  28;  Rocky  Moun^ 
tain  Journal,  1805-6,  MS.,  1-39;  ZHinn'a  Or.,  86,234;  Towntend'a  A'ar.,  252; 
Cox's  Adv.,  117;  BaUantynt's  Hudson  Bay,  249;  Victor's  Riixr  qf  the  West, 
49-66,  67,  80,  82-3,  86,  87-8, 110-11, 142, 146;  Wislixenus,  Aus/lug,  6-9,  87-65, 
92;  Robinson's  Great  Pur  Land,  27-40  et  seq.;  Harper's  Mag.,  xii.  340-0; 
Tod's  New  Caledonia,  MS.,  3 ;  snd  the  several  lort  jounuds  and  correspondence 
of  traders  and  factors. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


il 


I*  k     i 


THB  PUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 
1607-1843. 

Bablt  Enolish  Disoovkrt— Henbt  Hcdson— Orosseliez  and  RABiaSON, 
Assisted  by  Prince  Rupert,  form  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company— The 
Charter — Territorial  Limits  of  the  Company — The  French  In- 
vade Rupert  Land — The  Planting  of  Forts  round  Hudson  Bay — 
Boundaries— The  Treaty  op  Utrecht — Character  and  Policy  of 
THE  Corporation — ^Territorial  Divisions — Material  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company — Inner  Workings  of  the  System — Stock — 
Furs — Currency — Trade — Intercourse  between  Posts— Profits — 
Parliamentary  Sanction  of  the  Crown  Grant. 

Great  Britain  was  not  the  nation  all  this  while  to 
look  upon  a  lucrative  traffic  anywhere  without  having 
a  finger  in  it.  Least  of  all  in  America,  where  spoil 
was  the  just  reward  of  the  strongest,  and  v/hose  ulti- 
mate partition  should  mark  the  relative  importance 
of  European  powers,  was  glowing  opportunity  to  be 
neglected.  Yet  of  the  three  great  names  forever 
linked  to  the  discovery  of  the  far  north-east  two  were 
foreigners  and  the  other  a  penniless  sailor.  Beside 
the  flag  of  England  upon  the  coast  of  Labrador  in 
1496  Cabot  planted  the  banner  of  the  Venetian  re- 
public. The  son  Sebastian,  unable  to  collect  his  pay 
from  Henry  VII.,  whose  previous  parsimony  had  lost 
him  Columbus,  took  service  under  Ferdinand  of  Spain. 
Little  was  done  during  the  following  eighty  years. 

Alphonse  de  Xaintoigne,  who  had  accompanied 
Roberval  to  Canada,  followed  Cabot's  course,  and  John 
Davis  reached  the  entrance  to  Baffin  Bay.  Elizabeth 
became    somewhat   excited   over  the   spurious   gold 


,1   ^ 
J  I   - 


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1    ■  ■ 
.i 


k 


ill 


t.f 


438 


THE  FUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


brought  back  by  Frobisher,  and  in  1 577-8  gave  him 
new  fleets;  but  with  the  opening  of  the  seventeenth 
century  English  cupidity  awoke,  and  while  the  colo- 
nists were  planting  settlements  under  King  James' 
patents,  the  more  northern  regions  were  not  neglected. 

On  behalf  of  a  company  of  London  merchants 
Henry  Hudson  in  1607  sailed  to  the  east  coast  of 
Greenland  in  an  attempt  to  discover  a  north-west 
passage.  The  year  following  a  similar  attempt  re- 
sulted in  failure.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  London 
merchants  cooling,  Hudson  turned  his  steps  toward 
Holland,  where  a  small  yacht,  called  the  Ilalf  Moon, 
was  furnished  him  by  the  Dutch  East  India  Com- 
pany, in  which  in  1609  he  sailed  northward,  but 
baffled  by  icebergs  he  turned  his  prow  west,  touched 
at  Newfoundland,  whence  coasting  southward  he  en- 
tered New  York  harbor,  and  ascended  the  river  which 
bears  his  name. 

After  this  success  for  the  Dutch,  almost  before 
Holland  had  independent  national  existence,  the 
London  merchants  were  ready  for  another  venture. 
Sailing  in  the  Discovery  in  1610  Hudson  followed 
Frobisher's  track,  and  passing  through  Hudson  Strait 
entered  an  inland  sea  virgin  to  European  keels.  This 
was  indeed  a  long  sought  highway  to  India.  But  as 
he  continued  his  course  the  astonished  shores  of 
Hudson  Bay  held  him  in  wintry  embrace,  and  when 
spring  approached  the  patience  of  the  crew  was  gone. 
Breaking  into  mutiny,  they  seized  their  commander 
and  his  son,  and  with  seven  faithful  sailors  cast  them 
off  in  an  open  shallop  among  the  icebergs.  This  was 
the  last  that  was  hear4  of  them. 

Exploration,  English  and  French,  by  sea  and  land, 
slowly  followed.  Captain  James  wintered  at  Hudson 
or  James  Bay  in  1632,  and  in  1656  Jean  Bourbon 
sailed  to  the  farther  end  of  the  bay  in  a  vessel  of 
thirty  tons,  trafficking  with  the  natives.  Little  was 
thought  of  this  far  north  inland  icy  sea,  with  its  low 


I; 


OROSSELIEZ  AND  RUPERT  LAND. 


439 


marshy  shores;  at  this  time  it  was  scarcely  deemed 
worth  fighting  for.  Though  fur-bearing  animals  were 
plentiful,  there  was  no  lack  of  them  in  less  inhos- 
pitable climes.  Hence,  when  in  1G2G  Louis  XIII. 
gave  the  Compagnie  do  la  Nouvellc  France  a  charter 
of  the  district,  little  attention  was  paid  to  it. 

Some  time  after,  however,  a  Frenchman  named 
Grosseliez*  visiting  that  region  became  deeply  im- 
pressed by  its  neglected  wealth,  and  proposed  to 
his  government  to  utilize  it,  but  without  success. 
Title  and  ownership  being  questions  of  little  moment, 
Grosseliez  addressed  himself  to  the  court  of  England, 
whce  in  Prince  Rupert  he  found  a  patron.  A  vessel 
called  the  Nonsuchlcetch,  Captain  Zacliary  Gillam, 
was  equipped,  in  which  Grosseliez,  with  a  roneo'ado 
companion  named  Rabisson,  sailed  in  1GG8  for  Hud- 
son Bay,  wintered  on  the  east  main  near  Rupert 
River,  and  built  there  the  first  fort,  calling  it  Fort 
Charles.'  Returning  with  the  prestige  of  success,  a 
charter  was  obtained  from  Charles  II.  in  favor  of  the 
Governor  and  Company  of  Adventurers  of  England 
trading  into  Hudson  Bay,  dated  May  2,  1G70,  with 
Prince  Rupert  as  first  governor,  assuring  the  dukes, 
earls,  lords,  knights,  and  gentlemen  composing  it,  and 
their  successors,  of  the  sole  trade  to  Hudson  strait 
and  bay,  with  permanent  proprietorship  over  all  tho 
countries,  coasts,  and  confines  of  lands,  seas,  lakes, 
and  rivers  not  actually  possessed  by  the  subjects  of 
any  other.  Christian  prince,  with  all  the  animals,  fish, 
and  minerals  therein  contained,  to  be  reckoned  as  one 
of  the  British  plantations  or  colonies  in  America, 
under  the  name  of  Rupert  Land.  Over  this  territory 
and  the  natives  thereof  the  company  was  to  exercise 
forever  supreme  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction,  with 

•  Kdowii  also  as  Dcsgrozeliera,  tho  Huguenot.  M.  Gameau  designates  hiai 
as  a  French  refugee,  and  evidently  is  not  favorably  impressed  with  him,  us 
he  complains  bitterly  of  his  treachery,  as  he  calls  it.  See  also  Northwest 
Comiiany'a  2iarralire  of  Occurrences,  10.  Forster,  Ilust.  Foi/.,  37(>-7,  calls  hiiu 
De  Orosscliers,  or  De  Groselie,  an  enterprising  burgher  of  Canada. 

"The  Fort  Rupert  of  Huilson  Bay  stood  'near  the  mouth  of  the  River 
Nemiscau,  in  the  bottom  of  the  bay,'  antl  was  built  m  107.7. 


;.!:! 


w 

'  I  ■ 

-I 


!.. 


H1' 


■  ■'!: 

I  '\ 

'i'i 


1^' 


'■•.!!- 


.1  i*. 


410 


THE  FUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


power  to  pass  laws,  grant  lands,  and  make  war  and 
peace  with  any  nations  not  christian.  For  exactly 
two  hundred  years,  or  until  1870,  when  the  territory 
■was  brought  under  the  dominion  of  Canada,  the  com- 
pany thus  enjoyed,  under  the  crown,  all  the  rights 
and  powers  of  commercial  sovereignty;  in  which  gift 
there  was  but  one  flaw,  which  was  that  the  land  given 
did  not  belong  to  the  giver. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  territorial  limits  of 
the  company  are  here  vaguely  defined;  and  many 
fierce  disputes  with  the  French  nation  and  bloody 
affrays  with  rival  fur  companies  arose  in  consequence. 
But  before  bounds  could  be  of  much  importance,  the 
principles  of  ownership  must  be  several  times  fought 
out. 

As  the  company  planted  posts  at  the  entrance  of 
streams  round  the  shores  of  the  bay,  the  jealousy 
of  the  French  was  newly  aroused.  By  way  of  the 
Saguenay  River  in  1671  an  expedition  was  sent  from 
Quebec  by  Governor  d'Avougour  under  St  Simon 
and  La  Couture.  Of  the  region  of  desolation  which 
they  found  they  took  formal  possession  in  the  name 
of  the  king  of  France,  burying  upon  the  shore  a  brass 
plate  graven  with  the  royal  armorials  in  token  of 
ownership. 

Fearful  of  the  power  he  had  invoked  in  England, 
Grosseliez  returned  to  his  old  allegiance,  craved  par- 
don of  France,  was  forgiven,  and  his  services  were  ac- 
cepted, though  too  late  to  be  of  any  benefit.  In  1681 
an  association  was  formed  in  Canada,  called  the  North- 
ern Company,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  trade  at 
Hudson  Bay.  With  two  vessels  Grosseliez  was  sent 
thither  to  drive  out  the  English,  whom  he  had  pre- 
viously introduced  to  those  parts,  and  to  demolish 
their  factories,  which  now  numbered  three,  there  being, 
beside  Fort  Rupert,  one  at  the  Monsonis  River  and 
one  at  the  St  Anne  River.-  Instead  of  fighting  the 
Enghsh,  however,  the  French  proceeded  to  the  mouth 
of  the  River  St  Th^r^se,  and  there  built  a  fortress 


FRENCH  AND  ENGUSH  FIGHTINGS. 


441 


which  they  called  Fort  Bourbon.  Roturiiin}^  to 
Quebec,  Grosselicz  quarrelled  with  hia  company  and 
proceeded  to  France  for  redress,  wliich  he  Tailed  to 
obtain.  In  a  rage  ho  sold  Fort  Bourbon,  with  its  storo 
of  furs  valued  at  four  hundred  thousand  francs,  through 
the  British  ambassador  at  Paris,  to  the  English,  who 
raised  the  establishment  into  a  four-bastioned  fort, 
with  a  water-ditch  ten  feet  in  width,  manned  it  well, 
and  stored  it  with  munitions  of  war.  The  French 
court  complained  of  this  runaway  proceeding  to  the 
English  king,  who  promised  that  the  fortress  should  bo 
returned;  but  the  king  was  unable  to  keep  his  word. 
The  Northern  Company  was  finally  merged  into  the 
Company  of  Canada,  which  latter  society,  it  will  be 
remembered,  had  been  formed  by  M.  Piccaud,to  whom 
the  Oudiette  peltry  monopoly  had  been  transferred 
by  M.  Roddes. 

For  some  time  prior  to  the  close  of  the  century  the 
Anglo-Americans  had  been  pursuing  an  aggressive 
policy  in  New  France;  but  the  French  now  deter- 
mined to  wrest  Hudson  Bay  and  Newfoundland  from 
British  domination;  in  pursuance  of  which  plan  M.  do 
Troyes,  D'lberville,  Ste  Hel^ne,  and  Maricourt,  with 
a  body  of  Canadian  regulars,  proceeded  overland  in 
1685  to  dispossess  the  English  on  Hudson  Bay. 

First  invested  was  the  four-bastioned  fort  of  Mon- 
sonis,  mounting  tourteen  guns,  which  was  carried  by 
assault.  Fort  Rupert  was  next  dismantled,  and  a 
British  vessel  at  anchor  in  the  bay  captured,  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  governor  being  one  of  the 
prisoners  taken.  St  Anne,  mounting  forty-three  can- 
non, then  capitulated.  It  was  the  largest  and  most 
important  factory  at  that  time  on  the  bay,  having  in 
its  store  peltries  valued  at  fifty  thousand  crowns. 

Returning  to  Quebec  in  the  autumn  of  1687  with 
the  captured  vessel  laden  with  furs,  D'lberville,  on 
whom  the  command  now  fell,  renewed  hostilities  the 
following  year,  and  again  cleared  Hudson  Bay  of  the 
British.     Rallying,  the  English  were  repulsed  before 


■A 


442 


THE  PURTRADE  ITNDER  BRITISH  AUSWCES. 


St  Anno  in  1689,  but  capturing  the  fortress  the  fol- 
lowing year,  it  was  wrested  from  them  by  the  French, 
only  again  to  fall  into  British  liandp  two  years  later. 
In  1694  Fort  Bourbon  was  reduced  by  D'Ibcrville, 
whose  brother,  M.  de  ChAteauguay,  was  killed  in  tho 
attack.' 

Meanwhile  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  nothing 
daunted,  continued  to  plant  forts  and  rca»^  *'»•  ir  annutu 
harvest  of  rich  peltries;  and  notwithstandnig  losses 
of  over  one  hundred  thousand  p^  .ads  during  these 
affrays,  they  wero  able  to  pay  shareholders  a  dividend 
of  fifty  per  cent. 

Yet  the  French  were  at  their  heels.  After  direct- 
ing attention  eastward  for  a  time,  during  which  oc- 
curred tho  reduction  of  Pemaquid  in  1697,  and  a 
successful  attack  on  St  John  with  a  squadron  of  five 
ships  brought  for  him  from  France  for  the  final  re- 
duction of  Hudson  Bay  domination  by  M.  de  S^rigny, 
D'lberville  sailed  to  Fort  Nelson,  where  he  arrived 
with  one  vessel,  the  Pelican,  having  parted  company 
with  the  others  on  the  way.  There  he  found  three 
British  ships,  the  Hampshire,  the  Dehring,  and  the 
Hudson's  Bay:  after  destroying  them  all  he  took  the 
fort,  the  reduction  of  which  placed  him  in  possession 
of  the  whole  territory.* 

Europe,  having  spent  its  strength  in  most  interest- 
ing ana  necessary  human  slaughters,  proposed  for  a 
time  general  pacification,  and  a  quadruple  treaty  was 
signed  at  Ryswick,  by  the  terms  of  which  the  French 

"The  French  were  in  possession  of  Fort  Bourbon,  which  we  call  now 
York  Fort,  from  the  year  1697  to  1714.'  Dobba'  HudtorCs  Hay,  18.  During 
this  time  M.  Jeremie  waa  at  first  lieutenant  and  afterward  governor  there. 

*  French  trappers  cried  down  English  goods,  while  on  all  occasions  the 
English  depreciated  French  articles.  Whde  the  French  held  Michilmacki. 
nac  the  natives  of  Lake  Winnipeg  told  Carver  that  if  they  could  always  be 
sure  of  a  supply  of  goods  at  that  place  they  would  not  carry  their  furs  to  the 
factories  on  Hudson  Bay.  At  the  same  time  they  displayed  some  cloth  of  an 
inferior  quality,  which  they  said  they  had  purchased  from  the  English,  and 
in  which  they  were  badly  cheated.  Raynal,  Hist.  Phil.,  viii.  39;  Kohl's  Hist. 
Discov.,  ii.  82;  RuaseWs  Hist.  Am.,  ii.  265;  Carver's  Travels,  iii.  Notwith- 
Btandinff  which,  on  the  whole,  English  goods  were  suporic-r  to  the  French. 
The  Indians  became  quick  judges  of  the  quality  of  goods,  and  few  English 
manufactured  articles  then,  as  now,  were  surpassed  by  any  in  the  world. 


TT 


TREATIES  OF  UTnEClIT,  RYSWICK,  AND  PARIS.  143 

wore  to  restore  all  they  had  taken  from  the  Eiij:f]i,sii  in 
America.  At  the  same  time  Iliulson  Bay  was  I'ccojr- 
nizcd  as  bolonginff  to  France.  Five  years  of  fiiia.si 
peaco  followecl.  New  excuses,  however,  were  found 
lor  new  butcheries.  In  1704  '>verlan(l  expeditions 
"'•cm  r'anada  iiorthward  jij^ain  set  in;  Albany  and 
other  for*  were  besieged  with  greater  or  less  success, 
and  t  rracr  follies  reenacted.  Barlow  was  governor 
al  Albany  at  the  time,  and  played  the  hero  with  con- 
siderable success.  Notified  by  an  Indian  of  the  ap- 
proacu  of  the  French,  Barlow  ke[)t  the  strictest  oruard. 
At  night  the  enciny  "ame  and  demanded  admission. 
Barlow,  who  was  looking  out  for  tlu  ni,  replied  that 
the  governor  was  asleep,  but  if  they  woultl  wait  a 
moment  he  would  get  the  key  and  open  the  gate  to 
them.  The  French,  thrown  off  their  guard,  crowded 
round  the  entrance.  Instead  of  opening  the  gate,  how- 
ever, Barlow  opened  two  loop-holes  and  discharged 
upon  the  expectant  besiegers  the  contents  of  two  six- 
pounders,  which  killed  more  than  half  of  them,  in- 
cluding their  commander,  a  renegade  Irishman.  The 
remainder  then  went  their  way.  It  was  only  with 
the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  following  the  war  of  succes- 
sion, that  peace  to  the  far-off  disvaal  borders  of  Hud- 
son Bay  was  fully  assured.  In  the  treaty  signed  at 
Utrecht  the  30th  of  March  1713,  French  domination 
in  America  was  much  abridged,  while  English  terri- 
tory was  largely  extended,  France  ceding  to  England 
Newfoundland,  the  province  of  Acadia,  or  Nova 
Scotia,  and  the  Hudson  Bay  territ^  ry.  It  had  been 
admitted  by  the  treaty  of  Ryswick,  signed  in  Sep- 
tember 1G97,  that  all  the  Hudson  Bay  territories 
belonged  to  France;  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  it  was 
admitted  that  three  fourths  of  the  lands  hitherto 
claimed  by  the  company  belonged  to  France;  it  was 
only  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  in  17G3,  that  title  to 
all  those  territories  was  confirmed  to  Great  Britain. 

The  treaty  of  Utrecht  attempted   to   define   the 
limits  of  the  lands  then  ceded  in  the  north,  but  with 


ii 


'■'■    \ 


'■\ 


.it. 


.1 


THE  FDE-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


ill  success.  Broadly  speaking,  the  surfaces  drained  by 
streams  emptying  into  Hudson  strait  and  bay  were 
given  to  England,  while  those  drained  by  streams 
flowing  in  opposite  directions  belonged  to  France. 
This  line,  beginning  at  some  point  on  the  north- 
eastern coast  of  Labrador,  is  easily  enough  carried 
south-westerly  round  the  sources  of  Rupert,  Abbit- 
tibbe,  Moose,  and  Albany  rivers;  but  when  the  re- 
gion of  Lake  Winnipeg  is  reached,  difficulties  are 
met;  for  if  all  the  waters  hence  flowing  into  Hudson 
Bay  were  encircled,  the  Red  River  and  Saskatchewan 
districts  would  be  included,  which  obviously  was  never 
intended  either  by  the  charter  or  the  treaty."  The 
truth  is,  at  that  time  the  geography  of  this  western 
region  was  wholly  unknown.  When  the  company  as- 
certained the  connecting  links  of  this  water-chain 
they  claimed  as  their  southern  bound  the  highlands 
diverging  south-westerly  from  Lake  Superior  and 
winding  round  between  the  sources  of  Red  River 
and  the  Mississippi,  which  would  bring  them  within 
United  States  territory  two  degrees  or  more.  British 
geographers,  immediately  after  the  conquest,  drew 
the  boundary  line  between  Canada  and  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company's  territory  within  three  or  four  hun- 
dred miles  of  the  bay  on  the  south-western  side.' 
During  the  second  hundred  years  of  its  existence,  how- 
over,  the  monster  monopoly,  playing  ruse  contrc  ruse 
in  its  century -games  for  domination,  exceeded  in  terri- 
torial limits  the  wildest  anticipations  of  its  mamigers; 
spreading  northward  and  westward  until  its  area  was 
nearly  one  third  larger  than  all  Europe;   and  while 

*  'Reaching  the  banka  of  Nelson's  River,  the  ridge  ceases  to  divide  jtreama 
at  their  heads,  and  is  traversed  by  the  outlet  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  which  re- 
<:eive8  from  the  southward  the  watera  of  the  Red  River,  "vnd  discharges  itself 
through  Play  Green  Lake  and  Nelson  River,  into  Hudbon's  Bav.  West  of 
tills  river,  the  highlands  resnmo  their  former  characteristic,  and  rise  at  the 
buarcesof  Bumtwood,  Churchill,  aud  Beaver  rivers. '  BoucheUe'a  Brit.  Dam., 
i.  29-30. 

*Regard'ag  the  northern  and  western  bounds,  as  no  lines  had  been  de- 
fined, the  company  laid  claim  to  the  northern  and  western  oceans.  See  plans 
referred  to  in  the  Report  from  the  Select  Committee  on  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company. 


A  CLOSE  CORPORATION. 


445 


spanning  the  continent  at  its  broadest  part,  and 
touching  at  once  the  three  great  oceans,  it  ruled 
supreme  a  hundred  native  nations  held  as  slaves  of 
it«  policy  and  laws. 

But  not  without  much  management  and  many  se- 
vere struggles  was  this  mighty  end  achieved.  During 
the  first  century  of  its  existence  the  company  did  not 
penetrate  with  its  operations  more  than  four  hundred 
miles  inland.  Its  policy  was  that  of  a  close  corpora- 
tion in  an  epoch  of  the  closest  commercial  secrecy. 
Not  knowing  the  extent  of  its  resourcesi  or  domain, 
it  was  determined  no  one  else  should  know  them. 
Discovery  and  settlement  were  discouraged.  "For 
the  discovery  of  a  new  passage  into  the  South  Sea" 
was  one  of  the  purposes  for  which  they  asked  a  char- 
ter, and  yet,  until  forced  to  it  by  the  pressure  of  prog- 
ress, all  their  powers  were  exerted  to  prevent  the 
opening  of  an  interoceanic  passage  along  their  bor- 
ders.' Not  only  did  they  systematically  keep  their 
servants  and  agents  in  ignorance  respecting  such  parts 
of  the  business  as  did  not  come  under  their  immediate 
observation,  but  they  made  frequent  changes  in  tlicir 
appointments,  blinding  them  as  to  their  movements, 
enjoining  upon  them  the  strictest  secrecy,  and  for- 
bidding the  cultivation  of  the  soil   further  than  a 


!      ',/ 


'They  'conceal  all  the  advantages  to  be  made  in  that  country,  and  give 
ont  that  the  climate,  and  country,  and  passage  thither  are  much  worse  and 
more  dangerous  than  they  really  are,  and  therefore  oblige  their  captains  not 
to  make  any  charts  or  journals  that  may  discover  those  seas  or  coasts.  Tliey 
have  been  so  base  to  their  country  as  not  only  to  neglect  it  themselves,  but 
to  prevent  and  discourage  any  attempt  to  find  out  so  beneficial  a  passage. ' 
Dohha'  Htidnon  Bay,  2,  57.  Ellis,  Robson,  Dragge,  and  Umfreville  bring 
similar  accusations.  These  charges  are  denied  by  Ueame,  who  points  to  the 
attempts  of  Bean,  Christopher,  Johnston,  and  Duncan  to  find  a  north-west 
passage,  and  concluded  that  the  'air  of  mystery,  and  affectation  of  secrecy, 
perhaps,  which  foi-merly  attended  some  of  the  Company's  proceedings  in  the 
Bay,  might  give  rise  to  those  conjectures.*  Jlearne'a  Journey,  xxi.  'Their 
total  disregard  of  every  object  for  which  they  obtained,  and  have  now  held, 
a  royal  charter  for  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  entitles  them  to  any- 
thing but  praise.'  London  Quarterly  Review,  October  1810,  144.  Umfreville, 
Hudtion  Ray.  71.  ohargpc  the  Ensl'sh  odvcntrircrs  with  sleopin"  .at  *';^  'jdgc 
of  the  sea.  In  17^0  they  ha<l  a  few  interior  posts  where  a  languid  trade  was 
carried  on.  They  paid  their  men  scarcely  one  quarter  as  much  as  did  the 
Northwest  Company,  and  were  served  accordingly.  Winterbotham,  lli»t.  U.  S. , 
iv.  10,  with  twenty  others,  repeats  the  same  charge. 


Ljjji 

1 

i 

1  i 

!  1 

4i0 


THE  FUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


garden  patch  for  the  immediate  or  temporary  supply 
of  vegetables.  Even  the  springs  that  moved  the  vast 
machinery  were  pressed  behind  closed  doors,  and  or- 
ders of  weightiest  import  were  breathed  in  whispers. 
When,  finally,  in  1769-72  Samuel  Heame  was  ordered 
by  the  company  to  journey  northward  and  ascertain 
what  manner  of  thmgs  were  there,  his  journal  was 
kept  concealed  for  twenty  years  thereafter. 

While  the  French  counted  their  establishments  by 
scores,  during  the  first  half  century  of  the  company  s 
existence  there  were  planted  in  Rupert  Land,  that 
is  to  say  the  country  round  Hudson  Bay,  scarcely 
over  a  half  dozen  posts;  but  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  same  century  their  establishments  increased.*  The 
sloop  Beaver  sailed  from  Albany  River  to  Moose  River 
to  found  a  factory  there  the  7th  of  September  1729; 
thence  westward  and  back  from  the  shore  the  com- 
pany extended  their  occupation,  paying  no  more  at- 
tention to  chartered  limits  than  did  the  rival  traders 
who  erected  forts  in  regions  surrounding.' 

In  all  its  relations  to  the  country,  then  and  subse- 
quently, the  company  has  stood  in  the  position  of  a 
trading  colony,  being  in  direct  antagonism  to  agri- 
cultural and  mining  interests;  although  mining  colo- 
nies bring  scarcely  a  denser  population  than  trading 
colonies.^" 

Various  efforts  were  made  to  break  the  monopoly, 
which  was  to  these  misty  hyperborean  regions  what 
the  East  India  Company  was  to  the  soft-aired  Orient. 
Arthur  Dobbs  and  Umfreville,  among  others,  pub- 


*  Until  the  Northwest  Company  wakened  them  to  life  by  daring  opposi- 
tion there  was  no  great  display  of  intelligence  or  enterprise  on  the  part  of  the 
adventurers  trading  into  Hudson  Bay.  Oass^  Journal,  4. 

'Seldom  were  tna  rights  of  fur  companies,  that  is  to  say  if  any  of  them 
ever  had  any  rights,  to  domain  granted  respected  by  rival  companies.  Enter- 
ing a  territory  at  a  distance  from  any  fort,  the  natives  there  found  were  always 
glad  to  save  themselves  a  difficult  and  often  dangerous  journey  through  the 
domain  of  enemies  by  disposing  of  their  peltries  at  home.  Carvers  Travda,  112. 

'"  Tradini;  colonics,  says  Hcorcn,  'consist  at  first  of  nothing  more  than 
factories  and  staples  for  tlie  convenience  of  trade ;  bat  force  or  traud  soon  en- 
larges them,  and  the  colonists  become  conquerors,  without,  howe"  ,  losing 
dj^t  of  the  original  object  of  their  settlement.'  Hist.  Reaearchea,  \ 


EARLY  TEnRITOKXA.L  DIVISIONS. 


447 


•ll 

I';;. 

■rs 

e 

12. 


>g 


lished  books,  one  in  1744  and  the  other  in  1790, 
opposing  the  continuance  of  the  charter  on  the  ground 
of  forfeiture  and  injustice.'^  All  great  monopolies  are 
unjust  and  injurious;  men  combine  and  monopolize 
for  no  other  purpose  than  to  exclude  others  having 
equal  rights.  Probably,  however,  these  commercial 
adventurers  did  as  well  for  England  in  that  region  as 
any  others  would  have  done.  By  the  treaty  of  Utrecht 
the  position  of  the  company  was  materially  improved, 
as  they  had  no  longer  the  French  to  trouble  them. 

The  western  part  of  Rupert  Land,  that  is  to  say, 
the  country  immediately  west  of  Hudson  Bay,  was 
once  denominated  New  South  Wales.  Between  this 
and  the  Stony  Mountains  were  the  Mackenzie  River, 
Athabasca, and  Saskatcliewan  districts;  while  between 
the  great  dividing  ridge  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  British 
or  Anglo-American  territory  was  first  called,  begin- 
ning at  Mount  St  Elias,  New  Norfolk,  New  Cornwall, 
New  Hanover,  New  Caledonia,  and  New  Georgia.  On 
some  maps  New  Hanover  comprised  the  coast  north 
of  Fraser  River,  and  New  Georgia  the  coast  south  of 
that  point,  while  New  Caledonia  covered  the  great 
interior.  ^^  Others  called  it  all  Oregon  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  between  latitudes  54°  40' and  42°." 

To  facilitate  business  their  territory  was  divided  by 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  various  times  in  various 
ways.  When  the  whole  western  English  America 
was  finally  overspread  by  them,  affairs  were  conducted 
under  four  departments,  the  northern,  the  southern, 
the  Montreal,  and  the  Columbia,  the  first  belting  the 

"  Umfreville,  who  was  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  service  from  1771 
to  1782,  and  who  was  thoroughly  familar  with  their  system,  dcnounocs  many  of 
their  practices,  and  draws  comparisons  between  them  and  the  Canada  com- 
panies not  specially  favorable  to  the  former.  Tlie  truth  is,  the  Prince  Rujwrt 
Association  behaved  very  much  as  any  men  in  their  places  would  have  done. 
They  were  a  corporation  composed  of  persona  of  high  and  low  degi'ce,  under- 
going privations  for  gain,  and  it  was  scarcely  to  be  expected  that  tliey  should 
be  periect  in  every  respect. 

^'Vancouver  calked  tho  coast  between  45°  and  50°  New  Georgia;  between 
60°  and  54°  New  Hanover.     Since  about  1812  wo  hear  of  New  Caledonia. 

^^Boucheite's Brit.  Dom.fi.  33,54;  mtipiin Twias' Or. Queel.,aadDuHn'a  Or. 


M 


i-  ' 


:'i1 


448 


THE  PUR-TRADE  XJNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


Frozen  Ocean,  the  second  extending  from  Rupert 
River  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  third  lying  round 
Montreal  and  thence  north-eastward,  and  the  fourth 
comprising  the  British  Columbia  and  Oregon  countries. 
The  Columbia  department  was  afterward  divided  and 
called  the  Oregon  and  Western,  the  term  Columbia 
being  used  thereafter  as  a  district.  All  the  depart- 
ments were  subdivided  into  thirty-four  districts,  con- 
taining at  one  time  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  posts." 

^* House  of  Commons  Report  on  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  365-7.  In  this 
report,  printed  in  1857,  the  Northwest  Coast  ia  accredited  with  two  depart- 
ments, eight  districts,  and  thirty  posts,  as  follows : 


Port. 


Locality. 


Department.         District. 


Nnmbcr  of 
Indiaos  fre- 
qoentiDf;  it. 

.Columbia 200 

.Columbia. 800 

.Columbia. 100 

.Columbia 100 

Caweeman Wa.'^bington  Ter.  .Oregon. .  .Columbia 100 


Port  Vancouver Washington  Ter.  .Oregon. 

Umpqua Oregon  Per Oregon. 

Capo  Disappointment.  .Washington  Ter.  .Oregon. , 
Chinook  Point Washington  Ter.  .Oregon. 


Champocg Oregon  Ter Oregon 

Nisqually Oregon  Ter Oregon. 

Cowlitz Oregon  Ter Oregon. 

Fort  Colvillo Washington  Ter.  .Oregon. 

Pend  d'Orcille  River. .  .Indian  Tor Oregon. 

Flatheads Washington  Ter.  .Oregon. 

Kootenois Washington  Ter.  .Oregon. . 

Okanagan Washington  Ter.  .Oregon. . 

Walla  Walla Oregon  Ter Oregon. . 

Fort  Hall Oregon  Ter Oregon. . 

Fort  Bois(5 Oregon  Ter Oregon. . 

Port  Victoria Vancouver  Is. . .  .Western. 

Port  Rupert Vancouver  Is.  . .  .Western. 

Nanaimo Vancouver  Is. .  .  .Western 

Port  Langley Indian  Ter Western 


.Columbia 150 

..Columbia 600 

..Columbia......   .      '250 

..ColvUle 800 

..ColvUle 400 

.  .ColviUe 500 

..ColvUle 500 

.ColvUle 300 

.Snake  Country. . .  300 
.  Snake  Countiy...  200 
.  fnake  Country ...      200 

ttvor  Is 5,000 

.    it^coaver  Is 4,000 

Vancouver  Is. . . .  3,000 


.FiMer  Riv^r 4,000 


Fort  Simpson Indian  Ter Western  {N;^W.^g'^t^..  10.000 


Kamloops Indian  Ter Western  \  „,.„„„„„  pi„~    o  nnn 

FortHo^ Indian  Ter Western  |  ^'^"'"P^"  ^^«"^-  ^.OOO 

Stuart  I^ke Indian  Ter Western.  .New  CaIedonia.\ 

M'Leod  Lake Indian  Ter Western. 

Fraser  Lake Indian  Ter Western. . 

Alexandria Indian  Ter Western. 

Fort  George Indian  Ter. Western. , 

Babines Indian  Ter Western . . 

Connolly  Lake Indian  Ter Western. . 


.  New  Caledonia.  | 
.  New  Caledonia.  I 
.Now  Caledonia.  Vl2,000 
.  New  Caledonia.  I 
.  New  Caledonia.  | 
.New  Caledonia./ 


Though  official,  this  is  by  no  means  a  complete  list  of  the  forts  on  the 
Pacific,  but  it  may  include  all  in  active  operation  at  that  time.  At  Honolulu 
was  a  post,  and  some  time  previouslv  there  had  been  one  at  San  Francisco. 
In  New  Caledonia  north  and  east  of  Kamloops  were  Forts  WiUiam,  Carry, 
and  Abcrcrombio,  not  mentioned  in  the  list,  not  to  mention  Wrangell  or 
Stikeen.  Mr  Stuart,  one  of  the  first  to  cross  the  mountains  with  a  view  to 
occupation,  in  his  Autograph  Notes  given  by  Mr  Anderson  in  his7/M<.  North- 
west Coast,  MS.,  234-rt,  applies  the  term  Western  Caledonia  to  'the  whoU 


4 


n 


■I' 


OFFICERS  AND  SERVANTS. 


449 


n 


In  the  several  fur  companies  there  were  various 
grades  of  office  and  service.  In  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  if  we  except  the  London  governor  and 
directors,  there  were  nine;  in  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany, seven.  Of  the  former  there  were,  first,  a  local 
governor,  residing  in  America,  having  his  head-quar- 
ters first  at  Prince  of  Wales  Fort,  afterward  at  York 
Factory,  and  later  at  Fort  Garry,  witli  jurisdiction 
over  all  the  establishments  of  the  company;  second, 
chief  factors,  who  might  have  charge  of  a  department 
or  of  a  factory,  supplying  the  lessor  forts  of  a  district ; 
third,  chief  traders,  usually  in  charge  of  some  single 
but  important  post;  fourth,  chief  clerks,  who  arc  sent 
with  a  crew  of  voyageurs  on  frequent  expeditions  or 
placed  in  charge  of  minor  posts;  fifth,  apprenticod 
clerks,  a  kind  of  forest  midshipmen,  raw  lads  fresh 
from  home  or  school,  full  of  fun,  spiced  with  mischief, 
who  write,  keep  store,  and  attend  their  seniors;  sixth, 
postmasters,  usually  laborers  promoted  for  good  be- 
havior to  the  rank  of  gentlemen,  and  often  placed  in 
charge  of  a  small  station  or  outpost;  seventh,  inter- 
preters, generally  laborers  with  a  smattering  of  the 
native  dialects  of  their  vicinity;  eighth,  voyageurs,  or 
boatmen;  ninth,  laborers,  employed  in  various  ways, 
as  in  chopping,  carrying,  mending,  trapping,  fishing, 

of  that  tract  westward  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific,  extending  from 
the  Columbia  River  until  it  intersects  that  ideal  line  that  is  supjwsed  to 
divide  the  Pacific  from  the  Frozen  O&san.'  '  But  surely  you  are  not  serious,' 
exclaimed  Mr  Anderson  once  in  reply.  'Western  Caledonia,  properly  speak- 
ing, is  the  tract  of  country  occupied  by  the  Tacully  or  Carrier  tnbo,  and  tho 
district  of  New  Caledoria,  our  commercial  division  of  the  country.'  Again, 
the  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  has  been  denominated  tho  western 
department.  'The  whole  trading  territory,'  writes  Mr  Finlayaon  in  his 
Vancouver  [aland  and  Northicest  Const,  MS.,  88-9,  'was  divided  into  four  de- 
partments, namely,  Montreal,  the  southern,  tho  northern,  and  the  western. 
There  were  four  chief  factors  for  each.  These  departments  were  constituted 
districts,  each  commanded  by  chief  traders  and  clerks.  There  were  sixteen 
chief  factors  and  thirty-two  chief  traders  in  all.  All  districts  west  of  tho 
Rocky  Mountains  made  up  the  western  department,  which  was  under  tlio 
direction  of  one  man,  who  again  was  subject  to  the  governor  of  all  the  de- 
partments.' Evidently  the  terms  district  and  department  are  here  loosely 
used.  Some  called  the  territory  traded  in  by  each  fort  a  district.  Thus  Mr 
Finlayson  remarks,  '  Nisqually  extended  from  tho  Chehalis  River  to  Whidbey 
Island;  Langleyfrom  Whidbey  Island  to  M'i"".ink  Sound;  McLoughlin  from 
the  latter  to  Skeena  River ;  Simpson  from  tho  Skceua  to  tliu  Russian  boundary 
of  Alaska.  These  were  the  trading  allotments. ' 
lIiBi.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    '29 


t  fill ; 


.;  1 


■I'i. 


460 


THE  FUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


rough  carpentering,  blacksmithing,  or  boat-building. 
The  laborer  could  not  rise  higher  than  postmaster,  while 
the  apprenticed  clerk  might  become  chief  factor,  or  even 
governor.  Five  years  of  intelligent,  faithful  service 
entitled  the  apprentice  to  a  clerkship,  and  after  from 
ten  to  twenty  years'  further  service  he  became  chief 
trader,  who  was  a  half  shareholder,  and  in  a  few 
years  thereafter  chief  factor  or  shareholder.  Speak- 
ing generally,  the  chief  factor  directed  the  affairs  of 
the  company,  and  the  chief  trader,  acting  under  the 
chief  factor,  managed  traffic  with  the  natives. 

The  systems  of  the  Northwest,  Pacific,  and  other 
large  companies  were  essentially  the  same,  except  the 
highest  office,  which  instead  of  being  that  of  gov- 
ernor was  vested  in  a  board  of  partners,  or  proprietors. 
The  commander  of  a  fort  or  district  was  often  called 
governor,  while  the  term  partner  took  the  place  of 
both  chief  factor  and  chief  trader.  Likewise  some 
of  the  inferior  places,  such  as  apprenticed  clerk,  post- 
master, and  interpreter,  were  not  formally  recognized. 
The  compensation  of  the  higher  officers  was  partly 
salary  cind  partly  commissions.  Clerks  and  all  lesser 
servants  received  only  their  wages,  without  any  par- 
ticipation in  the  profits.  Wages  greatly  varied  with 
time  and  place.  Laborers  received  from  ten  to  thirty 
pounds  a  year,  seventeen  pounds  being  the  usual 
rate.  Apprenticed  clerks  began  usually  with  twenty 
pounds;  apprenticeship  ended,  their  salary  was  raised 
to  one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  and 
board.  The  returns  of  a  chief  trader  were  from  four 
hundred  to  eight  hundred  pounds,  while  the  chief 
factor  usually  realized  from  eight  hundred  to  fifteen 
hundred  pounds  per  annum.  Umfreville  complains  of 
the  petty  tyranny  often  exercised  by  the  governor 
of  a  fort.  Such  a  governor  was  appointed  for  three  or 
five  years  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds, 
with  a  percentage  on  the  amount  of  business  done. 
In  his  day,  1790,  servants  were  treated  scarcely  as 
men,  receiving  but  six  pounds  a  year,  and  this  pit- 


I 


■m 


INTERNAL  REGULATIONS. 


451 


tance  was  often  withheld  on  account  of  bad  behavior. 
A  tailor  in  those  days  was  paid  eight  pounds  per  an- 
num. Apprenticed  clerks  then  began  on  ten  pounds, 
and  were  advanced  at  long  intervals  to  fifteen,  twenty- 
five,  and  forty  pounds  per  annum.  It  was  in  the  en- 
listment and  treatment  of  servants  that  the  pe-^ect 
absolutism  of  the  S3'^stem  was  manifest.  During  Jl 
the  long  journey  from  apprenticeship  to  chief-trader- 
ship  the  employes  were  called  the  company's  servants ; 
common  laborers  might  seldom  aspire  to  that  honor. 

Of  the  servants  of  the  Northwest  and  Hudson's 
Bay  companies  full  three  fourths  were  Scotch  high- 
landers  and  Orkney  men.  There  were  a  few  Irish- 
men, and  fewer  English.  Voyageurs  and  laborers 
were  composed  largely  of  French  Canadians  and  half- 
breeds.  Iji  1835  there  were  but  two  chief  factors 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  John  McLoughlin  and 
Duncan  Finlayson,  above  whom  in  the  organization 
stood  alone  the  local  governor  in  Canada  and  the  gov- 
ernor and  board  of  directors  in  London. 

Chief  factors  were  ex  officio  members  of  the  council, 
seven  of  whom  with  the  governor  formed,  a  quorum. 
Norway  House  was  their  place  of  meeting  during  the 
first  half  of  the  present  century,  and  their  delibera- 
tions were  strictly  private.  In  1 857  there  was  one  seat 
of  council  for  the  northern  departments  at  Norway 
House,  and  another  for  the  southern  at  Moose  Fac- 
tory. The  chief  factors  failing  in  their  attendance, 
chief  traders  were  admitted  to  council  to  make  up  a 
quorum. 

At  all  the  principal  stations  of  all  the  great  com- 
panies a  local  council  sat  every  year  to  appoint  mas- 
ters of  posts  and  apportion  the  various  duties;  but 
none  of  less  rank  than  bourgeois,  partner,  or  share- 
holder were  admitted  except  by  special  invitation. 
Then  trembled  all  outside  the  doors.  It  was  the 
policy  of  the  company  to  change  the  places  of  their 
servants  frequently,  thus  breaking  up  any  irregular 
prisctices  which  they  might  easily  have  fallen  into  in 


i- ;  ■'! 


i 


:  i. 


i.i 


4n 


THE  FUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


their  isolation,  and  during  these  solemn  deliberations 
the  unpopular  or  shiftless  were  sure  to  have  given 
them  some  distant  or  disagreeable  business.  The 
council  had  power  to  reprimand,  mulct  by  penalties, 
or  suspend  any  subordinate.  Offenders  were  some- 
times tried  before  a  fort  governor,  chief  traders  or 
clerks  appearing  on  either  side  as  counsel. 

A  deed  poll  executed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany the  Gth  of  June  1834,  following  that  of  the 
26tli  of  March  1821,  more  particularly  prescribed  the 
duties  of  chief  factors  and  chief  traders,  and  regulated 
the  inner  workings  of  the  material  composing  tho 
organization.  All  traffic  for  personal  profit  was  strictly 
prohibited.  Umfreville  says  in  his  da}'^,  1780-90,  any 
one  taking  service  must  before  embarking  send  his 
box  to  the  Hudson  Bay  House,  there  to  be  examined, 
lest  it  should  contain  articles  used  in  private  trade; 
and  should  the  subordinate  happen  to  have  a  fevv- 
more  shirts  or  socks  than  were  deemed  necessary,  tho 
surplus  was  taken  from  him.  So  on  his  discharge,  not 
only  his  effects  but  his  person  was  carefully  examined, 
lest  he  should  purloin  a  scrap  of  fur. 

A  factor  or  trader  after  wintering  three  years  in 
the  country  might  retire  with  his  full  share  of  profits 
for  one  year,  and  half  profits  for  four  years.  Three 
factors  and  two  traders  might  have  leave  of  absence 
for  one  year.  Wintering  five  years  in  the  field  en- 
titled the  factor  or  trader  to  half  profits  for  six  years. 
Three  factors,  or  two  factors  and  two  traders,  might 
annually  retire  in  rotation.  The  legal  representative 
of  a  deceased  ofiicer  was  entitled  to  the  same  profits 
as  would  have  accrued  to  such  person  if  living. 

Obedience  was  the  main  duty  of  the  subordinate; 
after  that  intelligence  and  energy  were  profitable. 
Enlistment  was  for  three  or  five  years,  during  which 
term  every  hour  of  the  day  and  night  belonged  to  the 
company.  All  must  stand  ready  to  do  soldier's  duty 
at  any  moment,  and  the  servant  was  always  to  defend 


mn 


it' 


BOUND  SERVANTS. 


453 


yom- 


the  company's  officers  and  property  with  his  life.  For 
the  traffic  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  a  class  of 
servants  were  articled  in  Canada  who  were  to  be 
returned  to  the  place  of  enlistment  on  the  expiration 
of  a  term  which  was  equivalent,  after  deduction  for 
going  and  returning,  to  two  and  a  half  years'  actual 
service  in  a  three  years'  engagement. 

With  provisions,  the  company  kindly  furnished  its 
servants  with  wives  who,  with  their  children,  in  re- 
turn for  what  they  ate  must  perform  certain  light 
labor  in  the  field  or  garden,  if  such  existed,  or  else- 
where, as  prescribed.  Should  a  servant  desire  a  year's 
absence  before  the  expiration  of  his  term,  he  must 
give  a  yeiir's  notice,  and  afterward  make  good  his 
lost  time  at  his  original  wa<;es.  While  undergfoinsr 
soldier's  duty  he  was  entitled  to  a  new  uniform  every 
two  years.  Should  he  desire  to  remain  in  the  country 
after  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  engagement,  he 
might  do  so  provided  his  past  behavior  had  been  good 
and  the  company  offered  no  objection;  in  which  case 
fifty  acres  of  land  were  set  apart,  for  the  use  of 
which  he  must  render  annually  twenty-eight  days' 
service  for  seven  years,  the  company  reserving  the 
right  to  expatriate  him  at  any  moment  before  or 
afterward.  For  disobedience,  desertion,  or  neglect 
of  duty,  forfeiture  of  wages  was  the  usual  penalty. 
With  such  a  pittance  of  pay  the  servant  was  almost 
always  in  debt  for  advances;  this,  together  with  family 
attachments  which  by  no  means  increased  his  capital, 
and  the  arbitrary  conditions  of  his  enlistment,  left  him 
little  better  than  the  chattel  of  the  company. 

Laborers  in  peace,  soldiers  in  times  of  danger,  they 
were  subject  to  their  masters  without  protection  or 
appeal.  Not  that  they  were  badly  treated :  they  were 
dimply  bound. 

There  was  never  any  hope  of  independence  for 
them  or  for  their  children;  there  was  no  such  thing 
as  establishing  themselves  in  business  in  that  region 
after  their  term  of  servitude  should  have  expired. 


ri1ri 


THE  PUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 

No  feudal  system  ever  bound  more  absolutely  serf  to 
baron." 

It  was  an  admirable  system,  in  its  way,  that  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  during  its  later  years,  and 
admirably  executed:  very  different  from  that  of  the 
chivalrous  and  mettlesome  Northwest  Company,  as  wo 
shall  presently  see,  but  calm,  correct,  dignified,  me- 
thodical, and,  though  composed  chiefly  of  Scotchmen, 
like  its  great  rival,  more  English  than  the  Canada 
Company  in  its  adherence  to  traditional  business  forms 
and  ethics.  So  complete  was  its  machinery  that  every 
transaction,  no  matter  how  insignificant,  passed  in 

"The  term  'governor  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  senrtce  was  meicy 
an  honorary  title  conferred  by  virtue  of  being  the  senior  chief  factor.  Then 
there  was  a  board  of  governors  that  met  at  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  house 
at  Lachine,  to  whom  all  these  American  posts  reported ;  and  then  there  was 
a  board  of  governors  in  London  that  ranked  there,  and  to  whom  the  entire 
business  was  submitted.'  Ei'aiin,  in  Olympia  Club  Conver Motions,  MS.,  20.  The 
governor  and  council  had  no  legislative  power ;  they  could  regulate  their  own 
affairs  only,  but  they  took  good  care  that  there  should  be  no  atTairs  but  theirs 
in  the  territory.  All  factors  considered  themselves  under  their  commissions  aa 
magistrates.  Sir  George  Simpson,  in  House  of  Commons  Itept.  H.  B.  Co.,  61-7. 
£.  KUicc,  id. ,  3*29,  states  that  the  governors  and  council  watched  ciiref ully 
the  morals  of  the  young  men  in  their  charge,  who  were  carefully  selecte<l 
from  good  families  at  home.  If  by  morals  he  means  not  appropriating  the 
company's  time,  furs,  or  liquors,  then  were  these  governors  patterns  of  moral 
instruction.  If  by  chicanery  or  debasement  the  company's  interests  could 
be  best  served,  as  in  taking  to  themselves  native  women  or  selling  to  the 
natives  rum,  then  the  governors  did  not  hesitate  boldly  to  proclaim  im- 
morality to  the  young  men  as  the  best  morality.  Both  Sir  James  Douglas, 
Private  Papers,  MS. ,  Ist  series,  80-2,  and  Tolmie,  Ilist.  Puget  Souml,  MS. ,  50-7, 
give  interesting  details  respecting  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  material  and 
management.  Says  Mr  Finlayson,  Vancouver  Island  and  Northwest  Cotvtt, 
MS.,  35-7,  90:  '  The  system  of  the  H.  B.  Co.,  after  the  coalition,  was  to  hire 
young  men  as  clerks.  They  got  £20  for  the  first  year,  £25  for  the  second, 
£30  for  the  third,  £40  for  the  fourth,  £50  for  the  fifth.  If  they  behaved 
satisfactorily  then  £75  per  annum  was  given  for  a  term  of  three  years.  This 
again  was  increased  to  £100  per  year.  The  clerk  was  after  this  supposed  to 
be  a  head  or  finished  clerk,  capable  of  taking  charge  of  a  post,  to  bo  head 
accountant,  etc.  And  on  merit  he  was  made  a  chief  trader  or  a  chief  factor. 
The  profits  of  the  company  were  composed  of  100  shares,  after  all  payments 
had  been  made ;  85  shares  of  this  100  were  appropriated  to  the  traders  on  the 
coast,  the  balance  was  appropriated  to  a  pension  fund  for  the  disabled.  A  chief 
factor  got  two  eighty-fifths  of  the  profits,  and  a  chief  trader  got  one  eighty- 
fifth.  The  accounts  were  closed  on  the  1st  of  June  every  year.  We  got  a 
retired  interest  for  six  years  and  one  year's  furlough,  or  my  representative 
would  get  it,  The  whole  of  the  profits  were  divided  into  tenths ;  four-tenths 
went  to  pay  the  partners  here,  and  six-tentlis  to  pay  the  partners  in  England, 
the  London  stockholders.  These  four-tenths  were  divided  into  100  shares. 
Generally  speaking  two  clerks  were  kept  at  each  post  of  trading ;  this  was  in 
case  of  sickness  or  for  defensive  purposes.'  See  also  Evans,  Hist.  Or.,  MS., 
163-7;  Rat/nal,  Hist.  Phil.,  xii.  504;  Umfrevilk's  Hudson's  Bay,  113-23. 


mi 


the 
and 
tho 


HUDSON'8  BAY  COMPANY'S  STOCK.  M 

regular  course  from  grade  to  grade,  from  its  origin  in 
the  wilderness  to  its  result  in  a  shareholder's  pocket. 

The  original  stock  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
was  £10,500.  Notwithstanding  losses  by  tho  French 
amounting  to  £118,014  in  1G84  and  in  jGSS,  tlicro 
were  dividends  of  fifty  per  cent.,  and  in  1089  a  divi- 
dend of  twenty-five  per  cent.  In  I  GOO  the  stoclc  was 
trebled,  and  a  dividend  of  twenty-five  per  cent,  de- 
clared on  the  new  stock.  From  1G92  to  1G97  there 
was  further  loss  by  the  French  of  £97,500,  but  in 
1720  they  had  so  far  recovered  as,  with  a  call  of  ton 
per  cent.,  to  again  treble  their  capital  stock,  making  it 
now  £94,500.  After  this  for  many  years  their  divi- 
dends averaged  nine  per  cent.;  and  during  a  period  of 
one  Imndred  and  ten  years,  that  is  to  say  from  1G90 
to  1800,  there  was  a  profit  on  the  original  stock  sub- 
scribed of  between  sixty  and  seventy  per  cent,  per 
annum.  Then  it  was  voted  to  add  three  times  as  much 
by  subscription;  each  subscriber  actually  paying  £100 
to  receive  stock  valued  at  £300,  making  the  nominal 
stock  £378,000,  the  money  paid  on  the  last  watering  of 
£283,500  being  £3150.  In  1821,  crippled  in  it.^  wars 
with  the  Northwest  Company,  £100  on  each  sharo 
was  called,  making  the  stock  £200,000.  Between 
1800  and  1821  profits  were  small,  sometimes  four  per 
cent.,  sometimes  nothing.  The  Northwest  Company 
estimated  theirs  at  the  same  figures,  so  that  the  stock 
of  the  combined  companies  was  £400,000.  A  sinking 
fund  of  ten  per  cent,  on  £200,000  had  been  set  aside 
by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  oppose  the  North- 
west Company  in  their  operations  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains. 

But  this  was  only  the  beginning  of  great  things. 
After  a  breathing  spell  of  quiet  monopoly  for  a  quarter 
century  we  find  in  1847  dividends  on  stock  valued  at 
£400,000  ranging  ^r  >m  ten  to  twenty  per  cent.,  whilo 
the  market  value  oi  the  shares  was  from  two  hundred 
to  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  per  cent,  premium. 


1* 


h\i\. 


466 


THE  FUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


Another  inflation,  as  laid  before  the  select  comraitteo 
of  the  House  of  Commons  in  185G,  raises  the  stock 
to  £1,205,067  19s.  4d.  Two  thirds  of  those  who  were 
then  proprietors  had  paid  for  their  stock  from  two 
hundred  and  twenty  to  two  hundred  and  forty  per  cent. 

The  colonization  scheme  in  18G3  of  tuo  Interna- 
tional Financial  Society  Limited,  wliich  announced 
itself  ready  to  receive  subscriptions  for  the  issue  at 
par  of  capital  stock  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
afforded  an  opportunity  to  raise  the  stock  of  the  cor- 
poration to  £2,000,000,  to  float  which  £1,930,000  of  it 
was  offered  in  twenty-pound  shares,  value  being  based 
on  1,400,000  square  miles  or  890,000,000  acres  of 
land  belonging  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which 
modest  pretension  brings  a  return  in  ten  years  of 
£81,000,  being  more  than  four  per  cent,  on  the 
£2,000,000. 

In  1789  there  were  in  the  employ  of  the  company, 
if  we  include  seventy-five  seamen  who  navigated  the 
two  ships  and  one  sloop  annually  each  way,  which 
then  constituted  the  ocean  service,  three  hundred  and 
fifteen  men."  In  1840  there  were  five  hundred  and 
thirteen  articled  men  and  fifty-five  officers,  which  with 
a  net-work  of  trading  routes  between  posts  extending 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  gave  them  not  only 
extraordinary  influence  with  the  natives,  and  the  trade 
monopoly  of  the  north-west,  but  the  actual  domina- 
tion of  those  regions,  religious,  political,  and  social. 
In  1850  the  affairs  of  one  hundred  and  fifty- two 
establishments  were  managed  by  a  governor,  sixteen 
chief  factors,  and  twenty-nine  chief  traders,  assisted 
by  five  surgeons,  eighty-seven  clerks,  sixty-seven  post- 
masters, five  hundred  voyageurs,  and  twelve  hundred 
permanent  servants,  besides  sailors  on  sea-going  vessels 
and  persons  temporarily  employed — about  three  thou- 
sand men  in  all.    At  the  time  of  the  final  expiration 


'*  With  characteristic  ireedom  of  expression,  Raynal,  Hist.  Phil.,  xii.  5P4, 
reduced  the  number  in  1812  to  14G :  'Mais  on  n'y  comptait  en  1812  qu'environ 
cent  qiiaiaiite-six  persouncs,  toutes  attach(5ea  au  bervice  dc  cette  compagnie,' 


FURS  AND  rKLTUY. 


m 


of  its  rights  there  wore  two  hundred  and  tliirty-nino 
proprietors,  representing'  a  capital  of  £-400,000,  affairs 
being  administered  by  directors  in  London  elected  by 
a  general  a.ssend)ly.  In  1839  a  regular  court  of  jus- 
tice for  the  territory  was  established  at  lied  River; 
and  later  on  Vancouver  Island  a  special  court  adniin- 
istered  justice.  Parliamentary  sti|iul;itions  rofpiired 
the  arrest  of  murderers,  who  with  the  testimony  were 
to  be  sent  to  Canada.  All  mim»r  ofiences  oflicors  might 
punish,  and  practically  there  was  no  appeal." 

The  terms  fur  and  peltry  are  often  employed  synon- 
ymously, although,  strictly  speaking,  iiirs  are  the 
dressed  and  peltries  tlio  undressed  skins.  Narrowed 
yet  further  in  definition,  peltry  includes  only  skins  cov- 
ered with  3hort  hair,  such  as  buffalo,  dotjr,  and  elk,  but 
the  original  technical  signification  is  now  well  riiffh 
lost  in  the  popular  one.  Color,  thickness,  fineness,  and 
lenjxth  of  hair  all  exercise  an  influence  in  determininj; 
values.     Supply  also  affects  price;  for  example,  one 

"  Tho  West  minster  Review,  July  1807.  gives  a  concise  histoiy  of  tlio  llud- 
Bon's  Bay  Company,  under  tlio  title  The  Laxt  Great  Monopoly.  On  pages  405-70, 
Gret'nhow'n  Or.  and  Cal.,  aro  given:  1.  Extracts  from  tlio  royul  cliurter  to  tlio 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  2.  An  act  for  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  courts 
in  Canada.  3.  An  act  for  regulating  the  fur-trade.  4  anil  ">.  Crown  grants 
of  exclusive  trade  to  tho  Hudson's  Bay  Company  after  its  amalgamation  with 
tho  Northwest  Company.  For  copy  of  royal  charter  of  1070  and  crown  grant 
of  18.37  see  Iloitse  of  C'ommom  I'ept.  Ilmaon'ii  JJa;/  Co.,  408-10,  and  Martin'* 
JIudaoii's  Bay,  lol-iio.  A  largo  part  of  Fitzgerald's  Exumination  of  the  CItarlvr 
nnil  Proceedings  of  the  Ilud/iou'a  Bay  Co.  is  devoted  to  arguments  against  the 
corporation.  Likewise  in  Home  of  Commowt  Uept.  lliuhon's  Ban  ^'^-i  380-7, 
in  the  testimony  of  Mr  MacDonell,  may  be  found  opinions  regarding  claims 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  their  rights  under  charter,  showing  that 
the  charter  'cannot  confer  upon  tho  Hudson^  Bay  Company  those  powers  and 
privileges  which  they  assume  to  exercise  under  it.'  On  paMs  417-19,  id.,  is 
a  copy  of  a  letter  from  Mr  Polly,  governor  of  the  Hudsc  n's  Bay  Company,  to 
Lord  Glenelg,  applying  for  a  renewal  of  tho  grant.  See  also  Evans'  Hist.  Or., 
MS.,  101-3;  UmfrevUlc'ii  lluihon')!  Bay,  1-0;  Martin's  Hudson's  Bay,  ^H-l; 
Dohhs'  Hudson's  Buy,  1-122;  Mayne' s  British  Col.,  110-17;  Richardson's  Polar 
Rations,  112-13;  A  Few  Wurdi  on  the  Hudson's  Bail  Company,  3;  Horetzb/'s 
Canadaon  the  Pacific,  81-2;  Pnrkn-'s  Ex.  Tour,  187-8;  Gray's  Hist.  Dr.,  33, 
43-5,  89-90;  British  North  Am.,  255-0;  IVilkes'  ^W.,  iv.  9;  Ross'  Red  River 
Settlement,  2-7;  Waddinyton's  Eraser  River,  29-35;  Victor's  River  of  the  West, 
27;  Hines'  LI/e,3Si;  frvlny's  Astoria,  5\l ;  Dunn's  Or.,  vii.  xy.;  Cox's  Adv., 
ix.-xx.;  Farnham's  7'ravcls,  454;  Tache's  Sketch,  02.  According  to  a  state- 
ment of  the  Northwest  Company,  Narr  live  of  Occurrences,  3,  just  prior  to 
the  beginning  of  the  Red  River  settlement  in  1811  Hudson  ]iay  stock  'had 
fallen  from  250  per  cent,  to  between  50  and  CO  in  consequence  of  misfortune 
or  mismanagement  of  their  affairs. ' 


ti 


^l 

458 


THE  FUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


of  the  most  difficult  animals  to  trap  is  the  silver  fox, 
and  the  skin  is  correspondingly  high,  being  woith 
from  fifty  to  seventy-five  dollars.  I  have  seen  it  stated 
that  thirty  guineas  are  often  paid  for  the  skin  of  the 
black  fox,  the  price  of  which  diminishes  with  the  pres- 
ence of  white  hairs.  The  ermine  is  a  costly  fur;  and 
after  it  the  sable,  sea-otter,  beaver,  and  seal.  These 
last  mentioned  were  all  caught  in  steel  or  wooden 
traps,  while  deei'  and  bufialoes  were  shot  or  snared  by 
the  natives." 

Notwithstanding  the  immense  business  transacted, 
the  constant  buying  of  furs,  and  tho  selling  of  various 
commodities  from  different  parts  of  the  world,  in  the 
dealings  of  the  fur  companies  with  their  servants  as 
well  as  with  the  aborigines,  no  gold,  silver,  notes ;  or 
other  circulating  medium  known  ac  money  was  em- 
ployed." 

"'American  ermine  and  sable  were  less  esteemed  than  .ome  others.  Rus- 
sian sable  was  regarded  the  best,  and  next  to  it  that  of  thu  European  n^arten, 
while  the  American,  which  is  obtained  from  the  dark  brown  and  olivis  coloi-ed 
marten,  ranks  third.  The  ermine  of  the  eastern  continent  is  re]>resente<l 
by  the  inferior  fur  of  the  American  stoat.  Otter  have  been  nearly  extBrmi- 
nated,  except  in  British  North  America;  such  is  the  case  with  the  bfaver,  the 
pontic  of  the  Romans.  Seals  have  also  suffered  much  from  tho  merciless 
raids  of  all-devouring  man.  The  present  total  yield  is  only  about  100,000, 
about  two  thirds  of  which  come  from  Alaska,  where  ^he  Unitevl  8tatR» 
government  has  very  properly  placed  restrictions  upon  the  catch.  Tha 
monopoly  of  the  fishe-y  there  is  held  by  the  Alaska  Commercial.  Com.ijany, 
which  han  twenty  trading-posts  on  the  continent  and  islands. 

"  Usually  a  beaver  kin  was  made  the  standard,  and  all  other  vp.lues, 
European  merchandise,  as  well  as  other  skins,  were  measured  by  it.  Thus  at 
Albany  Fort,  Moose  River,  and  East  Main  in  1733  with  tlie  skin  of  one  fuli- 
grown  beaver  a  native  could  buy  half  a  pound  of  beads,  or  one  pound  of  Brazil 
tobacco,  orhaU  a  pound  of  thread.  A  gallon  of  brandy  cost  four  beavcr-Hkins; 
broadcloth,  two  beaver-skins  a  yp.rd ;  blankets,  six  beaver-skins  each ;  hand- 
kerchiefs, one  and  a  half  beaver-skins  each ;  powder,  one  and  a  half  pounds, 
and  of  shot  five  pounds  for  a  beaver-skin ;  and  so  on  through  a  long  list,  the 
quantity  of  goods  given  for  a  beaver-skin  greatly  varying  according  to  remote- 
ness and  competition.  Also  at  the  time  and  place  last  mentioned,  tb"  le  mar- 
tens were  counted  as  one  beaver ;  likewise  one  fox,  one  moose,  two  deer,  one 
wolf,  ten  pounds  of  feathers,  one  black  bear,  were  coch  equivalent  to  one 
beaver.  At  this  time  beavcr-skms  were  selling  in  Loudon  at  five  or  six  shil 
lings  a  ponnd ;  marten,  eight  shillings  each ;  otter,  six  sbil'ings ;  bear,  sixteen 
shillings;  fox,  from  six  to  ten  shillings;  elk,  seven  shillings;  deer,  two  shil- 
lings ;  wolf,  fifteen  shillings ;  and  wolverene,  eight  shillmgs  each.  A  hundre«J 
years  later  at  Fort  Macphorson  we  find  a  blanket  worth  ten  bcaver-skins ;  a 
gun,  twenty;  a  worsted  belt,  two;  eighteen  bullets,  one  beaver-skin.  The 
Ain  coat  twenty -two  shillings,  .and  the  twenty  beaver-skins  were  then  worth 
in  London  £32  10s.  A  gill  of  por.'der  costuig  on>-  and  a  half  pence,  or  a  scalp- 
ing knife  costing  fourponcc,  or  a  dozen  brass  biutons,  were  exchanged  for  ono 


iiffp 


THE  ANNUAL  VESSELS. 


459 


The  trading  license  of  1838  extended  the  absolute 
power  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  over  the  whole 
of  the  region  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  covered 
by  these  volumes,  and  known  as  the  Northwest  Coast. 
Within  this  domain  were  twenty-one  of  the  company's 
establishments,  twelve  of  which  were  in  the  Oregon 
Territory  as  prescribed  by  treaty  of  June  15,  184G, 
at  which  time  the  company  employed  one  thousand 
men  on  the  Pacific  slope  alone. 

To  supply  the  coast  with  goods  and  carry  away 
furs,  fish,  and  other  returns,  one  or  two  well  laden  ships 
arrived  annually  from  England  at  Fort  Vancouver 
or  later  at  Victoria.^  The  cargoes  when  placed  in 
store  were  at  once  divided  into  three  classes,  and 
prices  established.  The  first  class  comprised  knives, 
tobacco,  and  other  articles  intended  for  gratuities  to 
natives,  for  it  had  been  ascertained  that  a  present 

beaver-skin  worth  £1  128.  6d.  An  axe  now  sold  for  three  skins,  a  file  for  two, 
and  a  pair  of  pantaloons  costing  four  dollars  for  nine  skins  worth  seventy  dollars. 
Blankets  were  sometimes  employed  as  a  standard  of  value,  as  also  was  tobacco. 
Russell,  Hist.  Am.,  ii.  263,  speaking  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  trado  in 
1788,  says  that  '  Ten  beaver  skins  are  nsually  given  for  a  common  musket; 
two  for  a  pound  of  powder;  one  for  fonr  pounds  of  shot;  ono  for  a  liatchct; 
one  for  six  knives ;  two  for  a  pound  of  glass-beads ;  six  for  a  cloth  coat ;  livo 
for  a  petticoat,  and  one  for  a  pound  of  snuff.  Com'^s,  looking-glasses,  brandy, 
and  all  other  articles  are  in  proportion ;  and  as  beaver  is  the  common  measure  of 
exchange,  by  another  regulation,  as  unjust  as  the  former,  two  otter  skins  and 
three  martins,  are  required  instead  of  one  beaver;  whereas  each  of  these,  when 
fine,  aro  more  than  equal  to  a  beaver. '  According  to  J.  Rae,  in  his  evidence 
before  the  House  of  Commous  committee,  liept.  Hudson's  Ba>/  Co.  1S57,  3.3-4, 
'A  blanket  was  four  beavers,  but  if  you  got  the  value  of  it  in  musk-rats  j'ou 
would  not  have  above  a  shilling  or  two  profit,  which  would  not  cover  the 
expense.  Ten  rata  go  for  a  beaver.  Ten  rats,  a  few  3'eara  ago,  would  sell  in 
the  London  market  for  about  3s;  they  are  higher  now.'  '  Tho  tariff  is  fomicd 
in  a  peculiar  way,'  id.,  27,  'and  necessarily  so.  Tho  sums  given  for  furs  do 
not  coincide  with  the  value  of  the  furs  traded  for  with  them,  because  tlio 
musk-rat  or  tho  less  valuable  furs  aro  paid  for  at  a  higher  rate.  Were  tho 
Company  to  pay  for  the  finer  furs  at  the  same  rate,  the  Indians  would  hunt 
up  the  finer  furs  and  destroy  them  off,  as  haa  been  done  all  along  tho  frontier, 
and  wo  should  then  require  to  reduce  tho  price  for  the  musk-rat  and  the  infe- 
rior furs,  and  tho  Indians  would  not  hunt  them  at  all.' 

'"  Mrs  Harvey  in  her  Life  of  Doctor  2fcLotirjhliii,  MS.,  3,  says  that  after 
the  spring  of  1826,  tlio  first  year  of  her  father's  residence  m  the  country,  a 
ship  from  London  came  into  the  Columbia  every  year.  Mr  Finlayson,  Van- 
couver Island  and  Northwcnt  Coast,  MS.,  37,  states  that  in  1837  tlirco  barks 
performed  tho  service  lietween  England  and  the  Columbia,  ono  outward-bound, 
one  homeward-bound,  and  one  in  reserve  in  the  Columbia.  The  homeward- 
bound  vessel  usually  left  on  the  Istof  November,  and  tho  outward-bound  left 
London  at  the  beginning  of  summer. 


;J  ?  i  i 


i   '        II 


■ 
r 

" 

■f 

1 

1 

J 

i 

1 

r 


460 


THE  FUR-TRADE  UIvDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


would  often  buy  more  than  the  same  article  with  a 
fixed  price.  At  all  events,  no  matter  what  the  dealings 
might  be,  the  savage  desired  a  present,  desired  to  feel, 
if  but  for  a  moment,  that  he  had  obtained  something  for 
nothing;  hence  the  matter  of  gifts  was  an  important 
one.  The  second  class  consisted  of  blankets,  cloth, 
arms  and  ammunition,  .'md  other  articles  employed  ex- 
clusively in  barter.  The  third  class  was  called  Indian 
goods,  and  consisted  of  small  articles,  beads,  paints, 
shirts,  and  handkerchiefs,  used  chiefly  to  purchase 
fish  and  game,  or  to  obtain  some  slight  service  from 
the  natives.  The  dedication  of  the  several  articles  to 
the  prescribed  purpose  was  by  no  means  strictly  ad- 
hered to,  particularly  at  the  less  important  posts ;  but 
such  was  the  general  plan  of  the  traffic. 

The  price  placed  upon  goods  at  Fort  Vancouver  was 
never  changed,  except  on  the  arrival  of  a  ship  from 
Boston;  nor  did  the  rate  at  which  furs  were  received 
vary.  In  the  absence  of  opposition  no  necessity  ex- 
isted for  chaffering.  Through  an  aperture  like  that 
of  a  post-office  delivery,  the  Indian  having  furs  for 
sale  passed  them  to  a  clerk  within,  who  in  like  manner 
returned  their  value  in  the  merchandise  desired.  When 
settlers  began  to  arrive,  those  of  them  who  desired  to 
purchase  goods  must  do  so  through  the  superintendent 
or  commander,  who  gave  him  an  order  for  the  articles 
required. 

At  the  interior  posts  there  was  less  dignified  for- 
mality, and  more  freedom  of  manner.  First  of  all,  the 
Indian  would  have  rum  if  he  could  get  it.  If  this 
was  furnished,  a  debauch  was  always  preliminary  to 
business.  Frequently  the  shrewd  savage  before  this 
indulgence  would  set  aside  a  portion  of  his  furs  for  a 
gun,  another  for  blankets,  or  ammunition,  or  tobacco, 
or  knives,  or  cloth,  or  whatever  might  be  his  absolute 
needs,  reckoned  when  sober,  and  spend  the  remainder 
with  a  clear  conscience  for  the  comfort  and  fascination 
of  intoxication.  The  natives  understood  thoroughly 
the  nature  and  value  to  them  of  competitive  traffic. 


-rrrr 


METHOD  OF  TRAFFIC. 


m 


Of  course  the  company  did  all  in  its  power  to  prevent 
the  coming  of  United  States  traders,  and  their  system 
of  advances  materially  aided  them,  as  it  made  their 
own  the  catch  of  the  trapper  while  yet  the  wild  beasts 
ran  at  large. 

Should  an  officer  or  servant  of  the  company  desiro 
a  skin  for  his  own  use,  he  was  obliged  to  pay  for  it  ten 
per  cent  above  the  -London  price;  and  in  no  case  was 
he  allowed  to  purchase  here  for  a  friend  at  home. 
Though  as  a  rule  the  natives  did  the  hunting,  yet 
servants  were  sometimes  permitted  to  trap  on  Satur- 
day or  Sunday,  in  which  case  they  must  take  their 
catch  to  the  office  and  receive  what  an  Indian  would 

Trade,  though  in  general  uniform  in  its  i;  cthod, 
was  not  without  minor  local  differences.  The  remote 
districts  north  of  the  60th  parallel  were  the  best  liolds. 
Competition  there  was  less,  game  could  be  better  pro- 
tected, and  fur-bearing  animals  be  increased  rather 
than  exterminated.^'"  Hunting  was  done  princiijully 
in  winter,  the  fur  being  then  better;  moreover,  in 
summer  the  animal  rears  its  young.  From  the  various 
forts  and  outposts  the  Hudson  Bay  people  brought 
every  spring  by  means  of  boats  the  furs  collected 
during  winter  to  the  three  principal  depots,  namely, 
Fort  Vancouver  on  the  Columbia,  York  Factory  on 
Hudson  Bay,  and  Moose  Factory  on  James  Bay, 
whence  they  were  shipped  in  the  company's  vessels 
to  London;  hence  on  all  the  lakes  and  streams  that 
interlace  the  broad  domain  held  by  this  association, 
brigades  of  boats  were  passing  and  repassing,  and  as 
compared  to  the  frozen  silence  of  winter  all  was  life 

"  'White  men  only  were  used  as  trappers  in  connection  with  the  southeni 
express.  Tiie  retired  servants  of  the  Company  received  the  same  price  for 
their  furs  as  any  others  and  a  servant  or  employee  was  allowed  to  hunt  at  any 
time.'  Flnloyson's  Vancouver  Island  and  Northxvest  Coast,  MS.,  99.  See  also 
WUkea^  Niir.  U.  S.  Ex.  Exped.,  iv.  320;  Sir  John  Richardson,  in  House  Com- 
mons Kept.  Hudson's  Hay  Co.,  159. 

'■■"I  do  not  believe,'  says  E.  EUice  in  the  House  of  Commons  Kept.  Hud- 
ton's  Hay  Co.,  327,  'that  any  part  of  the  fur  trade  carried  on  by  the  Company 
in  their  southern  posts,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  American  frontier,  is 
in  the  least  profitable. ' 


h 

f 

i' 
; 

i 

t  :■• 


;:  i 


'  I 


I  ' 


r 


462 


THE  FUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


1      ! 


iii:;i 


and  animation.  Later,  Fort  Garry  on  Red  River 
becume  the  centre  of  operations  east  of  the  dividing 
ridge. 

From  most  of  the  principal  forts  trapping  and 
trading  expeditions  were  sent  out  every  autumn,  which 
returned  with  their  catch  the  following  spring  or  sum- 
mer. These  parties  consisted  of  from  five  to  thirty 
natives  with  their  families,  or  were  composed  wholly 
or  in  part  of  half-breeds  or  wliite  men,  sometimes 
under  the  guidance  of  a  servant  or  officer  of  the  com- 
pany, but  as  often  alone,  and  that  after  having  pro- 
cured their  outfit  on  credit.  Two  of  these  parties, 
much  larger  than  those  from  minor  posts,  being  from 
fifty  to  seventy-five  men  each,  set  out  from  Fort  Van- 
couver every  year,  one  proceeding  southward  as  far  as 
San  Francisco  Bay,  the  other  eastward  to  the  region 
round  the  headwaters  of  the  Columbia,  and  the  Col- 
orado.^ 

In  conveying  goods  up  the  Columbia,  and  in  bring- 
ing furs  down  that  stream,  barges,  each  of  five  or  six 
tons  burden,  were  sometimes  employed.  The  boats 
were  manned  by  six  Canadians  or  Iroquois,  and  steered 
by  a  paddle.  Both  boats  and  goods  were  carried  over 
the  portages.  For  two  leaves  of  tobacco  each,  twenty- 
five  natives  would  readily  transfer  the  boats,  large  as 
they  were,  from  one  landing  to  the  other. '^^ 

The  upper  and  interior  posts  were  supplied  from 
Fort  Vancouver,  whence  were  two  annual  departures, 
one  coastwise,  for  which  service  the  company  em- 
ployed first  the  steamer  Beaver  and  afterward  a  larger 

''^  '  There  was  a  chief  factor  for  New  Caledonia,  with  head-quarters  at  Fort 
Jutnes ;  there  was  one  also  for  the  coast  district.  He  was  usually  employed 
in  cruising  between  the  stations  in  the  steamer  Beaver.  Tho  southern  expe- 
ditions were  accompanied  by  a  chief  factor,  as  a  mle ;  Mr.  Ogden  used  to  go 
with  them  very  often.'  Fliilaysoii'n  Vancouver  Island  and  Northwest  Coast, 
MS., 00.  Famham,  Travels,  453-4,  copied  almost  literally  from  Wilkes'  Nar. 
U.  S.  Ex.  Exped.,  iv.  350,  says  they  left  Fort  Vancouver  in  October  and  re- 
turned in  May  or  June ;  that  they  were  permitted  to  take  their  wives  and 
cliildren,  and  that  they  usually  trapped  on  shares.  Where  there  are  so  many 
ways  of  doing  business,  naturally  there  is  some  difference  in  the  remarks  of 
observers. 

'*Finlay8on,  Vancouver  Island  and  Northwest  Coast,  MS.,  80,  says  that  the 
company  built  these  Imrges,  four  of  them,  in  London. 


r--r 


THE  OVERLAND  EXPRESS. 


463 


steamer,  the  Lahouchere,  together  with  five  well  armed 
sailing  vessels  of  from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred 
tons  each,  and  one  for  Fort  James,  on  Stuart  Lake, 
by  way  of  Okanagan,  Colville,  and  Thompson  River. 
The  great  event  of  the  year  was  the  arrival  of  tho 
overland  express,  called  the  Montreal  or  York  Fac- 
tory Brigade.  There  were  several  regular  brigades 
departing  and  arriving  at  Fort  Vancouver,  such  as 
the  Southern  brigade,  the  New  Caledonia  brigade,  etc. 
The  annual  overland  express,  carrying  letters  and 
despatches,  left  Fort  Vancouver  for  York  Factory 
and  Norway  House,  where  the  great  council  met  every 
summer,  about  the  middle  of  March,  in  charge  of  a 
confidential  officer.^  From  the  southern  and  coast 
stations  accounts  had  been  received  and  balances  struck 
at  Fort  Vancouver.  The  brigade  called  at  Walla 
Walla,  Okanagan,  and  Colville  on  its  way  up  the  river, 
thus  saving  those  ports  the  trouble  of  sending  their 
accounts  to  Fort  Vancouver.  Colville,  being  the  last 
important  station  before  reaching  the  mountains,  be- 
came a  sort  of  rendezvous  for  accountants.  Thither 
the  minor  surrounding  forts  sent  their  annual  state- 
ments, and  there  the  commander  of  the  overland  ex- 
press could  strike  his  final  balances.'^^  Several  hundred 
miles  above  Fort  Colville,  at  the  head  of  canoe  navi- 
gation, was  a  place  called  Boat  Encampment.  There 
the  boats  were  taken  from  the  water,  and,  with  super- 
fluous provisions  and  baggage,  cached.  Crossing  the 
mountains  on  snow-shoes,  the  party  took  boats  again 
at  Jasper  House,  on  the  Athabasca  River,  leaving 
them  at  Fort  Assiniboine  to  cross  the  dividing  ridge 
to  Fort  Edmonson,  on  the  Saskatchewan,  whence  boats 
finally  carried  them  to  York  Factory,  on  Hudson  Bay. 
After  a  short  staj-  the  party  returned  by  the  same 

■■•^ James  Douglas  conducted  this  service  for  several  years ;  A.  C.  Anderson 
performed  the  journey  in  1842. 

'^* Colville  was  where  tho  whole  accounts  were  made  up;  they  were  finally 
closed  there  for  York.  The  southern  expeditions  and  northern  expeditions 
used  to  meet  at  Colville  with  the  accounts.  Finlayson'n  Vancouver  Idand 
<ind  Xorthweat  Coast,  MS.,  37-8. 


f     1 

*'l  ! 


^  i   'i 

: ''  ' 


'464 


THE  FUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


route,  reaching  Fort  Vancouver  usually  toward  the 
latter  part  of  October.'^ 

The  New  Caledonia  brigade  plied  between  forts  Van- 
couver and  Alexandria,  Leaving  Fort  Vancouver  in 
April,  supplies  were  carried  up  the  river  in  boats  to 
Fort  Colville,  and  thence  transported  to  Fort  Alex- 
andria in  ninety- pound  bales  on  horses,  one  horse 
carrying  but  two  bales,  while  a  Canadian  voyageur 
woulr*  sometimes  carry  three.  A  large  number  of 
horses  were  kept  at  Alexandria  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  in  furs  from  the  surrounding  posts,  trans- 
porting them  to  Colville  or  Okanagan,  whence  they 
returned  with  supplies,  which  were  in  like  manner  dis- 
tributed to  the  several  posts.^  Dog-sledges  were 
sometimes  employed  ju  this  service  in  winter. 

The  method  of  account  keeping  at  the  Vancouver 
dep6t  will  further  illustrate  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's system.  From  London  each  year  the  com- 
pany's ship  brought  the  jutfit  for  the  third  year 
thereafter,  thus  keeping  regularly  on  hand,  as  a  guard 
against  accidents,  two  years'  supply. 

All  shipments  from  London  to  the  Pacific  coast 
were  charged  to  Fort  Vancouver,  where  full  accounts 
were  kept  both  with  the  London  house  and  with  all 
the  subordinate  posts.  At  Fort  Vancouver  the  outfit 
year  began  the  Ist  of  June.     Then  was  credited  to 

"Anderson,  Hist.  Northwfst  Coast,  MS.,  8-91,  givea  the  beat  account  of 
the  overland  express.  See  also  Tolmie'a  Hist.  Puget  Sound,  MS.,  10-14; 
Finlayson's  Vancouver  Island  and  Northwest  Coast,  MS.,  37;  Harvei/'n  L'tJ'i'. 
of  McLoughlin,  MS.,  4.  Mr  Finlayson  states  that  a  brigade  for  the  east  some- 
times left  Fort  Vancouver  in  the  autumn,  which  met  the  western-bound  ex- 
press at  Boat  Encampment.  The  connections  of  boats  and  horses,  and  all 
routine  connected  with  the  going  and  returning  brigade,  he  asserts  'were 
made  with  the  regularity  of  a  machine.'  Tolmie  says  the  yearly  accounts  of 
goods  received,  furs  purchased,  as  well  as  all  other  receipts  and  expenditures 
at  all  posts  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  were  sent  to  Fort  Vancouver,  where 
the  general  account  was  made  up  and  despatched  by  the  spring  expedition. 
Theoretically  this  was  the  case.  If  the  accountant  in  charge,  to  save  the 
upper  posts  the  trouble  of  sending  their  accounts  down  the  Columbia  some 
hundreds  of  miles,  made  up  his  final  statement  at  Colville,  it  amounted  to 
the  same  as  if  he  had  done  so  at  Fort  Vancouver. 

''  'This  was  previous  to  1849,  when  the  country  was  looked  upon  as  British 
territory.  The  furs  were  deposited  at  Okanagan ;  boats  tlien  came  from  Fort 
Vancouver  to  receive  the  furs,  and  the  horse  brigades  returned  to  Alexandria. ' 
/ilnlaifson'n  Vatuoittvr  /"laml  ami  Xortliwent  Const,  MS.,  G7-8. 


fir 


I,  ; 


BY  THE  CANDLE. 


465 


each  post  or  district  goods  on  hand  the  31st  of  May, 
together  with  returns  in  furs  or  other  articles,  which 
were  estimated  enough  below  London  prices  to  cover 
expenses  of  shipment  and  sale.  This  closed  the  busi- 
ness of  the  outfit  year.  At  the  same  time  were  charged 
the  goods  on  hand  from  the  previous  year,  together 
with  fresh  stock  sent,  after  adding  to  it  thirty-three 
and  a  third  per  cent  to  cover  transportation  expensf  s ; 
also  were  entered  against  the  posts  clerks'  and  ser- 
vants' wages.  The  profit  or  loss  would  then  appear. 
The  details  of  goods  sent  from  liead-quarters  were 
entered  in  transfer  books  A ;  the  details  of  returns,  as 
well  as  of  accounts  between  posts,  in  transfer  books  B. 

Of  the  cost  of  fort-building  no  separate  account  was 
kept,  as  this  labor  was  performed  by  the  company's 
hired  servants.  An  account  was  kept  at  the  Van- 
couver depot  called  General  Charges,  in  which  were 
entered  presents  made  and  provisions  consumed  by 
visitors,  and  their  value,  together  with  all  goods  dis- 
posed of  and  not  otherwise  put  down.  Every  blanket 
and  every  bead  scattered  throughout  this  wilderness 
must  be  accounted  for  to  the  hard-headed  methodical 
managers  in  London,  and  woe  to  the  underling  dere- 
lict in  any  of  these  duties. 

The  trans- Atlantic  shipments  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  were  all  directed  to  London,  the  chief 
market  of  the  w^orld,  and  the  furs  were  there  sold, 
at  semi-annual  sales  held  in  March  and  September,  at 
auction  by  the  candle,  the  bidding  for  each  lot  con- 
tinuing till  a  lighted  candle  had  burned  to  a  certain 
mark,  causing  a  pin  placed  at  that  point  to  drop. 
Foreign  purchases  were  chiefly  for  the  Leipsic  fair, 
whence  they  were  distributed  to  various  parts  of 
Europe  and  Asia.*^ 

"In  the  year  1733  12,000  beaver,  2000  marten,  and  1000  cat  were  the  prin- 
cipal items.  In  1740  26,000  beaver  sold  at  from  Os.  to  6s.  per  pound,  16,000 
marten  at  78.  lOd.  a  skin,  560  otter  at  6s.  3d.  each,  300  foxes  at  8s.  4d.,  600 
wolverenes  at  8s.,  .330  black  bear  at  173.  Od.,  730  wolves  at  13s.,  and  other 
email  lots.  Twenty-six  thousand  beaver  of  the  several  kinds  and  qualities 
were  disposed  of  at  the  sale  of  Novembei- 1743 ;  also  14,000  marten,  590  otter, 
1580  wolf,  nnd  others.  The  Northwest  Company's  business  for  1708  counted 
Hist.  N.  W.  Coabi,  Vul.  I.    ao 


¥, 


•I 


lliiir 


466 


THE  FUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


i 


The  great  companies  dealt  in  other  articles  besides 
furs.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century 
sloops  were  annually  sent  from  Prince  of  Wales  Fort 
northward  to  trade  with  the  Eskimos  for  oil  and 
whale  fins.  Feathers,  tallow,  and  horns  were  like- 
wise articles  of  merchandise.  Quantities  of  dried  and 
salted  fish  were  put  up  and  shipped,  both  from  eastern 
and  western  posts. 

Enormous  profits  were  realized.  But  time  was 
required  to  turn  capital;  expenses  were  likewise 
heavy,  labor  severe,  and  risks  by  no  means  small. 
Usually  the  trapper  required  credit,  and  his  ability  to 
pay  depended  on  his  success,  which  risk  the  company 
was  obliged  to  take.  Indians  were  readily  trusted 
by  the  companies,  the  original  cost  of  the  articles 
credited  being  so  small  in  proportion  to  expected  re- 
turns that  the  sellers  could  well  afford  to  make  the 
venture. 

A  dollar's  worth  of  English  or  Dutch  trinkets  used 
on   the    Northwest  Coast   in  the  purchase  of  furs, 

106,000  beaver,  2100  bear,  5500  fox,  4600  otter,  17,000  musquash,  32  marten, 
1800  mink,  COO  lynx,  600  wolverene,  16d0  fisher,  100  raccoon,  3800  wolf,  700 
elk,  1950  deer,  and  500  buffalo.  These  same  figures  Raynal,  Hist.  Phil.,  xiii. 
557,  gives  as  the  total  yield  of  Canada  for  the  year  1800.  Tod,  Hist.  New 
Caledonia,  MS. ,  03,  quotes  tariff  in  his  locality  in  1830  as  follows :  A  gun  cost 
20  skins ;  a  coat,  6  skins ;  a  foot  of  twist  tobacco,  a  gallon  kettle,  or  a  small 
axe,  each  one  skin ;  a  large  axe,  two  skins ;  two  gilla  powder,  one  skin ;  one 
pound  of  shot,  one  skit.  The  worth  of  skius  mcasoring  these  values  was  from 
18  to  20  shillings.  Tlie  Oregon  country  prior  to  1844  yielded  about  §140,000 
worth  of  furs  annually,  paid  for  in  goods  which  cost  some  ^20,000,  to  which 
must  be  added  the  services  of  five  hundred  men,  and  shipping  and  other  ex- 
penses. Between  the  prices  paid  by  different  companies  there  was  often  a 
wide  difference;  thus  in  1845  we  tind  quoted.  House  Commorn*  Rept.  Hud- 
eon'M  Day  Co.  1837,  283,  the  following  comparitive  tariff:  While  for  otter  the 
American  Fur  Company  paid  $3.50  each,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  paid 
but  6s. ;  fisher,  marten,  mink,  and  IjTix  were  respectively  $2,  $1.75,  40 
cents,  and  $2  at  the  posts  of  the  former  company,  while  the  latter  sold 
them  at  23.,  23.,  lOd.,  and  2s.  Silver  fox  were  §15  by  one  and  10s.  by  the 
other;  beaver,  $3.25,  as  against  6s.,  and  so  on.  Following  the  printed  list 
of  the  Fenchurch  -  street  sale  of  March  1848,  we  have  121,000  marten, 
24,000  mink,  3102  bear,  19,000  fox,  5780  otter,  30,100  lynx,  and  4580  fisher. 
In  August  of  that  year  were  sold  21,349  beaver,  808  otter,  345  sea-otter  and 
seals,  2884  deer,  2090  raccoon,  228  wolverene,  1494  wolf,  632  cat,  1015  lynx, 
1551  swan,  18,553  musquash,  14,103  mink,  29,785  marten,  744  fisher,  1344 
fox,  and  2i997  bear.  Between  the  I3th  of  June  and  the  21st  of  November 
1833,  furs  to  the  value  of  £1700  were  procured  at  Fort  Vancouver.  'Twenty 
thousand  beaver  were  shipped  from  Vancouver  by  September,  the  greatest 
number  yet  made  from  the  Columbia. '  Tolmie's  Journal,  MS. ,  88. 


TRADING  GOODS. 


467 


which  were  sold  in  China,  the  proceeds  being  invested 
in  teas,  silks,  rice,  or  other  Asiatic  goods  shipped  to 
London  or  New  York,  would  sometimes  bring  a  re- 
turn of  twenty  dollars.  Often  three  or  four  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  goods  would  be  sent  from  the  dis- 
tributing dep6t  to  the  trapper's  camp,  where  they 
would  be  exchanged  for  three  or  four  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  furs. 

Bright-colored  calico  and  black  broadcloth;  blank- 
ets end  hats;  arms,  axes,  knives,  and  kettles;  paints, 
mirrors,  beads,  bells,  and  brass  ornaments  would  be 
exchanged  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  for  two  or  twenty, 
according  to  distance  from  market  or  other  cause. 
The  tobacco  sold  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  came 
mostly  from  Brazil.  It  was  twisted  into  a  rope  one 
inch  in  diameter,  and  coiled;  it  was  sold  by  the  inch. 

The  returns  from  the  various  forts  were  obviously 

^ot  uniform.    In  ordinary  times  and  localities,  from 

one  thousand  to  five  thousand  pounds  were  annually 

realized   from  each  establishment.^"     A  few  Indian 


f  .; 


!:- 


'"MrMayne,  Brit.  Col.,  183-4,  estimates  the  profits  at  Fort  Rupert,  on 
Vancouver  Island,  in  1859  as  follows :  For  wages,  commanding  officer,  a  clerk 
being  then  in  charge,  £100,  or  had  it  been  a  chief  trader,  £500  or  £000;  fore- 
man, £40,  and  seven  laborers  at  £20  each;  provisions,  £200;  sundries,  £100, 
or  say  £600  expenses ;  cost  of  fort,  the  labor  of  the  seven  men  one  month,  or 
£140.  Fourteen  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty- two  skins  were  purchased 
at  a  total  cost  of  £060  4s.,  worth  in  England  £5405,  chief  among  which 
were  250  bear -skins,  worth  from  £1  to  £3,  and  costing  one  blanket  each; 
2000  marten,  six  for  a  blanket,  worth  from  10s.  to  £2 ;  5000  mink,  30  for  a 
blanket,  worth  from  2s.  to  7s.  6d. ;  one  blanket  each  was  jwiid  for  250  land- 
otter,  worth  from  7s.  Od.  to  £1  10s.,  and  12  blankets  each  were  given  for  50 
sea-otter,  worth  from  £5  to  £25.  Two  beavers  were  given  for  a  blanket,  and 
a  leaf  of  tobacco  for  a  rabbit-skin ;  of  the  former  there  were  600  bought,  and 
of  the  latter  5000.  Lynx,  fox,  raccoon,  wolf,  etc.,  comprised  the  remainder. 
Leaving  out  the  cost  of  the  fort,  and  adding  coat  of  goods  to  expenses,  wo 
Lave  on  the  debit  side  £1260  against  £5405,  showing  a  profit  for  this  year 
of  £4145.  But  this  post  has  often  netted  the  company  £6000,  and  it  by  no 
means  ranks  among  the  most  important.  R.  G.  Smitli,  secretary  of  the  com- 
pany, reports  ten  years  profits,  from  1847  to  1856,  whicli  is  no  extraordinary 
showing,  though  they  arc  put  down  at  from  ten  to  twenty  per  cent,  a  year ; 
yet  whenever  the  declared  dividend  was  more  than  ten  per  cent,  the  surplus 
was  added  to  the  stock.  Notwithstanding  which,  to  the  price  of  this  stock 
there  was  no  permanent  increase,  as  at  both  the  beginning  and  end  of  the 
term  it  stood  at  £200  a  share,  having  in  the  mean  time  experienced  slight 
fluctuations.  Umfreville,  Ihtdson'.'^  Day,  79-91,  gives  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's reports  of  trading  goods  expenses  and  returns  for  the  ten  years  1739-48 
inclusive.  From  the  sale  of  furs  was  realized  £273,542  18s.  8d.,  out  of  which 
were  paid  for  goods  £52,463  Os. ,  and  for  salaries,  shipping,  and  other  expenses, 


!•!' 


% 


%\ 


4m  THE  FUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 

tribes  became  weathy,  according  to  their  estimate  of 
wealth,  by  their  trade  in  furs,  but  their  prosperity  was 
always  oi  short  duration  and  of  no  real  benefit. 

At  some  of  the  stations  were  used  sticks,  called 
casters,  with  which  to  count.  For  example,  the  In- 
dian deposits  his  bundle  of  furs  in  the  trading-room, 
where  they  are  assorted  and  valued.  Perhaps  the 
package  amounts  to  sixty  casters,  of  between  one  and 
two  shillings  each;  with  the  sixty  bits  of  wood  given 
him  the  hunter  pays  for  such  articles  as  he  selects 
from  the  company's  store.  Besides  his  spring  visit 
the  hunter  usually  comes  to  the  fort  in  October  to 
obtain  necessaries  for  the  winter  hunt,  which  are  fur- 
nished him  on  credit,  whether  Indian  or  white  man, 
if  he  has  not  wherewith  to  pay. 

The  Northwest  Company  once  established  a  cur- 
rency called  the  Northwest  currency,  which,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  soon  depreciated  and  in  time  wentj, 
out  of  use.  At  the  Red  River  settlement  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  adopted  a  currency  which  was  used  in 
conjunction  with  silver.  Beaver,  so  long  the  staple, 
with  the  invention  of  the  silk  hat  received  its  death- 
blow. In  1837  the  price  fell  so  low  that  values  had 
to  be  readjusted." 


£209,896  38.  4d.,  leaving  a  clear  profit  for  each  proprietor  of  only  £63  128.  lid. 
per  annum.  Morgan,  in  hia  American  Beaver,  245,  states  that  in  1743,  150,000 
beaver-skins  were  received  at  Rochelle  and  London,  most  of  which  came  from 
Rupert  Land  and  Canada.  He  gives  the  sales  of  beaver  iu  T  cadon  for  the 
years  1854,  1855,  and  1856  as  609,240,  62,352,  and  56,033  respectively.  Says 
Dr  Tolmie,  in  his  Journal,  MS. ,  written  at  Fort  Vancouver :  'From  the  1  *vh 
November  1834  to  the  9th  January  18ii5  180  beavers  were  traded  here,  besides 
land-otters  and  martens,  in  all  amounting  to  £259  198.  6d.;  beaver  charged  at 
248.  per  pound.  The  following  items  go  to  the  debit  side  of  the  account :  Goods 
expended  in  procuring  furs,  £66  ISs.  7d. ;  servants'  wages  for  seven  and  a  half 
weeks,  £76  138.  7d. ;  expense  of  food  for  twelve  men,  £3  188.  9d. ;  expense  of 
men,  £1  198.  4d.     Balance  in  favor  of  the  Company,  £110  9s.  2d.' 

"  Between  the  years  1839  and  1846  there  was  quite  a  difference  in  the  price 
of  furs,  it  being  much  lower  at  the  later  date.  In  1839  the  price  of  a  beaver- 
skin  in  London  was  27s.  Gd.;  in  1846,  3s.  5d.  In  1830  55,486  skins  sold  for 
£76,312;  in  1846  45,389  skins  sold  for  £7856.  For  trade  matters  in  general 
see  farther  U.  S.  Cfov.  Doc,  25th  Cong.,  3d  Sess.,  House  Jiejit.  JS^o.  101, 17-22; 
Bobmson'a  Great  Fur  Land,  329 ;  Hayes^  Col.  Agric,  26-8;  Hunt's Mer.  Mag., 
iu.  186-204;  Foster's  Hist.  Voy.,  380-3;  North  American  Review,  xv.  372-3, 
393-4;  Newhouse's  Trapper's  Guide,  9-12;  Work's  Journal,  MS.,  205-6; 
Anderson's  N.  Coast,  MS.,  86-7;  Prospectus  Canada  Railway  Co. 


TTT 


['■■ 


COALITION  OF  COMPANIES, 


469 


iiaie  of 

,ty  was 

called 
he  In- 
;-room, 
ps  the 
lie  and 
1  given 
selects 
\g  visit 
)ber  to 
ire  fur- 
ze man, 

a  cur- 
i  might 
ae  wcntk 
udson's 
used  in 
I  staple, 
3  death- 
ues  had 


33  12s.  lid. 
43,  150,000 

came  from 
don  for  the 
vely.  Says 
ini  the  l*vh 
ere,  besides 

charged  at 
ant:  Goods 
1  and  a  half 

expense  of 

in  the  price 
>f  a  beaver- 
dns  sold  for 
I  in  general 
101,n--2f2; 
Mer.  Mag., 
XV.  372-3, 
IS.,   205-6; 


King  Charles'  grant  to  his  cousin  Rupert  in  1670 
failed  to  receive  parliamentary  sanction,  and  was 
thereby  pronounced  unconstitutional.  To  prevent 
constantly  increasing  encroachments,  the  company  in 
1G90  petitioned  parliament  to  confirm  the  charter, 
which,  upon  certain  conditions  which  were  never 
carried  out,  was  granted  for  a  term  of  seven  years, 
and  no  longer. 

Fearful  lest  parliament  would  not  renew  it,  or  un- 
willing to  call  public  attention  to  their  affairs,  or,  yet 
more  probably,  indifferent  as  to  the  legal  status  of 
affairs  so  long  as  they  were  left  unmolested,  at  the 
expiration  of  the  seven  years'  term  the  company  made 
no  effort  for  a  second  or  renewed  confirmation  of  their 
charter.  From  this  time  until  the  cession  of  Canada 
to  Great  Britain  in  17G3  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany continued  in  possession  of  their  territories  un- 
disturbed; but  British  subjects  then  took  the  field 
formerly  occupied  by  foreigners  trading  under  French 
charters,  and  shortly  after,  in  1783,  the  leading  mer- 
chants of  Canada  associated  under  the  name  of  the 
Northwest  Company,  and  entering  upon  vigorous  op- 
position spread  themselves  over  the  interior  as  far  as 
the  Arctic  and  Pacific  oceans,  and  even  planted  their 
forts  upon  the  very  shores  of  Hudson  Bay. 

When  the  coalition  of  the  rival  companies  was 
effected  in  1821  by  their  united  influence,  a  license  of 
exclusive  trade  in  such  Indian  territory  as  was  not 
included  in  the  original  charter  was  granted  them  by 
government  for  a  term  of  twenty-one  years.  In  1842 
the  license  was  renewed  for  a  further  term  of  twenty- 
one  years,  and  again  for  seven  years,  but  with  reserva- 
tions by  the  crown  of  the  right  to  revoke  it  at  any 
time.'^      Tacitly,   however,  the   British  government 

'^  'The  extent  of  territory  thus  granted  umlf^r  the  licence  of  1842,  ia  about 
2,600,000  square  miles,  that  claimed  under  tl.  Charter  very  little  less,  cojn- 
prising  together  the  whole  of  British  America,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Canadas.'  A  Feio  Words  on  the  IIudnoii's  Bmj  Company,  3;  Fitzgirald's  Van- 
couver I4and,  21-104;  BritM  N.  Am.,  24.5-C;  Dohhn'  Hudson's  Day,  57,  GO, 
158.  The  Westminster  Review,  July  1807,  gives  a  concise  history  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  under  the  title  of  The  Laxt  Great  Monopoly.  Wilkes'  Nar., 
iv.  400etseq. ;  Martlii's  Hudson's  Day,  58-9. 


iiil 

1 

1 

r 
'}  ■ 

■ 

■t 
1 
[\ 

I 

; 

1 

1  i: ' 

1 

w 


470 


THE  FUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


m 


has  always  recognized  the  corporate  rights  of  this 
association,  for  in  the  treaty  of  1794,  which  permits 
the  freest  intercourse  between  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States  and  the  people  of  Canada,  exception  is 
made  to  the  Hudson's  J3ay  territories. 

And  now  having  grown  old  gracefully,  having 
reaped  the  reward  of  its  cunning  and  laid  io  rest 
thousands  of  its  f  xithful  servants,  the  question  arose 
how  to  die,  not  awkwardly  and  without  loss.  With 
Sir  Edmund  Head,  formerly  governor-general  of 
Canada,  as  governor,  the  company  felt  prepared  to 
negotiate  with  Canada  for  a  transfer  to  the  Dominion 
of  all  its  territorial  rights  save  a  small  tract  round 
each  fort.  This  arrangement  was  effected  the  19th 
of  November  1869,  the  consideration  of  the  company 
being  three  hundred  thousand  pounds.  The  United 
States  also  respected  certain  claims  in  the  Columbia 
River  country  for  infringements  of  its  rights  by  settlers, 
the  matter  being  arranged  by  a  commission  in  .1870, 
which  awarded  the  company  six  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

Hi3  Majesty's  Royal  Chakteb  to  thh  GtOvbenor  and  Company  oir 

Hudson's  Bay. 

Charles  the  II.,  by  the  grace  of  God  king  of  England,  Scotland,  France, 
and  Ireland,  defender  of  the  faith,  etc.,  to  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall 
come,  greeting :  Whereas  our  dear  entirely  beloved  cousin,  Prince  Rupert, 
Count  Palatine  of  the  Rhine,  Duke  of  Bavaria  and  Cuinberland,  etc.,  George, 
Duke  "^f  Albemarle,  William,  Earl  of  Craven,  Henry,  Lord  Arlington, 
Anthony,  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  John  Robinson,  and  Sir  Robert  Vyner,  knights 
and  baronets,  Sir  Peter  Colleton,  baronet,  Sir  Edward  ilungerford.  Knight 
of  the  Bath,  Sir  Paul  Neele,  Sir  John  Griffith,  Sir  Philip  CarteVet,  and  Sir 
James  Hayes,  knights,  John  Kirke,  Francis  Millington,  William  Prettyman, 
John  Fenn,  esquires,  and  John  Portman,  citizen  aud  goldsmith  of  Lou<  m, 
have,  at  their  own  great  cost  and  charges,  undertaken  an  expedition  fot 
Hudson's  Bay,  in  the  north-west  parts  of  America,  for  the  discovery  of  a  new 
passage  into  the  South  Sea,  and  for  the  finding  of  some  trade  for  furs, 
minerals,  and  other  considerable  comr^.idities,  and  by  such,  their  undertaking, 
have  already  made  such  discoveri'-ii  as  do  encourage  them  to  proceed  farther 
in  pursuance  of  their  said  design,  by  means  whereof  there  may  probably  aris» 
great  advantage  to  us  and  our  kingdoms. 


HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  CHARTER. 


491 


And  wkerenti.  The  said  iiiulcrtukcra,  for  their  further  encouragement  in 
the  said  design,  have  humbly  beaought  ns  to  incorporate  them,  and  grant 
unto  them,  and  their  successora,  tlio  wliole  trade  and  commerce  of  all  those 
seoa,  straits,  and  bays,  rivers,  lakes,  creeks,  and  sounds,  in  whatsoever 
latitude  tbey  shall  bo,  that  lie  within  the  entrance  of  the  straits  commonly 
called  Hudson's  Straits,  together  with  all  the  lands,  countries,  and  territories, 
upon  the  coasts  and  confines  of  the  seas,  straits,  bays,  lakes,  rivers,  creeks, 
and  sounds  aforesaid,  which  are  not  now  actually  posscssc  '  liy  any  of  our 
subjects,  or  by  the  subjects  of  any  other  Christian  prince  or  ; 

Now  know  ye.  That  wo,  being  desirous  to  promote  all  cud.  'hat  may 

tend  to  the  public  good  of  our  people,  and  to  encourage  the  saiii  'i:  lertuking, 
have,  of  our  especial  grace,  certain  know'  ,dge,  and  mere  i  !,  given, 

granted,  ratified,  and  confirmed,  and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heirs,  and 
successors,  do  give,  grant,  ratify,  and  contirm,  unto  our  said  cousin  Prince 
Rupert,  Gecrge,  Duke  of  Albemarle,  ^Villiam,  Earl  of  Craven,  Henry,  Lord 
Arlington,  Anthony,  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  John  Robinsou,  Sir  Robert  Vyner, 
Sir  Peter  Colleton,  Sir  Edward  Hungerford,  Sir  Paul  Neele,  Sir  John  Griffith, 
Sir  Phihp  Cnrteret,  and  Sir  James  Hayes,  John  Kirke,  Francis  Milliugton, 
William  Prettyman,  John  Fenn,  and  John  Portman,  that  they,  and  such 
others  as  shall  bo  admitted  into  the  said  society  us  is  hereafter  expressed, 
shall  bo  one  body  coi-porate  and  politic,  iu  deed  and  in  name,  1  y  the  name  of 
the  governor  and  company  of  adventurers  of  England,  trading  into  Hudson's 
Bay,  and  them  by  the  name  of  the  governor  and  company  of  adventurers  of 
England,  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,  one  body  corporate  and  politic,  in  deed 
and  in  name,  really  and  fully  forever,  for  us,  our  heirs,  and  successors,  wo  do 
make,  ordain,  constitute,  establish,  confinn,  and  declare,  by  these  presents, 
and  that  by  the  same  name  of  governor  and  company  of  adventurers  of 
England,  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,  they  shall  have  perpetual  succession, 
and  that  they  and  their  successors,  by  the  name  of  governor  and  company 
of  adventurers  of  England,  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,  be,  and  at  all  times 
hereafter  shall  be,  personable  and  capable  in  law  to  have,  purchase,  receive, 
possess,  enjoy,  and  retain,  lands,  rents,  privileges,  liberties,  jurisdiction,  fran- 
chises, an.'  hereditaments,  of  what  kind,  nature,  or  quality  soever  they  be, 
to  them  and  their  successors ;  and  also  to  give,  grant,  alien,  assign,  and  dispose 
lands,  tenements,  and  hereditaments,  and  to  do,  execute  all  and  singular  other 
things  by  the  some  name  that  to  them  shall  or  may  appertain  to  do.  And 
that  they,  and  their  successors,  by  the  name  of  the  governor  and  company  of 
adventurers  of  England,  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,  may  pleaa,  and  bo  im- 
pleaded, answer,  and  be  answered,  defend,  and  be  defended,  in  whatsoever 
courts  and  places,  before  whatsoever  judges  and  justices,  and  otlier  persons 
and  officers,  in  all  or  singular  actions,  pleas,  suits,  quarrels,  and  demands, 
whatsoever,  of  whatsoever  kind,  nature,  or  sort,  in  such  manner  and  form  as 
any  other  our  liege  people  of  this  our  realm  of  England,  being  persons  able 
and  capable  in  law,  may,  or  can  have,  purchase,  receive,  ^.^osess,  enjoy,  retain, 
give,  grant,  demise,  alien,  assign,  dispose,  plead,  defend,  and  to  be  defended, 
do,  permit,  and  execute.  And  that  the  said  governor  and  company  of  ad- 
venturers of  England,  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,  anil  their  successors,  may 
have  a  common  ueal  to  serve  lor  all  the  causes  and  businesses  of  them  and 


1 


Iff 


472 


OBE  FUJI-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


tlieir  Kioceasors,  and  that  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  the  said  governor  and 
company,  and  their  aucceasors,  the  aome  seal,  from  time  to  time,  at  their  will 
and  pleiiaure,  to  break,  change,  nnd  to  make  anew,  or  alter,  aa  to  them  shall 
seem  expedient. 

Awl  farthermore,  Wo  will,  and  by  these  presents  for  us,  ouf  heiiv,  and 
Buccessors,  we  do  ordain  that  there  shall  be  from  honceforth  one  of  the 
same  company  to  be  elected  and  appointed  in  such  form  as  hereafter  in  these 
presents  is  expreaaed,  which  shall  be  called  the  governor  of  the  aaid  company. 

And  that  the  said  governor  and  company  sbuU  and  xnay  elect  seven  of 
their  number  in  such  form  as  hereafter  in  these  presents  is  expressed,  which 
hha.l  be  called  the  conmiittee  of  the  said  company;  which  committee  of 
seren,  or  any  three  of  them,  together  with  the  governor  or  deputy  governor 
of  bhe  aaid  company  for  the  time  being,  shall  have  the  direction  of  the  voyages 
of  and  for  the  said  company,  and  the  provision  of  the  shipping  and  mer- 
chandises thereunto  belonging,  and  also  the  sale  of  all  merchandises,  goods, 
and  other  things,  returned  in  all  or  any  the  voyages  or  ships  of  or  fc;  LL'* 
said  company,  and  the  managing  and  handling  of  all  other  business  afiSurs 
and  things  belonging  to  the  said  company.  And  we  will  ordain  and  grant 
by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heirs,  and  successors,  unto  the  said  governor 
and  co'inpany,  and  their  successors,  that  they  the  said  governor  and  company 
and  their  successors  shall  from  henceforth  forever  be  ruled,  ordered,  and 
governed  accoiding  to  such  manner  and  form  as  is  hereafter  in  these 
presents  expressed,  and  not  otherwise ;  and  that  they  shall  have,  hold,  re- 
tain, and  enjoy  the  grants,  liberties,  privileges,  jurisdictions,  and  immunities, 
only  hereafter  in  these  pres'^nts  granted  and  expressed,  and  no  other.  And 
for  the  better  execution  of  our  will  and  grant  in  thit  behalf,  we  liave  assigne<L 
nominated,  constituted,  and  appointed  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heu.> 
and  successors,  r  d  we  do  assign,  nominate,  constitute,  and  make  our  saM 
cousin,  Princii  Rt'.port,  to  be  the  first  and  present  governor  of  the  aaf'  fx>v\- 
pany,  and  to  continue  in  the  said  office  from  the  date  of  these  preseutt  vaitil 
the  10th  of  November  then  next  following,  if  he,  the  said  Prin-je  Rupeit, 
shall  so  long  live,  and  so  until  a  new  governor  be  chosen  by  the  said  compauy 
in  form  herecifter  cxprossed.  And  also  we  have  assigned,  nominated,  and  ap- 
pointed, and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  we  do  assign, 
nominate,  and  constitute,  the  said  Sir  John  Robinson,  Sir  Robert  Vyner,  Sir 
Peter  Ck)lleton,  Sir  James  Hayes,  John  Kirko  "'  /ucis  MUlington,  and  John 
Portman  to  be  the  seven  first  and  present  cou^uittees  of  the  said  company, 
from  the  date  of  these  presents  until  the  said  10th  of  Novembo:'  then  also 
nert  following,  and  so  until  new  committees  shall  bo  chosen  in  form  here- 
after expressed. 

And  farther.  We  wiU  and  grant  by  those  presents  for  us,  our  heirs  and 
■nccesBors,  unto  the  said  governor  and  their  successors,  that  it  shall  .<vud  may 
be  lawful  to  and  for  the  said  go>'ernor  and  company  for  the  time  being,  or  the 
greater  part  of  them  present  at  any  public  assembly  commonly  called  the 
court  general,  to  be  holden  for  the  said  company,  the  governor  of  the  said 
company  being  always  one,  from  time  to  time  to  elect,  nominate,  aud  Ap- 
point one  of  the  said  company  to  be  deputy  to  the  said  governor;  which 
deputy  shall  take  a  corporal  oath  before  the  governor  and  three  more  of  the 


m 


DIVEBS  PROVISIONS. 


473 


committee  of  the  wid  company  for  the  time  being,  well,  truly,  and  faithfully 
to  execute  his  said  office  of  deputy  to  the  governor  of  the  said  company,  and 
after  his  oath  so  taken  shall  and  may  from  time  to  time  in  the  absence  of  the 
said  governor  exercise  and  exectite  the  oihce  of  governor  of  the  said  company 
in  such  sort  as  the  said  governor  ought  to  do. 

And  farther,  We  will  and  grant  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs,  and 
successors,  unto  the  said  governor  and  company  of  adventurers  of  England 
trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,  and  their  successors,  that  they,  or  the  greater 
part  of  them,  whereof  the  governor  for  the  time  being,  or  his  deputy,  to  be  one, 
from  time  to  time  and  at  all  times  hereafter,  shall  and  may  have  authority 
and  power,  yearly  and  every  year  between  the  first  and  last  day  of  November, 
to  assemble  and  meet  together  in  some  convenient  place,  to  be  appointed 
from  time  to  time  by  the  governor,  or  in  his  absence  by  the  deputy  of  the  said 
governor,  and  the  said  company  for  the  time  being  and  the  greater  part  of 
them  which  then  shall  happen  to  be  present,  whereof  the  governor  of  the  said 
company,  or  his  deputy,  for  the  time  being,  to  be  one,  to  elect  and  nominate 
one  of  the  said  company  which  shall  be  governor  of  the  said  company  for  one 
whole  year,  then  next  following,  which  person  being  so  elected  and  nominated 
to  be  governor  of  the  said  company,  as  is  aforesaid,  before  he  be  admitted  to 
the  execution  of  said  office  shall  take  a  corporal  oath  before  the  last  governor, 
being  his  predecessor  or  his  deputy,  and  any  three  or  more  of  the  committee 
of  the  aaid  company  for  the  time  being,  that  he  shall  from  time  to  time  well 
and  truly  execute  the  office  of  governor  of  the  said  company  in  all  things 
concerning  the  same ;  and  that  immediately  after  the  same  oath  so  taken  he 
shall  and  may  execute  and  use  the  said  office  of  governor  of  the  said  company 
for  one  whole  year  from  thence  next  following. 

And  in  like  nort.  Wo  will  and  grant  that  as  well  every  one  of  the  above 
named  to  be  of  the  said  company  or  fellowship  as  all  others  hereafter  to  be 
admitted  or  free  of  the  said  ccmpaay,  shall  take  a  corporal  oath  before  the 
governor  of  the  said  company  or  his  deputy  for  the  time  being,  to  such  effect 
as  by  the  said  governor  and  company,  or  the  greater  part  of  them,  in  any 
public  court  to  be  held  for  the  said  company,  shall  be  m  reasonable  and  legal 
manner  set  down  and  devised,  before  they  shall  be  allowed  or  adi.iitted  to 
trade  or  traffic  an  a  freeman  of  the  said  company.  And  farther,  We  will  and 
grant  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  unto  the  said 
governor  and  company,  and  their  successors,  that  the  wd  governor  or  deputy 
governor  ard  the  rest  of  the  said  company  and  their  successors  for  the  time 
beuig,  or  the  greater  port  of  them,  whereof  the  governor  or  deputy  governor, 
from  time  to  time,  to  be  one,  shall  and  may  from  time  to  time  and  at  all  times 
hc-rvftfter  have  jwwer  and  authority  yearly  and  every  year  between  the  first 
and  \oat  day  of  November,  to  aascmble  and  meet  together  in  some  convenient 
place  from  time  to  time  to  be  appointed  by  the  said  governor,  or  in  his  absence 
by  his  deputy.  And  that  they,  being  so  assembled,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful 
to  and  for  the  said  governor  and  lis  deputy,  and  the  company  for  the  time 
being,  or  the  greater  part  of  thont,  which  then  sliall  liappen  to  be  present, 
whereof  the  governor  of  the  said  cor  ipany,  or  his  deputy  for  the  time  being,  to 
be  one,  to  elect  and  nominate  seven  of  the  said  company,  which  shall  be  a 
committee  of  the  said  company  as  aforesaid,  before  they  be  admitted  to  the 


!  ! 


474 


THE  PUR-1    ADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


execution  of  their  office,  shall  take  a  corporal  oath  before  the  governor  or  hia 
deputy  and  any  three  or  move  of  the  said  committee  of  the  said  company, 
being  the  last  predecessors,  that  they  and  every  of  them  shall  well  and  faith- 
fully perform  their  said  office  of  committees  in  all  things  concerning  the  same, 
and  that  immediately  after  the  said  oath  so  taken,  they  shall  and  may  execute 
and  use  their  said  office  of  committees  of  the  said  company  for  one  whole 
year  from  thence  next  folloT«'inj. 

And  moreover,  Our  T/ill  id  i  r  .w  :i,  and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors,  we  da  :  a>i'  ,  the  said  governor  and  company,  and 
their  successors,  that  wheh  and  »°  rften  as  it  shall  happen,  the  governor  or 
deputy  governor  of  the  said  company  for  the  time  being,  at  any  time  within 
one  year  after  that  he  shall  be  nominated,  elected,  and  sworn  to  the  office  of 
the  governor  of  the  said  company  as  is  aforesaid,  to  die  or  to  be  removed  from 
said  office,  which  governor  or  deputy  governor  not  demeaning  himself  well  in 
his  said  office,  we  will  to  be  removable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  rest  of  the  said 
company,  or  the  greater  part  of  them,  which  shall  be  present  at  their  public 
assemblies,  commonly  called  their  general  courts  holden  for  the  said  company; 
that  then  it  shall  and  so  often  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  the  residue  of  the 
said  company,  for  the  time  being,  or  the  greater  part  of  them  within  a  con- 
venient time  after  the  death  or  removing  of  any  such  governor  or  deputy 
governor,  to  assem^ile  themselves  in  such  c  mvenienr  place  as  they  shall  think 
fit,  for  the  election  of  the  governor  or  deputy  governor  of  said  company ;  and 
that  the  said  company,  or  the  greater  part  o;  tiiciii,  being  then  and  there 
present,  shall  and  may  then  and  there,  bt.f0'  --  tLou-  <cparture  from  the  said 
place,  elect  and  nominate  one  other  of  th:  utiu  <  mpany  to  be  governor  or 
deputy  governor  for  the  said  company  in  vh;  j. i  .,a  or  stead  of  him  that  so 
died  or  was  removed;  which  pjrson  b^  ng  o  /o:  ted  and  nominated  to  the 
office  of  governor  or  deputy  governor  of  tLi;  .  'id  c^mi'Tiiy  shall  have  and 
exercise  the  said  office  for  and  dur' jg  the  reb:-!"  if  f-  <^d  year,  taking  first 
a  corporal  oath,  as  is  aforesaid,  tor  the  due  execut)o^  thereof;  and  this  to  be 
done  from  time  to  time  so  often  as  the  case  shall  so  require. 

And  also.  Our  will  and  pleasure  is,  and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heirs, 
and  successors,  we  do  grant  unto  the  said  governor  and  company,  that  when 
and  as  often  as  it  shall  happen,  any  person  or  persons  of  the  committee  of  the 
said  company  for  the  time  being,  at  any  time  within  one  year  next  after  that 
they  or  any  of  them  shall  be  nominated,  elected,  and  sworn  to  the  office  of 
committee  of  the  said  company  as  is  ■:'  "-i-'said,  to  die  or  to  be  removed  from 
thr  said  office,  which  committee  net  ■  i»  •  oauing  themselves  well  in  their  said 
office,  we  will  to  be  removable  at  the  pi^w^  rr  of  the  said  governor  and  com- 
pany, or  the  greater  part  of  them,  whev  ■  '  ^he  govcmor  of  the  said  company 
for  the  time  being,  or  his  deputy,  to  be  on.^ ;  that  then  and  so  often  it  shall  and 
may  be  la^vf n'  f.  a ':d  for  the  said  governor  and  the  rest  of  the  company  for 
thet'^-.t  iring,  or  t'at:  i^reater  part  of  them,  whereof  the  governor  for  the  time 
bein;^,  or  his  de/;  tj ,  lo  be  one,  within  convenient  time  after  the  death  or 
remc  ing  of  any  of  tue  said  committees,  to  assemble  themselves  in  such  con- 
venient place  as  is  or  shall  be  usual  and  accustomed  for  the  election  of  the 
governor  of  the  e.aid  company,  or  where  else  the  governor  of  the  said  company 
for  tlie  time  being  or  his  deputy  shall  appoint.     And  that  the  said  governor 


i 


ABSOLUTE  LORDS  AND  PROPRIETORS. 


475 


and  company,  or  the  greater  part  of  thtm,  whereof  the  governor  for  the  time 
being,  or  his  deputy,  to  be  one,  being  then  and  there  present,  shall  and  may 
then  and  there,  before  their  departure  from  the  said  place,  elect  and  nominate 
one  or  more  of  the  said  company  in  the  place  or  stead  of  him  or  them  that 
so  died,  or  was  or  were  so  removed.  Which  person  or  persons  so  nominated 
and  elected  to  the  office  of  committee  of  the  said  company,  shall  have  and 
exercise  the  said  office  for  and  during  the  residue  of  the  said  year,  taking  first 
a  corporal  oath,  as  is  aforesaid,  for  the  due  execution  thereof,  and  this  to  bo 
done  from  time  to  time  so  often  as  the  case  shall  require. 

And  to  the  end  the  said  governor  and  company  of  adventurers  of  England 
trading  into  Hudson's  Bay  may  be  encouraged  to  undertake  and  effectually  to 
prosecute  the  said  design  of  our  more  especial  grace,  certain  knowledge,  and 
mere  motion,  we  have  given,  granted,  and  confirmed,  and  by  these  presents 
for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  do  give,  grant,  and  confirm  unto  the  said 
governor  and  company  and  their  successors,  the  sole  trade  and  commerce  of 
all  those  seas,  straits,  bays,  rivers,  lakes,  creek»,  and  sounds,  in  whatsoever 
latitude  they  shall  be,  that  lie  within  the  entrance  of  the  straits  commonly 
called  Hudson's  Straits,  together  with  all  the  lands  and  territories  upon  tho 
countries,  coasts,  and  confines  of  the  sea«,  bays,  lakes,  rivers,  creeks,  and 
sounds  aforesaid,  that  are  not  already  actually  possessed  by  tho  subjects  of 
any  other  Christian  prince  or  state,  with  the  fishing  of  all  sorts  of  fish,  whales, 
sturgeons,  and  all  other  royal  fishes,  in  the  seas,  bays,  inlets,  and  rivers  within 
the  premises,  and  the  fish  therein  taken,  together  with  the  royalty  of  the  sea 
upon  the  coasts  within  the  limits  aforesaid,  and  all  mines  royal  as  well  dis- 
covered as  not  discovered,  of  gold,  silver,  gems,  and  precious  stones,  to  bo 
found  or  discovered  within  the  territories,  limits,  and  places  aforesaid,  and 
that  the  land  be  from  henceforth  reckoned  and  reputed  as  one  of  our  planta- 
tions or  colonies  in  America  called  Rupert's  Land. 

And  further,  We  do  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors, 
make,  create,  and  constitute  the  said  governor  and  company  for  the  time 
being,  and  their  successors,  the  true  and  absolute  lords  iind  proprietors  of  tlie 
same  territories,  limits,  and  places  aforesaid ;  and  of  all  other  the  premises, 
inaving  always  the  faith,  allegiance,  and  sovereign  dominion  to  us,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  for  the  same  to  have,  hold,  possess,  and  enjoy  the  said  terri- 
tories, limits,  and  places,  and  all  and  singular  other  the  premises  hereby 
granted  as  aforesaid,  with  their  and  every  of  their  rights,  members,  juris- 
dictions, prerogatives,  royalties,  and  appurtenances  wliatsoever,  to  them  the 
said  governor  and  company  and  their  successors  forever,  to  be  holden  of  us, 
our  heirs,  and  successors,  as  of  our  manor  of  East  Greenwich,  in  the  county 
of  Kent,  in  free  and  common  socage,  and  not  in  cavUe  or  by  knight's  service ; 
yielding  and  paying  yearly  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  for  tlie  same, 
two  elks  and  two  black  beavers,  whensoever  and  as  often  as  we,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  shall  happen  to  enter  into  the  said  countries,  territories,  and 
regions  hereby  granted. 

And  farther.  Our  will  and  pleasure  is,  and  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors,  we  do  grant  unto  the  said  governor  and  company,  and 
to  their  successors,  that  it  shall  and  may  bo  lawful  to  and  for  the  said  gov- 
ernor and  company  and  their  successors  from  time  to  time,  to  assemble  them- 


ii 


47a 


THE  PUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


selveR  for  or  about  any  the  matters,  causes,  afiairs,  or  businesses  of  the  said 
trade,  in  any  place  or  places  for  the  same  convenient,  within  our  dominions 
or  elsewhere,  uud  to  hold  court  for  the  said  company  and  the  affairs  thereof; 
and  that  also  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  them,  or  the  greater  part 
of  them,  being  so  assembled,  and  that  shall  then  and  there  be  present  in  any 
such  place  or  places,  whereof  the  governor  or  his  deputy  for  the  time  being 
to  be  one,  to  make,  ordain,  and  constitute  such  and  so  many  reasonable  laws, 
constitutions,  orders,  and  ordinances  as  to  them,  or  the  greater  part  of  them, 
being  then  and  there  present,  shall  seem  necessary  and  convenient  for  the 
good  government  of  the  said  company  and  of  all  governors  of  colonies,  forts, 
and  plantations,  factors,  masters,  mariners,  and  other  officers  employed  or  to 
be  employed  in  any  the  territoTies  .snd  lands  aforesaid,  and  in  any  of  their 
voyages ;  and  for  the  better  advancement  and  continuance  of  said  trade  or 
traffic  and  plantations,  and  the  same  laws,  constitutions,  orders,  and  ordi- 
nances so  made,  to  be  put  in  use  and  execute  accordingly,  and  at  their  pleasure 
to  revoke  and  alter  the  same  or  any  of  them  as  the  occasion  shall  require. 
And  that  the  said  governor  and  companyr  co  often  as  they  shall  make,  ordain, 
or  establish  any  such  laws,  constitutions,  orders,  and  ordinances,  in  such  form 
as  aforesaid,  siiall  and  may  lawfully  impose,  ordain,  limit,  and  provide  such 
penalties  and  puuishmentc  "pou  all  ofTenders  contrary  to  such  law«,  oonstitu 
tions,  orders,  and  ordinances,  or  any  of  them,  as  to  the  said  governor  and  com' 
pany  for  the  time  being,  or  the  greater  part  of  them,  then  and  there  being 
present,  the  said  governor  or  his  deputy  being  always  one,  shall  seem  neces 
sary  or  convenient  for  the  observation  of  the  same  laws,  constitutions,  orders 
and  ordinances ;  and  the  same  lines  and  amerciaments  shall  and  may  by  their 
officers  and  servants,  from  time  to  time  to  be  appointed  for  that  purpose,  levy 
tiike,  and  have,  to  the  useof  the  said  governor  and  company  and  their  successors, 
without  the  officers  and  ministers  of  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  and  vrithout 
any  account  thereof  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  to  be  made.  All  and 
singular  which  laws,  constitutions,  orders,  and  ordinances  so  as  aforesaid  to 
be  mode,  we  will  to  be  duly  observed  and  kept  under  the  pains  and  penalties 
therein  io  be  contained ;  so  always  as  the  said  laws,  constitutions,  orders  and 
ordinances,  fmes  and  amerciaments,  be  reasonable,  and  not  contrary  or  re- 
pugnant, but  as  near  as  may  be  agreeable  to  the  laws,  statutes,  or  customs  of 
this  our  realm. 

And  Jarlhennore,  of  our  ample  and  abundant  grace,  certain  knowled|;e 
and  mere  motion,  we  have  granted,  and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  do  grant  unto  the  said  governor  and  company  and  their  inc- 
cessors,  that  they  and  their  successors,  and  their  factors,  servants,  and  agents, 
for  them  and  on  their  behalf,  and  not  otherwise,  shall  forever  hereafter  have, 
use,  and  enjoy  not  only  the  whole,  entire,  and  only  liberty  of  trade  and  traffic, 
and  the  whole,  entire,  and  only  liberty,  use,  and  privilege  of  trading  and 
traffic  to  and  from  tlie  tcnitories,  limits,  and  places  aforesaid;  but  also  the 
whole  and  entire  trade  and  traffic  to  and  from  all  havens,  bays,  creeks,  rivers, 
lakes,  and  seas,  into  which  they  shall  find  entrance  or  passage  by  water  or 
loud  out  of  the  territories,  limits,  and  places  aforesaid ;  and  to  and  with  all 
the  natives  and  peor>^6,  inhabitants  or  which  shall  inhabit  within  the  terri- 
tories, limits,  and  places  aforesaid ;  and  to  and  with  all  other  nations  inhob' 


EXCLUSIVE  PRIVILEGES. 


477 


•.    I 


}    ■ 


iting  may  the  coaats  adjacent  to  the  said  territories,  limits,  and  places  aforesaid, 
which  are  not  already  possesBed  as  aforesaid,  or  whereof  the  sole  liberty  or 
privilege  of  trade  and  traflBc  is  not  granted  to  any  other  of  our  subjects. 

And  of  our  farther  royal  favor,  and  of  our  more  especial  grace,  certain 
knowledge,  and  mere  motion  have  granted,  and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors,  do  grant  to  the  said  governor  and  company  and  to 
their  successors,  that  neither  the  said  territories,  limits,  and  places  hereby 
granted  as  aforesaid,  nor  any  part  thereof,  nor  the  islands,  havens,  ports, 
cities,  towns,  and  places  thereof,  or  therein  contained,  shall  be  visited, 
frequented,  or  haunted  by  any  of  the  subjects  of  us,  our  heirs  or  successoi's, 
contrary  to  the  true  meaning  of  these  presents,  and  by  virtue  of  our  preroga- 
tives royal,  which  we  will  not  have  in  that  behalf  argued  or  brought  into 
question;  we  straightly  charge,  command,  and  prohibit  for  us,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  all  the  sttbj'>cts  of  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  of  what  degree 
or  quality  soever  tliey  be,  that  none  of  them  directly  do  visit,  haunt,  frequent, 
or  trade,  traffic,  or  adventure,  by  way  of  merchandise,  into  or  from  any  the 
said  territories,  limits,  or  places  hereby  grarted,  or  any  or  either  of  them 
other  than  the  said  governor  and  company,  and  such  particular  persons  as 
now  be  or  hereafter  shall  be  of  that  company,  their  agents,  factors,  and 
assigns,  unless  it  be  by  the  license  and  agreement  of  the  said  governor  and 
company  in  writing  first  had  and  obtained  under  their  common  seal,  to  be 
granted  upon  pain  that  every  such  person  or  persons  that  shall  trade  and 
traffic  into  or  from  any  of  the  countries,  territories,  or  limits  aforesaid,  other 
than  the  said  governor  and  company  and  their  successors,  shall  incur  our  in- 
dignation, and  the  forfeiture  and  the  loss  of  the  said  goods,  merchandises, 
and  other  things  whatsoever,  which  so  shall  be  brought  into  this  realm  of 
England  or  any  the  dominions  of  the  same,  contrary  to  our  said  prohibition 
or  the  purport  or  true  meaning  of  these  presents,  or  which  the  said  governor 
and  company  shall  find,  take,  and  seize,  in  other  places  out  of  our  dominions, 
where  the  said  company,  their  agents,  factors,  or  assigns  shall  trade,  traffic, 
or  inhabit  by  virtue  of  these  our  letters  patent,  as  also  the  ship  and  ships, 
with  the  furniture  thereof,  wherein  such  goods,  merchandises,  and  other 
things  shall  be  brought  or  found,  the  one  half  of  all  the  said  forfeiture  to  bo 
to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  and  the  other  half  thereof  by  these  presents 
clearly  and  wholly  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  give  and  grant  unto  the 
said  governor  and  company  and  their  successors.     And  farther,  all  and  every 
the  said  offenders,  for  their  said  contempt,  to  suffer  such  punishment  as  to 
us,  our  heirs  and  suecetson,  shall  seem  meet  or  convenient,  and  not  to  be  in 
any  wise  delivered  until  they  and  every  of  them  shall  bewane  bound  unto 
th«  said  governor  for  the  time  being  in  the  sum  of  one  thousand  pounds  at  the 
least,  at  no  time  then  after  to  trade  and  traffic  into  any  of  the  said  places, 
seas,  bays,  straits,  ports,  havens,  or  territories  aforesaid,  contrary  to  our  ex- 
press commandment  in  that  behalf  set  down  and  published. 

And  farther,  of  our  more  especial  grace  wo  have  condescended  and  granted, 
and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  do  grant  unto  the  said 
governor  and  company,  and  their  successors,  that  we,  our  heirs  and  successors, 
will  not  grant  liberty,  license,  or  power  to  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever, 
contrary  to  the  tenor  of  these  our  letters  patent,  to  trade,  traffic,  or  inhabit 


I  1 


I  i 
t 


1   I 

V 


'flNfflr 


478 


THE  FUR -TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


unto  or  upon  any  of  the  territories,  limits,  or  places  afore  specified,  contrary 
to  the  meaning  of  these  presents,  without  the  consent  of  the  said  governor 
and  company  or  the  most  part  of  them. 

And,  of  our  more  abundant  grace  and  favor  to  the  said  governor  and  com- 
pany, we  do  hereby  declare  our  will  and  pleasure  to  be,  that  if  it  shall  so 
happen  that  any  of  the  persons  free  or  to  be  free  of  the  said  company  of  ad- 
venturers of  Edgland  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,  who  shall,  before  the  going 
forth  of  any  ship  or  ships  appointed  for  a  voyage  or  otherwise,  promise  or 
agree,  by  writing  under  his  or  their  hands,  to  adventure  any  sum  or  sums  of 
money  towards  the  furnishing  any  provision  or  maintenance  of  any  voyage  or 
voyages,  set  forth  or  to  be  set  forth,  or  intended  or  meant  to  be  set  forth,  by 
the  said  governor  and  company,  or  the  more  part  of  them,  present  at  any 
public  assembly  commonly  called  the  general  court,  shall  not  within  the  spa>ce 
of  twenty  days  next  after  warning  given  to  him  or  them  by  the  said  governor 
and  company,  or  their  known  officer  or  minister,  bring  in  and  deliver  to  the 
treasurer  or  treasurers  appointed  for  the  company,  such  simis  of  money  as 
shall  have  been  expressed  and  set  down  in  writing,  by  the  said  person  or 
X>er8ons  subscribed  with  the  name  of  said  adventurer  or  adventurers,  that 
then  and  at  all  times  after  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  the  said 
governor  and  company,  or  the  more  part  of  them  present,  whereof  the  said 
governor  or  his  deputy  to  be  one,  at  any  of  their  general  courts  or  general 
assemblies,  to  remove  and  disfranchise  him  or  them,  and  every  such  person 
or  persons,  at  their  wills  and  pleasures ;  and  he  or  they  so  removed  and  dis- 
franchised, not  to  be  permitted  to  trade  into  the  countries,  territories,  or 
limits  aforesaid,  or  any  part  thereof;  nor  to  have  any  adventure  or  stock 
going  or  remaining  with  or  among  the  said  company,  without  special  license 
of  the  said  governor  and  company,  or  the  more  part  of  them  present  at  any 
general  court,  first  had  and  obtained  in  that  behalf,  anything  before  in  these 
presents  to  the  contrary  thereof  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

And  our  will  and  pleasure  is,  and  hereby  we  do  also  ordain,  that  it  shall 
and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  the  said  governor  and  company,  or  the  greater 
part  of  them,  whereof  the  governor  for  the  time  being,  or  his  deputy,  to  be  one, 
to  admit  into  and  be  of  the  said  company,  all  such  servants  or  factors  of  or 
for  the  said  company,  and  all  such  others  as  to  them  or  the  most  part  of  them 
present  at  any  court  held  for  the  said  company,  the  governor  or  his  deputy 
being  one,  shall  be  thought  fit  and  agreeable  with  the  orders  and  ordinances 
made  and  to  be  made  for  the  government  of  the  said  company. 

And  farther.  Our  will  and  pleasure  is,  and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors,  we  do  grant  unto  the  said  governor  and  company,  and 
to  their  successors,  that  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  in  all  elections  and  by-laws 
to  be  made  by  the  general  court  of  the  adventurers  of  the  said  company,  tliat 
every  person  shall  have  a  number  of  votes  according  to  his  stock,  that  is  to 
say,  for  every  hundred  pounds  by  him  subscribed  or  brought  into  the  present 
stock,  one  vote,  and  that  any  of  those  that  have  subscribed  less  than  one 
hundred  pounds  may  join  tlieir  respective  sums  to  make  one  hundred  pounds, 
and  to  have  one  vote  jointly  for  the  same,  and  not  otherwise. 

A  nd  further,  of  our  especial  grace,  certain  knowledge,  and  mere  motion, 
we  do  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  grant  to  and  with  the  said  governor 


nnFT 

JURISDICTION  AND  POWERS. 


479 


and  company  of  adventurers  of  England  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,  that  all 
lands,  territories,  plantations,  forts,  fortifications,  factories,  or  colonies,  where 
the  said  companies,  factories,  or  trade  are  or  shall  be,  within  any  tlic  ports  or 
places  afore  limited,  shall  be  immediately  and  from  henceforth  under  tho 
power  and  command  of  the  said  governor  and  company,  their  successors  and 
assigns ;  saving  the  faith  and  allegiance  due  and  to  be  performed  to  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors,  as  aforesaid ;  and  that  tho  said  g-^vemor  and  company 
shall  have  liberty,  full  power,  and  authority  to  appoint  and  establish  gov- 
ernors and  all  other  officers  to  govern  them ;  and  that  the  governor  and  his 
council  of  tho  several  and  respective  places  where  the  said  company  shall 
have  plantations,  forts,  factories,  colonics,  or  places  of  trade  within  any  the 
countries,  lands,  or  territories  hereby  granted,  may  have  power  to  judge  all 
persons  belonging  to  the  said  governor  and  company,  or  the  i  uhall  live  under 
them  in  all  causes,  whether  civil  or  criming,  according  to  Ihe  laws  of  this 
kingdom,  and  to  execute  justice  accordingly. 

Aiid,  in  case  any  crime  or  misdemeanor  shall  be  committed  in  any  of  the 
said  company's  plantations,  forts,  factories,  or  places  of  trade  within  the 
limits  aforesaid,  where  judicature  cannot  be  executed  for  want  of  a  governor 
and  council  there,  then  in  such  case  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  chief 
factor  of  that  place  and  his  council  to  transmit  the  party,  together  with  the 
oflFence,  to  such  other  plantations,  factory,  or  fort,  where  there  shall  be  a 
governor  and  council,  where  justice  may  be  executed,  or  into  the  kingdom  of 
England,  as  shall  bo  thought  most  convenient,  there  to  inflict  such  punish- 
ment as  the  nature  of  the  oflence  will  deserve. 

And  moreover,  Our  will  and  pleasure  is,  and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors,  we  do  give  and  grant  unto  the  said  governor  and  com- 
pany and  their  successors  free  liberty  and  license  in  case  they  conceive  it 
necessary  to  send  either  ships  of  war,  men,  or  ammunition,  into  any  their 
plantations,  forts,  factories,  or  places  of  trade  aforesaid,  for  the  security  and 
defence  of  the  same,  and  to  choose  commanders  and  officers  over  them,  and  to 
give  thtra  power  and  authority  by  commissions  under  their  common  seal,  or 
otherwise,  to  continue  or  make  peace  or  war  with  any  prince  or  people  what- 
soever, that  are  not  Christians,  in  any  places  where  the  said  company  shall 
have  any  plantations,  forts,  or  factories,  or  adjacent  thereunto,  as  shall  be 
most  for  the  advantage  and  benefit  of  said  governor  and  company,  and  of  their 
trade;  and  also  to  right  and  recompense  themselves  upon  the  goods,  estate,  or 
people  of  those  parts,  by  whom  the  said  governor  and  company  shall  sustiiin 
any  injury,  loss,  or  damage,  or  upon  any  other  people  whatsoever,  that  shall 
any  way,  contrary  to  the  intent  of  these  presents,  interrupt,  wrong,  or  injure 
them  in  their  said  trade,  within  the  said  places,  territories,  or  limits  granted 
by  this  charter.  And  that  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  tlie  said 
governor  and  company  and  their  successors,  from  time  to  time  and  at  all  times 
henceforth,  to  erect  and  build  such  castles,  foitilications,  forts,  garrisons, 
colonies  or  plantations,  towns  or  villages,  in  any  parts  or  places  M'ithin  the 
limits  and  bounds  granted  before  in  these  presents,  unto  the  said  governor 
and  company,  and  their  successors,  from  time  to  time ;  and  at  all  times  from 
henceforth  to  erect  and  build  such  castles,  fortifications,  forts,  garrisons, 
-colonies  or  plantations,  towns  or  villages,  in  any  parts  or  places  witliin  the 


1 : 


ii. 


!'■; 


480 


THE  PUR-TRADE  UNDER  BRITISH  AUSPICES. 


limits  and  bounds  granted  before  in  these  presents  nnto  the  said  governor  and 
company,  as  they  in  their  discretion  shall  think  fit  and  requisite ;  and  j^or  the 
supply  of  such  as  shall  be  needful  and  convenient,  to  keep  and  be  in  the  same, 
to  send  out  of  this  kingdom,  to  the  said  castles,  forts,  fortifications,  garrisons, 
colonies,  plantations,  towns,  or  villages,  all  kinds  of  tlothing,  provision  of 
victuals,  ammunition,  and  implements  necessary  for  such  purpose,  paying 
the  duties  and  custom  for  the  same,  as  also  to  transport  and  carry  over  such 
number  of  men  being  willing  thereunto  or  not  prohibited,  as  they  shall  think 
tit,  and  also  to  govern  them  in  such  legal  and  reasonable  manner  as  the  said 
governor  and  company  shall  think  best,  and  to  intiict  punishment  for  mis- 
demeanors, or  impose  such  fines  upon  them  for  breach  of  their  orders,  as  in 
these  presents  are  formerly  expressed. 

And  farther.  Our  will  and  pleasrure  is,  and  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors,  we  do  gra&t  unto  the  said  governor  and  compuiy  and 
their  successors,  full  power  and  lawful  authority  to  seize  upon  the  persons  of 
all  such  English  or  any  other  subjects  which  shall  sail  into  Hudson's  Bay,  or 
inhabit  in  any  of  the  countries,  islands,  or  territories  hereby  granted  to  the 
■aid  governor  and  company,  without  their  leave  and  license  in  that  behalf 
first  had  and  obtained,  or  that  shall  contemn  or  disobey  their  orders,  and 
send  them  to  England ;  and  that  all  and  every  person  or  persons,  being  our 
subjects,  any  ways  employed  by  the  said  governor  and  company,  within  any 
the  parts,  places,  or  limits  aforesaid,  shall  be  liable  unto  and  sufiier  such  pun- 
ishments for  any  offences  by  them  committed  in  the  parts  aforesaid  as  the 
president  and  council  for  the  said  governor  and  company  there  shall  think  fit 
and  the  merit  of  the  ofi'ence  shall  require  as  aforesaid ;  and  in  case  any  person 
or  persons  being  convicted  and  sentenced  by  the  president  and  council  of  the 
said  governor  and  company,  in  the  countries,  lands,  or  limits  aforesaid,  their 
factors  or  agents  there,  for  any  ofiPence  by  them  done,  shall  appeal  from  the 
same ;  and  then  and  in  such  case,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  the 
said  president  and  council,  factors  or  t^ents,  to  seize  upon  him  or  them, 
and  to  carry  him  or  them  home  prisoners  into  England,  to  the  said  governor 
ao'.i  company,  there  to  receive  such  condign  punishment  as  hia  caoae  shall 
require,  and  the  law  of  this  nation  allow  of ;  and  for  the  better  discovery  of 
abuses  and  injuries  to  be  dene  unto  the  said  governor  and  company,  or  their 
successors,  by  any  servant,  by  them  to  be  employed  in  the  said  voyages  and 
plantations,  it  snail  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  the  said  governor  and  cum- 
pany,  and  their  respective  presidents,  chief  agent,  or  governor  in  the  parts 
af(»«8aid,  to  examine  upon  oath  all  factors,  masters,  pursers,  supercargoes, 
commanders  of  castles,  forts,  fortifications,  plantations,  or  colonies,  or  other 
persons,  touching  or  conueming  any  matter  or  thing,  in  which  by  law  or 
usage  an  oath  may  be  administered,  so  as  the  said  oath  and  the  matter  therein 
contained  be  not  repugnant  but  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  this  realm. 

And;  We  do  hereby  straightly  charge  and  command  all  and  singular,  our 
admirals,  vice-admirals,  justices,  mayors,  sheriflb,  constables,  boilifls,  and  all 
and  singular  other  our  officers,  ministe.-s,  liege  men,  and  subjects  whatsoever 
to  be  aiding,  Tavoring,  helping,  and  assisting  to  the  said  governor  and  company, 
and  to  their  successors,  and  to  their  deputies,  officers,  factors,  servants,  as- 
signees, i        ministers,  and  cNnsry  of  them,  in  executing  and  enjoying  the 


GOVERNMENT  PROTECTION. 


481 


premises,  as  well  on  land  as  at  sea  from  time  to  time,  when  any  of  you  shall 
thereunto  be  required ;  any  statute,  act,  ordinance,  proviso,  proclamation,  or 
restraint  heretofore  made,  set  forth,  ordained,  or  provided,  or  any  other  matter, 
cause,  or  thing  whatsoever  to  the  con'^rary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding.  In 
witness  whereof,  we  have  cansed  these  our  letters  to  be  made  patents ;  witness 
onrself  at  Westminster,  the  second  day  of  May,  in  the  two  and  twentieth 
year  of  our  reign. 


By  Writ  of  Privy  Seal, 


Signed, 


PiaOTT. 


f 
1  ■ 


RUT.  H.'W.  OOIR,  Toi..  I.   31 


,      i 

I   ,  t 


1' 


;!i 


CHAPTER  XV. 

T-OETS    AND     FORT     LIFE. 

Afflioation  or  thb  Txbm— Thb  Ebectiom  of  a  Fobt  a  Spboial  Favob, 
AN©  OccxASiON  of  REJoiciNa — A  Dep6t  oe  Factoet— AKCHITKmmi 

AND  CoNSTEUCnON — EXAMPLES    OF  SeVEBAL  FoRTS— YoEK  FaCTTOET — 
FOET    GaEET— FOET    WiLLIAM — FOET    EDMONTON— FOBT   FeANKUN — 

FoET  Vancouvee— FoET  Walla  Walla— Foet  Rttpeet — Wtkth's 
Establishment  on  Wapato  Island— Foet  Hall — Fobt  Yukon — Fobt 

VlCTOEIA — QbOTTND    PlAN    OF    FOET    SiMPSON— RENDEZVOUS — LlFK    AT 
THE  FOBTS. 


The  term  Fort  was  applied  indiscriminately  to  all 
fur-trading  establishments  having  any  pretensions 
to  permanency,  whether  a  bastioned  fortress  of  stone 
or  wood,  or  a  square  stockade,  palisade,  or  picketed 
enclosure,  consisting  of  sharpened  poles  or  slabs,  a 
block  house  of  squared  logs  with  apertures,  or  a  house 
of  round  unhewn  logs  without  loop-holes,  a  factory 
where  stores  were  kept  for  general  distribution  and 
furs  were  prepared  for  shipping,  and  which  were  pre- 
sided over  .7ith  no  small  show  of  dignity  and  state 
by  titled  officers,  or  the  little  cabin  thrown  up  in  the 
heart  of  a  far  distant  wilderness  by  the  aid  of  sharp- 
ened steel,  as  if  by  magic  before  the  eyes  of  wondering 
savages,  and  stocked  only  with  the  articles  necessary 
for  temporary  traffic — these  were  the  fort,  fortress, 
factory,  poft.,  house,  establishment,  or  head-quarters 
of  those  who  domineered  these  savage  realms. 

To  the  natives  the  building  of  a  fort  among  them  was 
made  to  appear  a  special  favor.  In  thus  bringing  to 
their  door  the  white  man's  goods  and  friendship  tire- 
some journeys  were  saved,  and  more  time  left  them 

(483) 


^m 


all 


THE  SELECTION  OF  A  SITE.  HI 

to  hunt  for  the  furs  which  were  to  procure  thorn 
greater  comforts.  The  standing  threat,  and  the  one 
most  generally  feared,  was  that  if  they  did  not  behave 
well  the  trader  would  leave  them.  So  little  ground 
was  required  for  fort  purposes,  and  so  quiet  the  de- 
meanor of  the  fur-dealer,  that  no  jealousy  was  excited, 
or  fear  of  usurpation.  In  the  eyes  of  tho  northern 
savages  the  Englishmen  were  gods  bringing  them 
good  gifts  as  from  the  skies.  Once  having  abandoned 
their  aboriginal  weapons,  and  learned  the  use  of  iron, 
foreign  implements  became  necessities.  » 

Hence  it  was  made  an  occasion  of  rejoicing  among 
the  natives  when  fire-arms,  whiskey,  and  religion  were 
thus  brought  to  their  very  door,  and  the  fort-builders 
took  especial  pains  to  interest  the  natives  in  their 
doings,  and  make  them  feel  a  pride  in  the  fort,  which 
they  were  assured  was  erected  solely  for  their  benefit. 

To  York  Factory  prior  to  1740  the  natives  came  one 
thousand  miles  to  trade.  The  Knistcneaux  trading 
at  Fort  Churchill  found  the  distance  so  great  that 
they  gladly  welcomed  the  Northwest  Company,  who 
established  nearer  and  more  intimate  commercial  and 
social  relations  with  them.  By  despatching  on  their 
journey  early  in  the  spring  active  young  men  and 
women,  a  ''  Uowing  them  only  a  day  or  two  at  the 
fort  for  diaukenness,  they  were  enabled  to  return 
before  the  streams  were  frozen.  Comforting  drink, 
however,  was  brought  away  for  home  convivialities, 
which  was  sacred  to  the  purpose,  and  on  no  account 
to  be  touched  while  en  route. ^ 

In  selecting  a  site  for  a  fort,  water  and  wood  were 
first  considered,  then  hunting  or  fishing.''  Often  some 
of  the  chiefs  were  appointed  to  maintaiii  order,  to 
curb  the  unruly  of  their  tribe,  and  to  protect  the  in- 

'  These  people  complained  no  less  of  the  quality  of  the  goods  furnished 
them  than  of  their  long  journey,  which  subjected  them  to  three  months  of 
summer  sun.  And  even  then  they  could  not  carry  one  third  of  their  beaver 
to  market.  Carver's  Travels,  112. 

'  Very  little  foreign  or  manufactured  food  was  supplied  the  fort-dwellers. 
They  must  for  the  most  part  obtain  their  own  provisions  or  starve  j  heao« 
to  be  near  a  supply  was  very  essential.  • 


:i 


484 


FORTS  AND  FORT  IJFE. 


terests  of  the  fort-builders  by  every  means  in  their 
power.  This  was  a  high  distinction  and  seldom 
abused. 

The  dep6t  was  the  head-quarters  or  point  of  distri- 
bution of  a  department.  Thus  York  Factory  was  the 
dep6t  of  the  Northern  Department,  Moose  Factory 
of  the  Southern,  Lachine  of  the  Montreal  Depart- 
ment, and  Fort  Vancouver,  later  Fort  Victoria,  of 
the  Columbia  Department.  When  the  Oregon  country 
as  far  north  as  thf  "trait  of  Fuca  was  declared  a  part 
of  the  United  St  and  the  company's  head-quarters 
on  the  Pacific  r^.  od  to  Victoria,  that  became  the 
dep6t.  In  its  government,  in  its  attitude  toward  the 
aborigines,  each  fort  was  an  imperium  in  imperio. 

Among  the  more  imposing  establishments  wa» 
Prince  of  Wales  Fort,  which  stood  upon  a  commanding 
elevation  on  the  left  bank  of  Churchill  River,  near  the 
mouth.  In  1744  it  was  the  company's  chief  factory. 
Its  high  irregular  walls,  twenty-seven  feet  in  thick- 
ness, were  of  hewn  stone  and  lime,  and  it  mounted 
forty  guns.  All  this  was  precautionary  against  a 
white  enemy  rather  than  a  red  one.  Richard  Norton 
was  governor  there  in  1737,  and  after  him  Ferdinand 
Jacobs;  then  in  1769  ruled  Moses  Norton,  a  half- 
breed  son  of  Richard,  educated  in  England;  in  1775 
Samuel  Heame  was  placed  in  command.  The  gov- 
ernor appeared  in  cocked  hat,  tights,  and  regimentals ; 
the  dress  of  their  Indian  wives  was  half  Queen  Anne 
and  half  Spanish,  a  head-kerchief,  mantilla,  long  open 
skirt,  and  short  embroidered  petticoat.  This  fort  was 
demolished  by  the  French  in  1799,  but  was  rebuilt 
soon  afterward.' 

'  'About  the  fort,'  according  to  a  letter  given  in  Cox's  Adv.,  ii.  397-8,  in 
1820,  '  are  now  to  be  seen  decayed  carriages  without  guns,  rust-eaten  guns 
without  carriages,  groups  of  unappropriated  balls  of  various  calibre,  broken 
down  walls,  and  dilapidated  stores.  See  Dohbs'  Hudson's  Buy,  8,  18,  and 
Ifearne's  Journey,  1,  wliere  a  fine  engraving  is  given.  Ballantjme,  wiiting  in 
1841,  says,  Hudson's  Bay,  30,  'The  only  two  in  the  country  that  are  real,  ftjniJ 
Jide  forts,  are  Fort  Garry  and  the  Stone  Fort  in  the  colony  of  Red  River,  which 
are  surrounded  by  stone  walls  with  bastions  at  the  comers.  The  others  'are 
merely  defended  by  wooden  pickets  or  stockades ;  and  a  few,  where  the  Indians 
are  quiet  and  harmless,  are  entirely  destitute  of  defence  of  any  kind.' 


PLAN  AND  CONSTRUCTION. 


485 


York  Factory,  once  Fort  Bourbon,  on  the  marshy 
left  bank  of  Hayes  River,  five  miles  above  its  mouth, 
which  subsequently  became  the  general  entrep6t  for 
all  Rupert  Land,  was  on  Hudson  Bay,  and  consisted 
of  two-story  wooden  buildings,  roofed  with  lead,  placed 
in  the  form  of  a  square,  and  surrounded  by  a  stockade 
twenty  feet  high.  In  the  buildings  composing  the 
square  the  stores  were  kept  and  the  officers  lived; 
between  the  square  and  the  palisade  were  servants' 
quarters  and  workshops.  This  was  the  chief  post  for 
the  vessels  of  the  company,  and  there  the  chief 
factors  formerly  met  in  annual  council.* 

The  principal  building  of  a  distributing  dep6t  was 
tlie  general  store  where  the  outfit  for  the  department 
was  kept.  At  York  Factory  a  two  years'  supply  was 
stored,  while  at  Fort  Vancouver,  being  so  far  from 
home,  lest  there  should  be  accident  or  delay,  a  two 
years'  supply  was  always  intended  to  be  on  hand.  At 
York  Factory,  and  in  most  of  the  principal  forts,  was 
a  room  called  the  bachelors'  hall,  devoted  specially  to 
the  company's  clerks,  but  where  strangers  were  always 
welcome  to  smoke  or  spread  their  blankets.  The 
larger  stations  had  hospitals  for  the  use  of  natives 
aS  well  as  servants  of  the  company.  Settlers  on  the 
frontier  often  called  the  solid  log-house  that  protected 
them  from  the  savages  their  fort. 

With  a  few  exceptions  the  fur-posts  of  the  Pacific 
were  much  alike.  If  permanent,  they  were  palisaded 
in  size  and  form  about  one  hundred  yards  square. 
The  pickets  consisted  of  poles  or  logs  ten  or  fifteen 
inches  in  diameter  sunk  into  the  ground  and  rising 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  above  it.  Split  slabs  were  some- 
times used  instead  of  round  poles.  At  two  corners 
diagonally  opposite,  and  raised  above  the  tops  of  the 
pickets,  two  wooden  bastions  were  so  placed  as  to  com- 
mand a  view  of  the  country.  In  each  of  these  bastions 
were  mounted  from  two  to  six  guns,  four,  six,  or  twelve 
pounders,  each  with  its  aperture  like  the  port -hole 

*  Franklin's  Nar.,  i.  37-8;  BaUantyne's  Hudsm'n  Buy,  23,  137-9. 


486 


FORTS  AND  FORT  LIFK 


of  a  ship.  The  ground  floor  beneath  served  as  a 
magazine.  Within  the  pickets  were  erected  houses 
according  to  necessity,  stcre  and  dwelling  being  most 
conspicuous. 

I  will  elucidate  further  by  describing  briefly  a  few 
individual  establishments  in  various  localities. 

Later,  Fort  Garry,  on  the  Assiniboine,  was  built^ 
and  became  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  head-quar- 
ters in  British  America.  There  high  stone  walls, 
with  round  towers  pierced  for  cannon  at  the  corners, 
enclosed  a  square  wherein  were  substantial  wooden 
buildings,  among  which  were  storehouses,  dwelhngs, 
the  governor's  residence,  and  the  jail.  Stone  Foi-t, 
some  distance  below  on  Red  River,  enclosed  about 
four  acres,  with  numerous  buildings.^' 

When  Pontiac  attempfco'^    to  surprise  Detroit,  the 

f)lace  consisted  of  a  stockade  of  round  piles,  with  a 
ining  of  palisades,  and  bastions  mounting  a  few  small 
cannon.  Here  in  1767  were  about  one  hundred  houses, 
and  the  garrison  in  time  of  peace  consisted  of  some 
two  hundred  men.  Michilimackinac,  when  Pontiac's 
warriors  drove  their  ball  over  the  stockade  as  an 
excuse  to  rush  in  after  it  and  so  seize  the  fort,  was 
similarly  constructed  and  defended.* 

Fort  William,  on  Lake  Superior,  the  famous  em- 
porium and  interior  head-quarters  of  the  Northwest 
Company,  might  almost  be  called  a  palisaded  village. 
A  stockade  fifteen  feet  high,  with  a  tower  overlook- 
ing, surrounded  a  spacious  square  in  which  was  a 
great  variety  of  buildings.  First,  standing  five  feet 
from  the  ground,  in  the  middle  of  the  square,  was  the 
coimcil-house  and  caravansary,  a  large  wooden  build- 
ing, called  fclegant  in  those  days,  containing  a  dining- 
hall  sixty  by  thirty  feet,  on  the  wall  of  which  were 
hung  the  jwrtraits  of  partners  and  other  paintings, 
with  the  apartments  of  the  principal  agents  and  stew- 

^  Corawallis,  New  El  Dorado,  62,  quotes  literally  f  ram  Ballautvne,  Iludson'a 
Bay,  101;  s^e  also  nindt'  Nar.,  i.  124-32;  MiHon  and  Cheadle^x  North  Wett 
Paasage,  36  et  seq. ;  Palliser'a  Paper/t,  and  Further  Papers,  paasim. 

*aarm>r'*  Travels,  19;  Parkman's  Pontiac,  i.  322. 


FORT  WILLIAM. 


ard  at  one  end,  and  basement  for  kitchen  and  servants, 
rooms.  Across  the  entire  front  was  a  piazza,  sur- 
mounted by  a  balcony.  Two  buildings,  of  equal  base 
but  less  in  height,  stood  one  on  either  side  of  the  com- 
pany's great  house,  containing  bedrooms  divided  by 
a  corridor  running  their  entire  length,  one  building 
being  for  the  use  of  the  wintering  partners  and  the 
other  for  apprenticed  clerks.  In  other  parts  of  the 
square,  all  conveniently  arranged,  and  with  due  defer- 
enco  to  place  and  dignity,  were  lodging-houses  for  the 
men,  warehouses,  a  counting-house,  doctor's  office, 
powder  magazine,  and  jail.  Besides  these,  on  one 
side  of  the  enclosure  was  a  range  of  buildings,  serving 
as  stores  and  workshops,  where  dry  goods,  grocer' ')s, 
and  liquors  were  sold  at  retail,  where  men  were 
equipped  and  boats  mended.  Outside  the  fort  was  a 
ship-yard,  kitchen  garden,  corn  and  potato  fields,  and 
pastures  and  pens  for  cattle,  sheep,  hogs,  and  poultry.' 

Fort  Edmonton,  the  chief  establishment  of  the 
Saskatchewan  district,  and  the  residence  of  the  chief 
factor,  was  in  form  hexagonal,  with  pickets,  battle- 
mented  gateways,  and  bastions.  There  were  the  usual 
buildings,  including  carpenter  shop,  blacksmith's  forgo, 
and  windmill.  Here  were  made  and  repaired  boats, 
carts,  sleighs,  harness,  and  other  articles  and  appli- 
ances for  the  aTiUual  voyage  to  York  Factory,  and 
for  traffic  between  posts.  There  was  likewise  herc3 
a  large  and  successful  farm,  where  wheat,  barley,  and 
vegetables  were  raised  in  abundance.^ 

Fort  Franklin,  on  the  shore  of  Great  Bear  Lake, 
was  a  rough  pine  log-hut,  containing  a  single  apart- 
ment eighteen  by  twenty  feet.  It  was  roofed  with 
st'.oks  and  moss,  and  the  interstices  between  the  logs 
were  fdled  with  mud.' 

No  fortress  of  stone  or  brick  was  ever  erected  by  a 
fur  company  on  the  Pacific  coast,  but  some  of  those 

yFranehere'a  Kar.,  33»-40;  Cox'a  Col.  mver,  ii.  290-1. 
'Grant's  Ocean  to  Ocean,  170-2;  Martin's  Htulsun'a  Bay,  18;  MUton  and 
Ghmd/e'tt  North  West  Pcusaqe,  184. 
"UoofHT's  Tiuiki,  30^0. 


4S8 


FORTS  AND  FORT  LIFE. 


of  wood  here  built  were  exceedingly  substantial.  The 
first,  tV  .>f  Astoria,  was  not  one  of  the  best.  Clear- 
ing tht  ense  forest  from  the  spot  selected,  the  logs 
were  hewn  and  erected  into  two  parallel  rows  of 
houses,  covered  and  roofed  with  cedar  bark,  and  con- 
sisting of  stores,  shops,  and  dwellings,  one  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  long,  and  ninety  feet  apart.  Across 
the  front  and  rear  were  placed  picketed  slabs,  and  the 
doors  of  the  houses  all  opened  into  the  enclosure  thus 
made. 

Fort  Vancouver,  the  metropolitan  establishment 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  the  Pacific  be- 
tween the  years  1825  when  it  was  begun,  and  1847 
when  the  head-quarters  of  the  company  were  removed 
to  Victoria,  stood  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia 
River,  six  miles  above  the  eastern  mouth  of  the  Wil- 
lamette. It  was  at  first  located  on  the  fir-skirted 
brow  of  a  gently  sloping  prairie,  about  one  mile  from 
the  river,  but  this  distance  proving  an  obstacle  to 
transport  and  communication,  it  was  moved  a  few 
years  afterward  to  within  one  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the 
stream. 

The  plan  presented  the  usual  parallelogram,  though 
much  larger  than  common,  of  about  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  length  and  five  hundred  in  breadth, 
enclosed  by  an  upright  picket  wall  of  large  and  closely 
fitted  beams,  over  twenty  feet  in  height,  secured  by 
buttresses  on  the  inside.^" 

The  interior  was  divided  into  two  courts  with 
about  forty  buildings,  all  of  wood  except  the  powder 
magazine,  which  was  constructed  of  brick  and  stone. 
In  the  centre,  facing  the  main  entrance,  stood  the 
governor's  residence,  with  the  dining-room,  smoking- 
room,  and  public  sitting-room,  or  bachelors'  hall,  the 
latter  serving  also  for  a  museum  of  Indian  relics  and 
other  curiosities.    Single  men,  clerks,  and  others  made 

•"  In  Wilkes'  Nar.  of  the  U.  S.  Ex.  Exped.  it  is  stated  that  no  baationa, 
galleries,  or  loop-holes  existed,  but  Dunn  civcs  the  fort  four  bastions,  each 
with  two  twelve-pounders,  while  Evans  and  Victor  mention  two  and  one  bas- 
tions respectively. 


FORT  VANCOUVER, 


1S9 


the  bachelors'  hall  their  place  of  resort.  Strangers 
were  sent  there;  it  was  the  rendezvous  for  pastime 
and  gossip.  To  these  rooms  artisans  and  servants 
were  not  admitted.  The  residence  was  the  only  two- 
story  house  in  the  fort,  and  before  its  door  frowned 
two  old  mounted  eighteen-pounders.  The  quarters  of 
the  chief  factor  were  provided  in  like  manner  with 
two  swivel -guns.  A  prominent  position  was  also 
occupied  by  the  Roman  Catholic  chapel,  to  which 
the  majority  of  the  occupants  resorted,  while  the 
smaller  congregation  of  Episcopalians  made  use  of 
the  dining-room  for  religious  gatherings.  The  other 
buildings  consisted  of  dwellings  for  officers  and  men, 
school,  warehouses,  retail  stores,  and  artisans'  shops 
of  all  descriptions.  The  interior  of  the  dwellings  ex- 
hibited as  a  rule  an  unpainted  pine-board  panel,  with 
bunks  for  bedsteads,  and  a  few  other  simple  pieces  of 
furniture. 

A  short  distance  from  the  fort,  on  the  bank  of  the 
river,  lay  a  village  of  about  sixty  neat  and  well  built 
houses,  for  the  married  mechanics  and  servants, 
built  in  rows  so  as  to  form  streets.  There  were  also 
the  hospital,  boat  house  and  salmon  house,  and  near 
by  were  barns,  threshing  mills,  granaries,  and  dairy 
buildings. 

The  plain  round  the  fort,  and  along  the  river  to 
Calapooya  Creek  for  about  nine  square  miles,  was 
occupied  by  a  well  managed  farm,  fenced  into  grain- 
fields,  pastures,  and  gardens,  the  latter  quite  renowned 
for  their  large  variety  and  fine  specimens  of  plants. 
Fully  fifteen  hundred  acres  were  under  cultivation, 
while  the  live-stock  numbered,  at  the  time  of  Wilkes' 
visit,  about  three  thousand  head  of  cattle,  twenty- 
five  hundred  sheep,  and  three  hundred  brood  mares. 
On  the  dairy  farm  were  upward  of  one  liundrcd  cows, 
and  a  still  greater  number  supplied  the  dairy  on 
Wapato  Island,  the  produce  being  chiefly  absorbed 
by  the  Russian  colonies  in  the  north.  About  six 
miles  up  the  Columbia  lay  a  grist-mill  and  a  sawmill 


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(too 


FORTS  AND  FORT  LIFE. 


driven  by  water  power,  from  wliich  the  Sandwich 
Islands  received  considerable  supplies." 

A  post  of  somewhat  different  construction  from  the 
rest  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  built  with  a  particular 
view  to  strength,  was  Fort  Walla  Walla,  originally 
called  Fort  Nez  Perc^,  which  owed  its  establishment 
to  the  attack  of  Indians  at  this  place  on  Ogden's  party 
of  fur-traders  in  about  1818.  The  attack  was  re- 
pelled, but  the  necessity  of  a  post  for  retreat  became 
apparent  in  case  of  future  hostilities.  Timber  was 
accordingly  brought  to  the  spot  over  a  great  dis- 
tance, and  a  picket  enclosure  two  hundred  feet  square 
erected  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Columbia  River,  on 
a  promontory  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  north  of 
the  Walla  Walla.  The  wall  was  formed  of  sawed 
timber  twenty  feet  long,  two  feet  and  a  half  wide, 
and  six  inches  thick,  presenting  a  smooth  face  sur- 
mounted by  a  balustrade  four  feet  in  height,  with 
ramparts  and  loop-holes,  and  provided  all  round  the 
inside  with  a  gallery  five  feet  in  width.  At  each 
angle  was  a  reservoir  with  a  capacity  of  two  hundred 
gallons  of  water,  for  protection  against  incendiarism. 
Within  the  wall  were  stores,  and  dwellings  for  ser- 
vants, and  in  the  centre  another  enclosure  twelve 
feet  in  height,  with  port-holes  and  slip-doors,  a  fort 
within  a  fort.  Besides  the  outer  gate,  moved  by  a 
pulley,  the  entrance  was  guarded  by  double  doors, 
and  for  further  security  the  natives  were  not  ad- 
mitted within  the  picket,  but  carried  on  their  trade 
through  a  small  opening  in  the  wall,  which  was  pro- 
tected by  an  iron  door.  The  war  material  consisted 
of  four  pieces  of  ordnance  of  from  one  to  three  pounds, 
ten  pwivel-guns,  and  a  supply  of  muskets,  pikes,  and 
hand-grenades. 

"  Wilkes'  Nar.  of  the  U.  S.  Ex.  Exped.,  iv.  349-60;  v.  128-9;  Dunn's 
Or.  Ter.,  141-8;  Evans'  Hist.  Or. ,  MS. ,  185-6;  Victor' a  River  of  the  Wei>t,25; 
Parker's  L'rplor.  Tour,  148,  168-70,  184-C;  Townsend's  Nar.,  170;  Tolmie'a 
Joriniiil,  MS.,  Finlayson's  Vancouoer  Island  and  Northwest  Coast,  MS.,  31. 
Parriah,  Iiid.  Anecdotes,  MS.,  says  there  were  eight  or  tea  extra  rooms ;  that 
at  ono  timo  there  were  Imlf  a  dozen  missionary  families  at  the  fort,  and  eacli 
had  a  room  to  iteelf.     There  was  also  a  ladies  parlor. 


[•-'rfsf' 


PORT  VICTORIA. 


401 


was 
dis- 


Despite  the  precautions  taken  fire  obtained  the 
unstery,  and  at  the  rebuilding  adobe  took  the  place 
of  timber. 

The  later  Fort  Walla  Walla  was  a  military  estab- 
lishment, erected  in  1857,  one  mile  and  a  half  west  of 
the  town  of  Walla  Walla." 

Fort  Rupert,  on  the  north-east  coast  of  Vancouver 
Island,  was  quite  an  affair.  For  a  stockade  pine  trees 
were  sunk  into  the  ground  and  tied  together  on  the 
inside  with  beams.  Round  the  interior  ran  a  gall'^;^ , 
and  at  two  opposite  corners  were  flanking  bastions 
mounting  four  nine-pounders.  Within  were  the  usual 
shops  and  buildings,  while  smaller  stockades  protected 
the  garden  and  out-houses." 

Nathaniel  Wyeth's  log-house,  placed  upon  Wapato, 
now  Sauvd  Island,  in  1834-5,  was  dignified  by  the 
name  of  Fort  William.  Fort  Hall,  which  he  had  built 
on  his  way  out,  though  hastily  erected  and  with  few 
tools,  was  a  singularly  good  stockade.  The  build- 
ings and  stockade  of  some  establishments  were  con- 
structed of  drift-wood,  with  usually  two  bastions,  and 
round  the  inside  a  gallery.  Fort  Yukon,  the  most 
remote  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  be- 
yond the  Alaskan  line,  seemed  to  the  traveller  to 
contrast  favorably  with  the  less  pretentious  and  more 
filthy  Russian  estabhsliments.  Smooth  floors,  open 
fireplaces,  glazed  windows,  and  plastered  walls,  be- 
longing to  commodious  dwellings  of  officers  and  men, 
with  ice  and  meat  wells,  fur  room,  and  fur  press,  were 
not  often  encountered  in  those  parts." 

Fort  Victoria  enclosed  one  hundred  yards  square  in 
cedar  pickets  twenty  feet  high.  At  the  north-east  and 
south-west  corners  were  octagonal  bastions  mounted 
with  six  six-pounders.  It  was  founded  in  June  1843 
as  a  trading-post  and  depot  for  whalers,  but  after  the 
treaty  of  1846,  by  which  the  United  States  obtained 

^^Boss' Fur  Hunters,  i.  172-84,  214-17;  WUkes' Nar.of  the  U.S.Ex.  ExpcJ., 
Iv.  417-18;  Kane's  Wnmlerings,  271-2;  Owens'  Directory,  125-6. 
"Barrett- LeniiarU's  Tniv.,  67-8. 
^'Whymper's  Alaska,  2o3. 


■'■i.Li-, 


m 


492 


PORTS  AND  FORT  LIFE. 


possession  of  the  Oregon  Territory,  the  head-quarters 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  the  Pacific  coast 
were  transferred  from  Fort  Vancouver  to  this  post. 
By  this  time  it  had  more  than  three  hundred  acres 
under  cultivation  and  possessed  a  large  dairy  farm, 
from  which  the  Kussian  colonies  in  Alaska  received 
supplies.     The  site  was  chosen  by  Governor  Douglas 


-H. 


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Obottnd  Plan  of  Fort  Sisipson,  Bbitish  Colombia,  1850-66; 
APTKR  A  Sketch  bv  P.  N.  Compton,  Victoria,  1878. 

A,       Front  Entmnce.  G,  Trade  Hhop. 

B,B,  BartiotiR,  4  R11118.  11,  Wuroliniiue. 

C,  Buck  Kntrance.  I,    Men's  Ilouaes. 

D,  Commnnding  Offlcor's  Quortcn.  K,  BlnckBniith  >Shop. 

E,  Mu88  Uooni.  L,  Carpenter  Rhop, 
F,F,  Officers'  Quarters.  M,  Kitchen. 

•,«,•,•,  Oallery  along  the  Inside  of  the  picket  wall,  reached  by  staircases,  affording 
separate  entrance  to  upper  story  of  bastions. 


on  the  east  shore  of  Victoria  Harbor,  one  mile  from 
its  entrance,  and  the  men  and  material  were  obtained 
from  the  lately  abandoned  forts  MoLoughlin  and 
Simpson.  The  original  name  was  Fort  Camosun,  an 
Indian  term  for  the  inlet,  which  was  changed  in  1845 
to  Fort  Albert,  by  order  from  England,  and  in  the 


RENDEZVOUS. 


following  year  to  Fort  Victoria.  It  consisted  of  cedar 
pickets  eighteen  feet  above  ground,  enclosing  a  space 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  square.  At  the  angles  were 
two  block-houses  on  bastions,  and  within  the  enclosuie 
the  usual  wooden  buildings. 

As  the  several  posts  upon  the  Pacific  slope  wiU  bo 
fully  mentioned  in  the  order  of  their  estabhshment  I 
pass  on  without  further  comment  here.^" 

There  was  a  custom  prevalent  among  the  fur  com- 
panies of  the  United  States  of  appointing  a  rendez- 
vous at  places  central  and  convenient  where  traders 
every  year  might  meet  the  trappers  of  the  respective 
districts  without  the  trouble  of  building  forts  and 
keeping  up  expensive  establishments  through  the  year. 
Rendezvous  were  appointed  for  different  places  and 
seasons,  according  to  the  variations  of  traffic.  The 
most  noted  summer  rendezvous  was  in  what  is  now 
the  north-east  comer  of  Utah,  on  Green  River,  some- 
times on  Ham  Branch,  where  Bonneville,  Kit  Carson, 
and  others  famous  in  fur-hunting  annals  met  Nez 
Perces,  Bannocks,  Shoshones,  French  Canadians,  and 
half-breeds,  and  traded  and  caroused.  What  a  com- 
T>'  Ingling  of  heaven,  earth,  and  bedlam  was  there !  On 
the  soft,  sun-tinctured,  mountain  air  rang  in  hellish 
harmony  the  united  sound  of  whooping  savages,  baying 
wolf-dogs,  howling  half-breeds,  cracking  rifles  and  car- 
bines, with  the  sax^rS  and  Jichtre  of  Frenchmen,  and 
the  deeper  and  yet  more  awful  blasphemy  of  English- 
speaking  border  men.  These  dying  down  at  intervals, 
there  was  the  milder  but  not  more  exalted  refrain  of 
hiccoughing  traders  and  licentious  love-makers.  The 
rendezvous  to  the  United  States  trappers  and  traders 
was  what  Fort  William  was  to  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany, only  in  the  former  instance  obstreperous  mirth 
was  not  placed  in  circumscription  and  confine  as  under 
rigid  corporation  rule.    All  were  free  to  eat,  drink,  and 


V      ''1 


!     I 


^^FirUayson'a  Vancouver  Island,  MS.,  21-6,  32;  SeemarCs  Voy.  Herald,  i. 
101-6;  Kane's  Wanderings,  208-9;  Vavasour's  Report,  in  Martin's  Hudson's 
£ay,M.  


4M 


FORTS  ADTD  FOKT  LIFE. 


kill  ad  libitum,  each  guu*disg  his  own  head.  Free 
trappers  and  Indians  there  brought  their  furs  and 
exchanged  them  for  such  articles  as  they  required; 
hired  trappers  brought  in  their  catch  and  received 
their  year's  pay.  Employers  and  employed,  agents 
and  rovers  there  met,  and  as  it  was  usually  during 
the  months  of  July  and  August,  when  the  fur  of  the 
beaver  was  of  least  value;  and  as  many  of  them  since 
the  last  meeting  had  not  beheld  the  face  or  heard  the 
voice  of  a  white  man,  and  as  they  had  endured  many 
hardships  and  had  gone  long  without  the  assistance 
of  exhilarating  drink,  they  met  determined  by  way  of 
compensation  to  unite  with  business  as  much  pleasure 
as  possible.  Nor  were  they  wanting  in  any  of  the  three 
great  gratifiers  of  sensual  man's  three  great  passions, 
intoxicating  drink,  woman,  and  tobacco.  The  first  and 
the  last  the  traders  took  care  to  provide,  selling  the 
vilest  quality  at  exorbitant  prices,  four  dollars  a  pint 
for  well  watered  strychnine  whiskey  being  a  common 
price,  and  tobacco  five  dollars  a  pound;  for  the  other, 
there  was  no  lack  of  forest  beauties,  who  came  without 
bidding,  and  who  were  not  backward  in  becoming  the 
wives  of  the  lordly,  long-haired  trappers,  forever  or  {or 
a  day.  Thus  there  was  no  end  of  traflScking,  gambling, 
horse-racing,  dancing,  courting,  and  fighting. 

And  this  to  nine  tenths  of  them  was  their  whole 
earthly  compensation,  for  but  few  of  them  ever  re- 
turned to  home  or  friends.  If  not  bound  by  debt 
to  some  trader  or  company,  the  free  trapper  was 
bound  by  iron  chains  to  his  own  infinitely  worse  than 
brutal  passions.  What  a  beautiful  example  our  civili- 
zation, with  its  proud  progression,  its  high  auu  holy 
religion,  its  arts  and  soaring  intellect,  here  set  before 
these  men  of  nature  1 

There  were  favorite  wintering-grounds  in  the  bend 
of  the  Yellowstone,  and  on  other  affluents  of  the  Mis- 
souri, the  spot  usually  selected  being  one  where  the 
climate  was  comparatively  mild,  and  where  grass  and 
game  abounded. 


RULES  AND  ROUTINE. 


495 


Fort  life,  although  in  the  heart  of  a  wilderness  and 
surrounded  by  savages  and  wild  beasts,  was  usually  a 
tame  aflfair.  There  was  a  vast  difference,  however,  in 
different  posts  in  this  regard.  The  discipline  and 
pomp  at  Fort  Vancouver,  with  its  frequent  visitors, 
its  comfortable  beds,  and  well  loaded  tables,  was  in 
marked  contrast  to  the  primitive  simplicity  displayed 
at  the  little  log  cabin  at  Shushwaps  with  its  solitary 
occupant.  Unhappy  the  clerk  condemned  for  the 
winter  to  distant  exile  1  But  change  was  frequent, 
so  that  one  was  not  kept  wholly  away  from  compan- 
ionable friends  long  at  a  time. 

The  larger  establishments  were  models  of  con- 
venience and  good  order.  Bells  were  rung  at  dawn 
for  the  workmen  to  begin  their  labors,  at  eight  or 
nine  for  breakfast,  at  one  for  dinner,  and  at  six  for 
supper,  when  work  closed.  The  officers  and  laborers 
had  separate  tables,  the  latter  at  some  establishments 
drawing  rations  from  the  steward,  as  in  the  army. 
Business  was  the  sole  object  of  all,  and  all  were  busy. 
Sometimes  a  distant  post-keeper  would  be  caught  with 
nothing  to  do  for  the  winter,  which  made  time  hang 
heavily  enough. 

An  important  arrival,  such  as  a  squadron  of  richly 
laden  canoes  from  a  distance  with  chiefs,  warriors, 
wives,  and  slaves,  called  for  corresponding  state  on  the 
part  of  the  governor  of  the  fort;  otherwise  the  august 
savage  would  deem  himself  slighted.  On  such  occa- 
sions audience  would  sometimes  be  held  under  an 
awning  spread  outside  the  fort  or  on  mats  laid  under 
the  trees,  when,  after  silent  conference  and  grave 
smoking,  speeches  were  made  and  presents  exchanged, 
after  which  trade  was  opened,  and  an  encounter  of 
savage  and  civilized  wit  followed. 

For  ordinary  business  each  fort  had  its  trading- 
room  or  store  where  goods  were  kept  and  dispensed. 
Usually  but  few  Indians  were  admitted  within  the 
walls  of  the  fort  at  a  time.  The  factory  gates  were 
always  to  bo  kept  shut,  and  it  was  the  business  of  one 


H 


i  '■ 


m, 


406 


FORTS  AND  FORT  LIFE. 


person  to  scrutinize  every  one  who  entered  or  went 
out,  as  well  as  to  guard  against  surprise  or  illicit 
traffic.  When  duties  were  not  pressing,  holidays  were 
frequent.  Besides  Sundays,  Wednesdays  and  Satur- 
days were  sometimes  set  apart  as  days  of  leisure,  but 
this  was  not  often  the  case.  Sunday  was  commonly 
respected  at  all  the  forts,  no  work  but  that  of  neces- 
sity being  done  on  that  day.  Religious  services  were 
held  at  the  chief  stations,  the  Church  of  England 
ritual  predominating;  or  if  Catholics  were  present,  as 
there  were  many  among  the  French  Canadians,  their 
faith  was  respected;  and  if  a  priest  was  present,  mass 
would  be  celebrated.  It  was  customary  among  the 
western  forts  to  give  as  a  half-holiday  Saturday  after- 
noons, when  shooting  and  games  were  indulged  in. 

In  camp,  fort,  or  rendezvous,  story -telling  was  greatly 
in  vogue.  Sailors  never  yet  spun  such  yams.  Every- 
thing tended  to  promote  these  wonderful  revelations. 
The  long  intervals  which  elapsed  between  meetings, 
the  dangers  by  which  they  were  surrounded,  and 
which  they  wore  continually  escaping,  the  impossi- 
bility of  practically  testing  the  veracity  of  the  nar- 
rator, the  craving  of  the  company  for  accounts  of  the 
marvellous,  all  stimulated  to  exaggeration;  and  by  a 
natural  reflex  law  nothing  so  stimulated  the  trapper 
to  reckless  deeds  as  his  recital  of  real  or  imaginary 
exploits,  and  the  accompanying  eulogy  of  his  com- 
panions. For  praise  or  fame  the  trapper  would  dare 
anything. 

In  his  graphic  pictures  of  border  life  and  adven- 
ture, Irving  seems  to  accept  the  wildest  freaks  of  fancy 
and  to  retail  them  as  sober  reality.  And  not  only 
this,  but  their  unwritten  tales  he  garnishes  to  the  full 
power  of  his  imagination.  In  his  hands  their  soap 
and  water  become  brilliant  bubbles,  which  the  authors 
themselves  would  scarcely  recognize  as  their  own. 
Many  of  the  stories  told  in  Astoria  and  Bonneville's 
Adventures  I  have  seen  in  narrations  printed  before 
Irving's  works  were  written.     Often  the  same  exciting 


^w 


AMUSEMENTS. 


497 


ti.le  is  related  as  original,  with  liimBelf  as  the  hero,  by 
two  or  three  different  persons  at  as  many  different 
times.     This  was  a  common  trick  of  the  day. 

One  would  relate  of  himself  a  daring  adventure, 
which  two  listeners  going  each  his  way  would  make 
his  own  at  the  next  camp-fire.  And  thus  a  small 
stock  was  made  to  accomplish  grand  results. 

A  standard  tale  is  that  of  a  lone  hunter  who,  re- 
turning with  his  game,  is  chased  by  three  mounted 
pursuers.  Rapidly  they  gain  on  him,  although  he 
casts  aside  every  burden  but  his  weapons.  Escape  is 
impossible.  Desperation  seizes  him.  Finally  draw- 
ing from  his  belt  a  long  glittering  knife,  he  plunges  it 
into  his  horse's  neck.  The  noble  steed  drops  dead, 
while  the  hunter,  making  a  breastwork  of  the  caret  ss, 
drops  with  his  rifle  one  of  his  pursuers,  and  with  lis 
pistol  another.  The  third  takes  warning  and  vanish  js. 
Catchinff  the  two  riderless  horses  and  securinf;  tlicui, 
the  triumphant  hunter  reaches  cau)p  in  safety  with 
his  trophies.  Amusements  were  not  frequent;  and  yet 
it  would  be  extremely  difficult  to  deprive  a  Freneb  • 
man  or  an  Englishman  of  them  wholly.  There  were 
state  and  church  days  to  be  kept,  besides  incidontul 
periods  of  merrymaking,  such  as  marriage  in  high 
life,  a  distinguished  arrival  or  departure,  and  the  like. 
Strange  to  say,  feasting  where  there  was  often  little 
to  eat,  and  dancing  where  there  were  no  ladies,  were 
the  chief  pastimes.  The  most  substantial  joy  obtain- 
able was  a  night  of  drunkenness,  so  deep  as  to  leave 
next  day  the  nerves  shaking  and  the  head  throbbing 
by  way  of  remembrance.  All  this  was  expected 
on  Christmas  and  New  Year.  Then  the  best  was 
brought  out,  and  eaten  and  drank,  and  dancing  was 
kept  up  by  the  men  until  a  late  hour.  On  every 
important  occasion,  such  as  the  arrival  or  departure 
of  a  governor,  or  an  expedition,  or  even  for  lesser 
causes,  a  feast  was  expected. 

Intercourse  between  master  and  servant,  or  officer 
and  subordinate,  was  characterized  by  the  strictest 

Hist.  N.  W.  Coast,  Voi,.  I.    " 


32 


408 


FORTS  AND  FORT  LIFE. 


formality  and  often  sternness.  Partners  sometimes 
struck  a  clerk,  but  not  (jften;  occasionally  a  clerk 
would  chastise  a  boatma^r  a  partner  or  proprietor 
might  beat  a  common  sei  v  ant  to  his  heart  s  content 
without  thereby  demeaning  himself  in  the  eyeti  of  his 
associates.  Like  the  English  or  Scotch  laborer,  the 
Canadian  habitant  must  always  remain  an  inferior. 
Fort  rule  was  despotic.  Every  man  there  was  either 
master  or  servant  absolute.  Something  below  a  clerk, 
but  yet  not  wholly  servant,  was  called,  if  he  found 
favor,  a  '  decent  young  man.'  A  bourgeois  was  some- 
times postmaster  and  sometim*  s  of  lesser  consequence.^* 

"My  authorities  for  this  chapter,  in  Addition  to  those  already  cited, 
are:  Dobba'  Hvdson'a  Bay,  8,  26,  39,  43,  47,  C3,  56,  66-8,  193-202;  Umfre- 
ville's  Iludson'a  Bay,  6,  6o,  81-4,  203;  Martin'a  IJudawi'a  Bay,  fil-3j  Mac- 
kemie'a  Voy.,  xxv.  cxxi. ;  fleame'a  Joamey,  chap.  x. ;  Hooper'a  Tmhi,  272, 
396-7;  Wilkea'  Nar.,  iv.  333;  Sillirwin'a  Joumai,  April  1834;  Oreenhow'a 
Or.  and  lol.,  160-2,  411-13;  A  Few  Worda  on  the  Uud/ion'a  Bay  Company, 
20;  Viclor'a  River  of  the  Wtst,  2r>-8;  Ilinea'  Life,  189-90,  384-6;  Irvim/a 
AsCoria,  611-14,  and  Borineville'a  Adv.,  84-6;  Ahhott'a  Kit  Carson,  18,  49; 
Tmonnend'a  Nar.,  71-6,  112;  Parki-r'a  Tour,  79-80,  187;  Parkman'a  Old 
Rfqime,  5,  note,  121-2,  303-10,  .323-5;  Cox' a  Adv.,  ii.  65,  271-81;  Carver's 
Travela,  112;  Mayiie'a  Brit.  Col.,  116, 124, 184-5,297-300;  Ballanlyne's  Hud- 
son's Bay,  249,  261,  280;  Butler's  Wild  North  Land,  61,  164,  192,  199,  206, 
282,  331 ;  British  North  America,  246,  256-7 ;  Hines'  Ex.  Or.,  chaps,  vii.  xx.; 
Dunn's  Or. ,  chaps,  vii.  xv. ;  Franchere's  Nar. ,  320-5 ;  Kingston's  ^now  Shoes, 
77,  225;  Horetzy's  Cnnw'  ■  on  the  Pacific,  8;  Dunraven'a  Great  Divide,  25; 
Simpson's  life,  %9     L)<td<j  ins  of  the  Oreat  West;  Petera' Kit  Carson,  1Q; 

Jlobbs'  W  ^ !/'  laydeii  s  iur  Beunng  Animals;  Hinds'  Ex.,  ii.  89;  Lewis 
and  ("  s,  188;  Macjia'a  Brit.  Col,  49;  MacDonald's  Brit.  Col., 

chap.  y  Panderings  "^S;  Milton  and  Cheadle's  North  West  Paaaage, 

54-5;  ,.-.(>»'«  Vancouver       ind  and  North  West  Coast,  MS,,  93-4,  98; 

Tache  >ies,\i:'?    Swan's  >^oL  Scraps,  2^;  Oray'a  Or.,Qhe,p.  xv.;  Robin- 

son's  On. :        r  La'      88-105. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


THE    UNITED    STATES    FUR-TRADE. 
1605-1805. 

Shore  of  New  Enoland— Hollanders  on  the  Hudson— The  New  Neth- 
erlands Company — The  Swedish  West  India  Company  on  the  Del- 
aware— Henry  Fleet  on  the  Potomac — Comparisons  between  the 
FiTR  Business  of  Canada  and  the  United  States— Percolations 
through  the  Alleohanies — The  Fur-trade  of  Natchez— The  Ohio 
Company — Laclede,  Maxan,  and  Company— Auouste  and  Pierrk 
Chouteau — Inroads  from  Michilimackinac — St  Louis  in  1803 — 
Trappers  on  the  Missouri — The  Missouri  Fur  Company— Astor's 
Projects — ^The  American  Fur  Company — The  Pacific  Fur  Company — 
The  Southwest  Company — The  Columbia  Fur  Com  i-any — The  North 
American  Fur  Company — The  Rocky  Moui.iain  Fur  Company — 
Sublette,  Bridger,  Fitzpatrick,  and  P'.erre  Chouteau  the  Younh- 
£R— James  Pursley  and  the  Opening  of  the  Santa  Vt  Trade— 
B.  Pratte  and  Company — Bent  and  St  Vrain  —  Gaunt,  Dripps, 
Blackwell,  and  Fontenelle — Kit  Carson,  Pilcher,  Bonneville, 
Walker,  and  Wyeth— The  Rendeza'ous — The  Colorado  Basin  and 
Caufobnla — The  China  Trade— The  Oaufornla  Fur-trade— Jede- 
dlah  Smith — Pattis. 

To  Maine  and  up  the  Kennebec,  where  in  1605 
George  Weymouth  was  driving  fine  bargains,  and 
where  John  Smith  during  three  months  of  the  year 
1614  made  fifteen  hundred  pounds  profit,  we  must 
look  for  the  beginning  of  the  iur-trade  in  what  is  now 
called  the  United  States.  For  the  next  hundred 
years  the  history  of  the  fur-trado  is  the  history  of  dis- 
covery within  this  territory.  While  there  were  here 
no  all-absorbing  and  permanent  companies  such  as 
were  found  in  the  north,  there  were  not  lacking  the 
usual  early  monopolies.     For  a  long  time  thereafter 


)    i 


500 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUR-TRADE. 


every  one  dabbled  in  furs,  and  by  1G23  from  the  shores 
of  New  England  to  the  metropolis  of  old  England  fifty 
ships  a  year  carried  timber,  fish,  and  furs. 

Meanwhile  the  Half  Moon  in  1609  had  not  been 
many  days  at  Amsterdam,  returned  from  her  strange 
stumbling  into  the  Hudson,  before  certain  shrewd 
old  Hollanders  prevailed  upon  a.  portion  of  the  crew 
to  conduct  another  vessel  to  this  beautiful  River  of 
the  Mountains,  where  furs  so  costly  might  be  had 
for  trinkets  so  trifling.  The  venture  was  eminently 
successful.  Other  equally  wise  and  good  Amsterdam 
Dutchmen  sent  vessels  thither,  so  'hat  in  1614  the 
placid  water  was  well  sprinkled  with  little  high-pooped 
round-prowed  vessels,  surrounded  by  canoes  filled  with 
eager  fur-sellers.  From  this  time  Manhattan  Island 
became  the  chief  depot  on  the  Atlantic  where  furs 
were  collected  for  shipment  to  Europe.  Although 
adventure  was  slower  in  ascending  the  streams  of  New 
England  for  peltries  than  in  accepting  the  broader 
and  more  fascinating  invitation  of  the  St  Lawrence, 
yet  following  attempted  colonization  at  Newfound- 
land, which  turned  upon  its  cod-fishery,  competition 
finally  drove  traffic  farther  and  farther  into  the  in- 
terior. 

The  Dutch  embraced  within  the  limits  of  their  fur- 
trading  territory  not  only  the  Hudson  liiver  region, 
but  the  coast  of  New  Jersey  and  southward  to  Dela- 
ware Bay.  Adriaen  Block,  Hendrick  Christaensen, 
and  Cornelis  Jacobsen  May  were  the  great  captains 
of  that  trafiac.  Block,  having  ii  1613-14  lost  by  fire 
his  ship  Tiger,  built  on  Manhattan  Island  the  yacht 
Onrust,  and  sailing  eastward  through  Long  Island 
Sound,  discovered  the  Connecticut  Biver,  and  thence 
proceeded  to  Cape  Cod.  Christaensen  built  a  fort 
near  Albany.  May  gave  his  name  to  a  cape  in 
southern  New  Jersey.  Finally,  for  three  years  from 
the  1st  of  January  1615,  a  monopoly  of  trade  was 
given  to  the  New  Netherlands  Company. 

Probably  more  than  at  any  other  time  or  place 


DUTCH  COMPANIES. 


501 


within  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  trade,  under 
the  monopoly  of  the  New  Netherlands  Company, 
whose  scouts  penetrated  far  to  the  westward  of  Al- 
bany, assumed  the  character  of  commercial  occupation 
rather  than  colonization.  The  Holland  Company  no 
more  coveted  settlement  than  the  Hudson's  Bay  or 
the  Northwest  Company.  Their  object  was  to  obtain 
as  many  furs  within  the  allotted  three  years  as  pos- 
sible. Christaensen,  one  of  the  monopolists,  was  killed, 
but  not  until  after  he  had  found  the  Delaware  River, 
which  offered  the  most  flattering  prospects  for  traffic 
in  seal-skins,  and  secured  the  success  of  the  company. 

At  the  expiration  of  the  term,  the  New  Nether- 
lands Company  begged  in  vain  for  a  renew^al  of  its 
charter.  Although  not  above  commercial  colonization, 
Holland  had  greater  ideas  respecting  her  rich  new 
domain.  Commerce  must  assume  state  robes  and 
take  on  nationality.  For  a  few  years  trade  in  New 
Netherlands  was  free  to  all.  Then  in  1G21  came 
the  West  India  Company  with  a  patent  for  exclusive 
trade  for  twenty-two  years,  durmg  which  time  its 
power  wa^s  as  absolute  throughout  all  Dutch  America 
as  ever  was  that  of  the  Hundred  Associates  in  New 
France.  It  could  garrison  forts,  make  treaties,  ap- 
point governors,  and  dispense  justice.  Fifty  armed 
vessels  awaited  its  requirements.  Five  chambers  of 
directors  sent  nineteen  delegates  to  a  central  board 
which  regulated  affairs.  Unfortunately  for  permanent 
traffic,  it  had  been  stipulated  that  this  powerful  corpo- 
ration should  colonize  as  well  as  trade,  so  that  game 
and  Indians  gradually  disappeared.^ 

The  Puritans  at  Plymouth  were  too  busily  engaged 
in  other  matters  to  give  much  attention  to  fur-trading. 
They  had  souls  to  save,  stomuclis  to  fill,  and  a  nation 
to  make;  nevertheless  they  did  not  altogether  disdain 
the  comfortable  covering  of  beasts.  In  the  Boston 
state-house  the  cod  has  been  elevated  as  a  symbol  of 


place 


'  From  40,000  guilders  in  Hi'2C)  the  tratiic  of  the  Dutch  West  India.  Com- 
pany increased  in  a  few  years  to  tlirce  or  four  times  that  sum. 


502 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUR-TRADE. 


ii 


!|i^':i 


Massachusetts'  prosperity.  Yet  the  beaver  in  truth 
did  for  the  early  settlers  better  service,  though  little 
honor  has  been  officially  done  this  industrious  animal. 
After  no  small  display  of  ill-tempered  piety  the  Puri- 
tans gave  some  attention  to  fishing  and  fur-hunting. 

And  now  with  his  Swedish  West  India  Company 
comes  Gustavus  Adolphus,  having  cast  a  covetous 
eye  on  the  American  traflBc  of  his  Holland  neigh- 
bors, and  sends  to  the  Delaware  under  the  guidance 
of  Minuit,  a  renegade  director  of  the  New  Amster- 
dam Company,  his  fur -gatherers,  who  in  1638  built 
Fort  Christina  near  the  present  site  of  Wilmington. 
Though  warned  in  loud  terms  against  intrusion,  the 
Swedes,  after  strongly  fortifying  themselves,  load  ships 
with  furs  and  send  them  home.  So  New  Sweden 
prospers  and  the  Dutch  fur-trade  is  gradually  less- 
ened. 

The  Virginian  colonists  meanwhile  devoted  them- 
selves chiefly  to  the  cultivation  of  tobacco;  this,  and  a 
burning  desire  to  exterminate  the  natives  who  in  1622 
had  broken  out  in  retaliating  massacres,  dissipated  all 
thoughts  of  trading  for  furs.  Likewise  Lord  Balti- 
more and  Cecil  Calvert,  in  their  colonization  of  Mary- 
land, were  far  more  intent  on  permanent  settlement 
than  temporary  traffic.  Yet  throughout  all  this  re- 
gion individual  fur-traders  and  small  companies  were 
abroad.  In  1634  Calvert  ascended  the  Potomac  and 
found  there  Henry  Fleet,  who  had  for  some  time  past 
been  engaged  in  profitable  peltry-trading,  and  who 
dealt  in  corn  as  well  as  in  beaver.  William  Claj'- 
borne  built  a  trading-post  on  Kent  Island,  and  even 
set  up  a  claim  to  independent  proprietorship.  Reli- 
gion and  politics  occupied  the  people  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay.  Penn  played,  smoked,  and  chatted  with 
the  Indians,  buying  their  lands,  and  sometimes  traf- 
ficking with  them;  yet  commerce  was  not  uppermost 
in  his  mind.  Only  in  New  Netherlands  was  the  spirit 
of  colonization  subordinated  to  that  of  traffic  with  tlie 
natives. 


BP 


QUICK  COLONIZATION. 


503 


r'un- 


3igh- 


Between  the  coast  settlers  and  the  neighboring 
Indians  inland  arose  a  series  of  wars  known  as  the 
Pequot,  King  Philip's,  the  French  and  Indian  war,  and 
others,  which  kept  the  country  in  a  ferment  unfavor- 
able to  traffic;  and  as  emigration  pushed  westward, 
European  and  Indian  intercourse  was  but  a  repetition 
of  outrages  and  retaliations.  Interwoven  in  the  his- 
tory of  all  the  middle  and  so-called  western  states  of 
the  Union,  their  subjugation  and  settlement,  is  more 
or  less  traffic  with  the  natives  for  furs;  but  nowhere 
did  this  trade  assume  proportions  which  render  its 
special  narration  here  a  matter  of  interest  or  profit. 

Left  to  the  savages  for  some  tv/enty  years  longer 
by  the  assassination  of  La  Salle  in  1687,  the  Mis- 
sissippi Valley  was  finally  placed  in  communication 
with  New  France,  and  a  considerable  peltry-trade 
followed.  With  the  rise  of  George  Law,  the  advent 
of  the  Western  Company,  the  pouring-in  of  popula- 
tion, white  and  black,  numbering  several  thousands, 
and  the  expenditure  in  three  years  by  the  India  Com- 
pany in  Louisiana  of  twenty-five  millions  of  francs, 
only  tended  to  hasten  the  removal  of  the  fur-hunting 
frontier  westward,  so  that  in  1719  we  find  fur-hunting 
establishments  opening  trade  on  the  Red,  Arkansas, 
Platte,  and  Missouri  rivers. 


Unlike  hyperborean  North  America,  no  King 
Charles  ever  sold  the  United  States  to  a  commercial 
company.  From  the  first  this  territory  was  conse- 
crated to  a  higher  destiny  than  the  breeding  of  wild 
beasts  for  their  skins.  The  land  was  for  quick  col- 
onization; animals,  aborigines,  forests,  everything 
primeval,  must  stand  aside  for  that  artful  beldame 
civilization.  Hence  it  was  that  the  fur-trade  never 
made  so  much  of  a  showing  south  as  north  of  the 
forty-ninth  parallel." 

'^In  1835,  while  British  America  sent  4829  bear-skiuu  to  England,  the 
United  Stites  sent  10,184.  But  to  231C  beaver  sent  bj-  the  latter,  tlie  fonner 
shipped  8ri,0.'?.1.  Colonitits  were  obliged  to  kill  lieurs  out  of  self-protection; 
as  a  coHiiiieriiiil  speculation  trajipiiig  lieavci  was  safer  and  more  prolitablu 


604 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUE-TRADE. 


Dating  from  the  beginning,  whether  we  consider 
the  colonists  of  Virginia  and  New  England  or  the 
adventurers  to  Hudson  Bay,  we  are  forced  to  acknowl- 
edge that  the  earlier  efforts  of  the  English  and 
Scotch  fur-hunters  in  America  compare  unfavorably 
with  those  of  their  French  rivals.  A  century  or  so 
must  elapse  before  the  slow  and  calculating  Anglo- 
Saxon  could  securely  clutch  so  large  a  portion  of  the 
planet  or  achieve  what  the  more  mercurial  Gaul  by 
his  suaviter  in  modo  might  accomplish  in  a  few  years. 

Though  the  powerful  Iroquois  regarded  the  English 
with  favor,  and  introduced  them  to  the  traffic  of  the 
Algonquin  tribes  inhabiting  the  shores  of  the  great 
lakes,  yet  when  McGregory  in  1687  appeared  on 
Lake  Huron  with  a  cargo  of  articles  for  traffic,  his 
goods  were  seized  and  he  was  imprisoned;  and  few 
cared  to  venture  a  like  experiment.  Not  until  a  fort 
on  Lake  Ontario  was  built  by  order  of  the  New 
York  governor,  Burnet,  in  1725,  and  the  Pennsyi- 
vanians  crossed  the  Alleghanies  and  opened  trade 
with  the  natives  of  Ohio,  and  others  found  their  way 
to  the  wigwams  of  the  Cherokees,  did  the  fur-traffic 
of  the  English  colonists  assume  much  importance; 
and  even  then  their  results  were  small  as  compared 
with  those  of  the  great  Scotch  and  English  combina- 
tions. Nevertheless  there  was  some  fur-traffic  within 
the  borders  of  United  States  territory  during  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries. 


if 


The  most  flourishing  trading  establishment  on  the 
Mississippi  River  in  1721  was  that  of  Natchez.  The 
fur-trade  was  then  the  most  important  business  enter- 
prise in  that  region,  but  as  elsewhere  Indian  troubles 
and  rapid  settlement  soon  ruined  it,  or  rather  drove 


it  westward. 


Following  the  revolt  of  the  Natchez  in 


than  iightiug  bears ;  hence  the  difference.  This  same  year  British  America 
sent  England  71,068  marten,  25,297  mink,  1, 147, 72o  musquash,  17,989  otter, 
iuid  .S22,186  seal,  while  the  United  States  sent  47,253,  82,950,  2.3,232,  143, 
anil  2081  respectively.  At  this  tinio,  however,  the  United  States  consumed 
more  fui-s  ana  sent  more  to  China  tlian  British  America  used  or  sent  directly 
to  Asia. 


■r.  .1'"!'' 


on 


BEYOND  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


505 


1729,  in  which  two  hundred  Frenchmen  were  killed, 
the  Western  or  India  Company  surrendered  its  privi- 
leges and  became  extinct.  Bienville's  two  failures  in 
1736  and  1740  to  punish  the  Natchez,  and  tlie  French 
and  Choctaw  victories  over  the  English  in  1750, 
tended  in  no  wise  to  mend  matters. 

Then  at  the  same  time,  that  is  in  1749,  came  the 
conflict  between  French  and  English  frontiersmen  in 
the  Ohio  Valley,  where  the  Virginians  appeared  under 
the  name  of  the  Ohio  Company  and  disputed  the  en- 
croachments of  the  French  fur-gatherers.  Christopher 
Gist,  sent  from  Virginia  on  an  exploring  tour  down 
the  Ohio  by  the  Ohio  Company,  returned  through 
Kentucky  in  1751.  The  campaigns  of  Washington 
and  Braddock  followed,  all  which  tended  to  blot  out 
the  possibility  of  a  systematic  or  permanent  fur-trade 
before  its  beginning. 

Lacl&de,  Maxan,  and  Company  were  among  the 
first  at  New  Orleans  to  associate  for  the  prosecution 
of  a  purely  fur-hunting  business.  Their  commission, 
issuing  from  the  director -general  of  Louisiana,  was 
dated  1762. 

The  names  of  Auguste  and  Pierre  Chouteau  will 
evei'  stand  conspicuous  in  the  history  of  this  epoch. 
In  a  tour  of  the  Mississippi,  made  during  the  winter 
of  1763-4,  with  a  considerable  party  they  established 
a  trading-post  upon  the  spot  where  now  stands  the 
city  of  St  Louis.  The  fur  business  at  this  point  during 
the  following  half-century  averaged  about  three  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  per  annum. 

It  was  not  until  several  years  after  the  English  had 
obtained  possession  of  Canada  that  the  Montreal  fur- 
trade  found  regular  channels.  But  about  17G7  indi- 
vidual merchants  and  small  companies  were  again  in 
the  field,  with  Michilimackinac  as  their  western  ren- 
dezvous. Of  late,  under  the  French  monopoly  and 
license  systems,  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  had 
been  discontinued;  but  now,  under  new  and  yet  more 


' 


^  m 


i'''i     !l 


506 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUK-TRADE. 


I   i.' 


:.| 

I    i 

t 

i 

|| 

.,  i. 

1 

ij 

M 

i 

MH 

i'"' 

iii 

jealous  rivalry,  this  baneful  practice  was  revived,  and 
drunkenness  and  debauchery  grew  rank  in  native 
villages,  while  bloody  encounters  in  distant  depths 
of  silent  wilderness  too  often  stained  the  commerce  of 
rival  traders. 

The  great  interior  mart  of  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany was  Fort  William,  as  before  their  day  Michili- 
mackinac  had  been  that  of  the  merchants,  who  there 
met  the  wood -rangers  with  their  cargoes  from  the 
westward.  Later  the  Mackinaw  Company  established 
themselves  at  the  old  emporium  of  Michilimackinac, 
and  there  held  lordly  rule,  the  country  to  the  south 
and  west  claiming  their  special  attention,  while  the 
Northwest  Company,  with  still  more  sovereign  sway, 
from  Fort  William  pushed  enterprise  to  the  remotest 
regions  north  and  west. 

The  young  republic  of  the  United  States,  in  the 
flush  of  her  late  achievement,  did  not  look  with  favor 
on  an  association  of  British,  such  as  the  Mackinaw 
Company,  tampering  with  her  savages  and  trading 
within  her  borders.  In  1795,  by  treaty  with  Great 
Britain,  colonial  restrictions  were  removed,  and  direct 
trade  opened  between  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
but  in  1796  the  government  established  posts  along 
the  frontier  ior  the  protection  of  her  fur-hunters. 

There  were  yet  others  of  race  kindred  to  those  who 
managed  the  great  fur  associations  of  the  north  ready 
to  stake  capital,  energy,  and  life  on  flattering  venture. 
Up  to  this  time,  if  we  except  the  early  efibrts  on  the 
Atlantic  seaboard,  there  had  been  no  regularly  organ- 
ized fui'- trade  in  the  United  States,  like  that  in  Canada. 
Beyond  the  frontier  were  scattered  white  trappers, 
who  with  the  natives  sold  such  furs  as  they  could 
gather  to  the  nearest  country  store-keeper;  but  the 
genius  of  Yankee  enterprise  had  not  yet  penetrated 
the  forest.  There  had  been  much  to  do  at  home  since 
the  London  and  Plymouth  colonists  had  assumed 
nationality — fighting,  and  after  that  praying,  constitu- 
tion-making, and  farming.    It  was  permanent  settle- 


w 


EARLY  ST  LOUIS. 


fior 


ment  and  progress  the  new  confederation  wanted 
instead  of  sudden  wealth;  hence  they  remained  at 
home,  where  land  was  yet  plentiful  and  cheap,  built 
school-houses  and  meeting-houses,  and  worked  early 
and  late.  Further  than  this,  they  had  been  poor,  and 
unable  to  embark  in  speculative  enterprise  requiring 
great  capital;  and  their  credit  was  none  of  the  best 
abroad.  But  with  a  portion  of  his  earnings  thi; 
coming  American  appeared,  ready  to  gamble  a  little. 

Upon  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  in  1803  St 
Louis  became  to  the  fur-trade  of  the  United  States 
what  Michilimackinac,  the  Grand  Portage,  and  Fort 
William  during  their  several  respective  epochs  were 
to  that  of  Canada,  the  frontier  emporium,  entrepot, 
or  post  of  supply,  whither  goods  were  shipped  from 
seaports,  and  whence  expeditions  were  fitted  for  the 
interior.^ 

Like  any  gold  or  fur  hunting  metropolis,  St  Louis 
at  this  time  was  the  centre  of  rude  bustle  and  busi- 
ness activity.  With  the  original  Creole  population, 
the  descendants  of  the  French  colonists,  and  stray  re- 
minders of  Spanish  domination,  were  mixed  keen, 
trafficking  New  Englanders;  brawny  backwoodsmen 
of  the  western  frontier;  tall,  big-boned  specimens  of 
the  unwashed  and  untaught  corn-bread-and-bacon-fed 
of  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Illinois,  and  ISIissouri;  with 
voyageurs  from  Canada;  half-breeds  from  the  prairies; 
following  their  several  bents,  trading,  gambling,  fight- 
ing, loafing,  strutting,  swaggering,  drinking,  swearing, 
working  and  playing,  laughing  and  sighing,  like  other 
filthy,  foul-mouthed,  ignorant,  and  blasphemous  assem- 
blages of  God's  motley  mortals. 

These  men  differed  from  those  of  the  fur-hunting 
centres  where  the  French  and  Scotch  element  pre- 
vailed, though  like  them  they  possessed  a  population 
with  habits,  dress,  and  jargon  peculiarly  its  own.    The 

•  During  the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  annual  fur  receipts 
at  St  Louis  exceeded  §200,000  in  value,  and  consisted  of  about  40,000  pounds 
of  beaver,  8000  otter,  TjOOO  bear,  150,000  deer,  and  a  few  hundred  buffalo-robes. 


60S 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FURTRADE. 


fur-trade  here  being  less  lucrative  and  more  divided 
than  in  Canada  after  the  Montreal  amalgamation, 
there  was  little  of  that  audacious  dash  about  it  found 
at  the  north.  It  was  not  only  motley  but  mongrel  in 
its  character,  lacking  almost  entirely  those  feudal  ele- 
ments which,  however  opposed  to  settlement,  gave  to 
fur-hunting  fraternities  at  once  better  servants  and 
better  masters. 

The  fact  is,  fur-trading  was  not  long  the  chief  occu- 
pation in  St  Louis,  and  since  1820  it  was  everj  year 
becoming  less  prominent.  The  Mississippi  boatmen, 
those  lavish,  loud-joking,  royal  American  pedlers, 
were  then  beginning  to  practise  their  pistolings,  knife 
exercises,  and  card -waxing  for  the  forty  years  of 
commercial  throat-cutting,  highway  blackguardism, 
and  unique  boat- racing  and  boiler- bursting  which 
were  to  follow,  and  were  fast  throwing  into  shade 
the  soiled  finery  of  the  still  gay  and  happy  voyageur. 
Bustling  shopkeepers,  speculators,  and  sober  mechan- 
ics so  jostled  the  awkward  blanketed  native  and  the 
leathern-frocked  frontiersman  that  they  longed  for  air 
and  elbow-room,  and  hastened  back  to  their  forests  and 
prairies,  making  visits  less  frequent,  until  they  ceased 
altogether.  Even  the  architecture  of  the  place  showed 
the  transition  it  was  undergoing,  the  open  shops  and 
pretentious  buildings  of  brick  and  stone  overshadow- 
ing the  low  dingy  dwellings  of  the  Latin  race. 

After  St  Louis,  the  chief  point  of  departure  for 
fur-hunting  expeditions  was  Independence,  Missouri, 
while  St  Joseph  became  yet  more  famous  in  the  over- 
land emigration  days  of  Oregon  occupation  and  Cali- 
fornia gold. 

In  fur-trading  times,  say  1834,  Independence  con- 
sisted of  about  fifty  low-roofed  log  and  adobe  houses, 
thrown  up  helter-skelter  without  much  regard  to 
streets.  The  town  stood  on  a  height,  in  a  rocky,  well 
timbered  country,  and  about  three  miles  from  the 
landing.  Dotting  the  river  bank,  or  scattered  over 
the  plain  beyond  where  emigrant  trains  often  made 


INDEPENDENCE  IN  1834. 


m 


their  rendezvous,  were  the  grouped  tents  of  those 
about  to  take  the  western  pkinge.  Though  somewhat 
sombre  by  day,  the  scene  was  gay  enough  at  night, 
when  the  canvas  glowing  from  the  hght  within  iHu- 
minated  the  black  air  like  the  radiance  of  hope  behind 
bronzed  and  careworn  features,  making  brilliant  the 
foreshadowing  of  luckless  adventure ;  or  if  moonlight, 
then  it  was  the  silvered  hope  of  inexperience.  If  we 
now  approach  the  place,  we  shall  find  that  what  when 
softened  by  distance  was  but  a  buzzing  strain  now 
assumes  more  distinct  parts,  with  here  a  quiet  yarn, 
and  there  a  psalm,  and  yonder  bacchanalian  notes 
interlarded  with  coarse  jests.  Look  within,  and  we 
shall  see  stores  of  pork,  ham,  eggs,  corn-bread,  butter, 
tea,  coffee,  milk,  potatoes — soon  after  starting  to  be 
supplanted  by  deer,  prairie-hens,  plover,  turkeys, 
buffalo,  geese,  ducks,  and  squirrels.  The  occupants 
are  busy  finishing  supper,  or  preparing  beds,  or  mend- 
ing, or  packing,  meanwhile  keeping  up  loud  laughing 
conversation.  Yet  often  is  seen  here  beside  the  trap- 
per or  ox-driver  the  scientist,  the  preacher,  the 
gambler,  at  night  sleeping  perhaps  under  the  same 
blanket  and  dreaming  of  the  law  of  chance.  Young 
men  and  boys  are  plentiful  and  of  all  grades  of  intelli- 
gence, from  him  just  above  the  pig  he  feeds  on  to  that 
pale,  intellectual  youth  yonder,  fresh  from  mother's 
blessing  and  sister's  embrace,  and  whose  ears  are  now 
drinking  in  swift  damnation  as  it  falls  in  tender  tones 
from  the  smooth  lips  of  cunning  cutthroat  and  thief, 
whose  black  glistening  eyes  charm  him  like  those  of 
a  serpent.* 

All  along  the  Missouri  in  1804  Lewis  and  Clarke 
found  Frenchmen  and  Spaniards  living  with  the 
natives,  having  in  many  respects  descended  to  their 
level,  either  for  pleasure  or  profit.  There  were  also 
then  in  that  vicinity  scattored  servants  of  the  North- 

*Silliman's  Journal,  April  1834;  Parkman's  Or.  and  Cat.  Trail,  9-11; 
Franchere's  Nar.,  364;  Toic)iseml\-<  Kar.,  22;  Atlantic  MontlJy,  June  1867; 
li-viiKj'a  Astoria,  1.33,  Alonettt''i  Valley  Mhs.,  ii.  1  et  seq. 


111'! 


n.i  <'! 


M 


SIO 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUR-TRADE. 


west  Company :  Mr  McCracken  was  one,  carrying  the 
furs  of  the  Mandans  to  the  company's  factory  on  the 
Assiniboine  River,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant. 
Likewise  the  Hudson  Bay  people  were  there.  Hence 
we  see  besieging  in  cunning  concert  these  poor  un- 
lettered wild  men  for  the  skins  of  their  wild  beasts, 
Fenchmen,  British,  and  Spaniards,  the  loyal  Canadian, 
and  the  independence  men  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard — 
a  noble  occupation,  truly,  for  the  professedly  wise, 
honorable,  and  high-minded  of  a  superior  race  and 
inteUigence,  squabbUng  for  spoils  before  these  simple- 
minded  aivages,  emulous  only  in  cheating  them  of  their 
valuable  commodities  with  tinsel  trifles  and  poisonous 
drink. 

Up  to  1814  the  British  fur- traders  of  Canada  were 
permitted  by  the  United  States  to  trade  with  the 
nations  of  the  Missouri.  Particularly  the  Northwest 
Company,  who  had  within  two  years  formed  an  asso- 
ciation with  the  fur-traders  of  New  York,  and  had 
opened  a  British  agency  at  that  place,  as  well  as  one 
at  New  Orleans,  and  another  under  the  direction  of 
Jacob  Mires  at  St  Louis,  were  rapidly  securing  the 
good-will  of  the  natives  of  the  west  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  others.' 

Among  the  earUer  individuals  and  firms  engaged  in 
the  fur-trade  at  St  Louis  were  Spaniards  and  French- 
men, each  of  whom  supported  his  retinue  of  followers 
and  assistants.  Indeed  these  were  first,  and  at  times 
alone  in  the  business,  that  is  to  say,  while  the  country 
was  under  the  domination  of  their  respective  govern- 
ments. But  after  our  most  worshipful  uncle  had 
stepped  across  the  Mississippi  with  measuring  line, 
some  of  the  late  resident  subjects  of  European 
sovereigns,  charmed  alike  by  the  profits  of  their  busi- 

* '  Aa  tho  Missouri  forms  only  one  of  four  large  branches  of  the  commerce  of 
this  united,  or  as  it  is  still  called,  the  Northwest  Company,  they  will  have 
it  in  their  power,  not  only  to  break  down  all  single  adventurers  on  the  Mis- 
souri, but  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  to  efifect  the  some  thing  with  a  company 
of  merchants  of  the  United  States,  who  might  enter  into  a  competition  with 
them  in  this  single  branch  of  their  trade. '  Lewis^  Observations,  m  Lewis  and 
Clarke's  Travels,  ii.  app.  446. 


THE  MISSOURI  FUR  COMPANY. 


«|t 


ness  and  the  new  beneficent  rule,  remained  and  con- 
tinued their  traffic,  sometimes  forming  associations 
with  such  Anglo -Americans  as  now  came  in  for  the 
lion's  share  of  the  trade;  for  gradually  the  moneyed 
men  of  Boston  and  New  York  began  to  turn  their 
attention  to  peltries  as  a  business,  and  drawing  from 
the  northern  companies  some  of  their  experienced 
servants,  had  entered  into  competition  with  the  old 
traders.  Some  fortunes  were  thus  made  which  led 
to  bolder  endeavor. 

Thus  originated  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  of  St 
Louis.  Manuel  Lisa,  a  wealthy  and  enterprising  Span- 
iard, ^'O  less  energetic  and  bold  than  gentlemanly  and 
honorable,  experienced  in  the  trade  while  yet  the 
country  was  Spanish,  with  eleven  others,  men  of  his 
stamp,  among  whi  lu  were  some  from  the  eastern  states 
without  experienri',  and  with  little  but  their  money 
to  recommend  them,  formed  a  copartnership  under 
the  name  last  mentioned,  with  a  capital  of  forty  thou- 
sand dollars.  It  was  the  expectation  of  the  partners 
thus  associating  to  monopolize  the  St  Louis  fur-trade. 
Their  special  domain  was  only  along  the  Missouri  and 
Nebraska  to  their  several  sources,  or  any  westward 
United  States  territory  within  their  reach.  Their 
forts  were  chiefly  among  the  Sioux,  the  Ricaras,  the 
Mandans,  and  the  Blackfoot,  though  they  often  en- 
countered the  Shoshones  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
They  employed  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  of 
French,  English,  Spanish,  United  States,  Canadian, 
and  aboriginal  half-breeds. 

After  establishing  trading-posts  at  all  important 
points  on  the  streams  flowing  from  the  north-west- 
ward into  the  Missouri,  the  Missouri  Company  pene- 
trated the  Rocky  Mountains;  and  one  of  the  partners, 
Mr  Henry,  in  1808  crossed  the  dividing  ridge  and  next 
year  built  a  fort  on  a  branch  of  the  Lewis  River. 
Owing  to  the  hostility  of  the  natives  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  obtaining  provisions,  Mr  Henry  was  obliged 
to  abandon  this  post  in  1810.     The  Missouri  Com- 


I    t 


012 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUR-TRADE. 


pany  was  dissolved  in  1812,  was  continued  bv  a  por- 
tion of  the  former  partners,  and  reorganized  in  1821, 
after  which  it  lived  but  a  few  yeara.* 

Meanwhile  John  Jacob  Astor  of  Nev/  York  had 
been  dealing  in  furs,  and  had  accumulated  what  was 
then  deemed  a  little  fortune  by  buying  peltries  in 
Canada  and  the  United  States,  and  shipping  them 
to  London  and  Canton.  Feeling  himself  sufficiently 
powerful,  with  the  money  and  influence  he  ^.oii. 
manded  in  New  York  and  St  T-ouis,  to  enter  the 
field  against  the  Mackinaw  Company,  which  foraged 
within  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  he  in  1809 
obtained  a  charter  from  the  New  York  legislature  for 
the  American  Fur  Company,  which  he  incorporated 
with  a  capital  of  a  million  of  dollars.'^ 

But  Mr  Astor  was  not  so  strong  as  he  had  sup- 
posed. The  St  Louis  merchants  preferred  managing 
their  own  affairs,  where  so  much  more  depended  on 
experience  and  skill  than  on  theory  and  capital,  and 
on  the  same  principle  the  Mackinaw  Company,  with 
their  posts  already  established  and  their  business 
under  perfect  control,  found  no  difficulty  in  defeating 
Astor's  effort  at  every  turn. 

Pregnant  with  purposes  of  wealth  and  power, 
Astor's  mind  now  labored  with  a  great  conception. 
Why  not  have  in  the  United  States  a  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  a  Northwest  Company,  or  a  Mackinaw 
Company  ?  Why  not  have  the  whole  combined,  with  a 
cordon  or  two,  linking  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific; 
and  whom  would  it  so  please  to  constitute  such  a  com- 
pany as  Mr  Astor?  On  the  almost  unoccupied  western 
slope  he  need  not  confine  himself  within  parallels  of 
latitude,  but  swell  in  whatsoever  direction  the  absence 
of  pressure  permitted. 


^ Allen,  in  De  Bow's Indust.  Res. , iii.  516-17;  Oreenliow'a  Or.  and  Cat. ,  201-2 ; 
Twiss'  Or.  Question,  16 ;  Irving's  Astoria,  133-4 ;  Coyner's  Lost  Trappers,  234. 

'  Schoolcraft,  Per.  Mem. ,  485,  at&rina  that  the  American  CJompany  was 
founded  in  1815,  into  which  error  he  falls,  probably,  from  the  fact  that  tha 
organization  was  incorporated  by  the  legislature  of  New  York  the  year  fol- 
lowing. 


THE  PACIFIC  FUR  COMPANY. 


Sit 


To  this  end  in  1810  ho  iiiHtitutod  the  Pacific  Fur 
Company,  with  its  emporium,  Astoria,  at  the  nioutJ; 
of  the  Cfolumbia  River.  With  liberal  use  of  money, 
and  the  assistance  of  the  disaffected  of  tlie  Canadian 
companies,  Mr  Astor  hoped  to  estabUsh  a  line  of  posts 
across  the  Rocky  Mcnmtains,  within  United  St  *os 
territory,  and  so  become  the  great  fur  monopolist  of 
that  section,  and  as  great  a  man  as  any  Frobisher, 
McGilhvray,  or  Fraser. 

This  scheme  he  attempted.  Nor  was  this  enough. 
Unable  to  drive  out  the  Mackinaw  Company,  in  1811 
he  bought  them  off  and  merged  that  interest  with  his 
American  Company  into  a  new  association,  which  ho 
called,  in  imitation  of  the  Montreal  merchants,  the 
Southwest  Company.  By  the  war  of  1812  between 
Grtat  Britain  and  the  United  States  this  organization 
wa,s  broken  up.  After  the  war  British  fnr-tradcrs 
were  prohibited  by  congress  from  carrying  on  their 
business  within  the  territory  of  tho  United  States, 
so  that  Mr  Astor  found  himself  with  no  more  ad- 
vantages than  others;  yet  he  continued  the  American 
Company. 

At  last  in  1816  congress  boldly  declared  that 
neither  British  traders  nor  British  capital  would  bo 
tolerated  in  United  States  territory.'  To  no  British 
subject  would  be  given  license  to  trade,  and  for  the 
proper  conduct  of  their  subordinates  the  American 
traders  would  be  held  responsible.'* 

No  sooner  was  this  piece  of  legislative  strategy 
accomplished  than  Astor,  ever  on  the  alert,  went 
immediately  to  Montreal,  and  bought  almost  at  his 
own  price  for  his  American  Company  all  British 
posts  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States.  To 
supply  the  places  of  such  officers  and  servants  of  the 
British  companies  as  refused  to  enlist  under  him,  he 

*  'This  law  seemed  to  bear  particularly  on  this  section  of  country  south  of 
Lake  Superior,  and  is  generally  understood  to  have  been  passed  to  throw  tlie 
old  Northwest  Company,  and  other  British  traders,  trading  on  their  own  ac- 
count, out  of  this  hitherto  very  lucrative  branch  of  trade. '  Schoolcraft's  Per, 
Mem.,  110. 

UlsT.  N.  W.  Coast.  Vol.  1.    33 


■.•( 


m: 


614 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUR-TRADE. 


i     4 


'Wf' 


sent  to  Vermont  and  elsewhere  and  engaged  young 
men,  in  whose  names  he  took  out  licenses  to  trade. 

By  the  union  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  Northwest 
companies  in  1821  many  of  the  servants  of  both  asso- 
ciations were  thrown  out  of  employment,  some  of 
whom  directed  their  attention  toward  the  United 
States.  Of  these  was  formed  the  Columbia  Fur  Com- 
pany, which  extended  its  operations  eastward  to  the 
Missouri,  Yellowstone,  and  Mississippi,  and  which  in 
1826  transferred  its  interests  to  the  North  American 
Fur  Company,  a  new  organization  of  the  American 
Company  made  in  1823  by  Astor  in  connection  with 
W.  H.  Ashley. 

This  same  year  of  1826  Messrs  Smith,  Jackson,  and 
Sublette  formed  at  St  Louis  the  Rocky  Mountain 
Fur  Company,  having  bought  Ashley's  establishments 
and  interests.  They  carried  on  a  successful  trade  with 
the  Columbia  countries,  explored  the  whole  region 
from  St  Louis  to  Santa  ¥6,  and  on  to  San  Francisco, 
thence  along  the  ocean  to  the  Columbia,  aiiJ  .'ack 
into  the  Blackfoot  and  Sioux  territories,  mr.kiLg  the 
iir.il  expedition  with  wagons  to  the  Rocky  Mountains 
in  1829.  It  was  a  grand  sweep  of  continent  that 
they  encircled,  more  than  they  could  by  any  means 
occupy. 

In  1830  the  company  was  transferred  to  a  new  part- 
nership, composed  of  Milton  Sublette,  James  Eridger, 
Fitzpatrick,  and  others,  with  whom  W.  Sublette  main- 
tained business  relations  and  exerted  a  certain  control. 
Jedediah  Smith,  on  the  other  hand,  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  Santa  Fd  trade,  and  was  killed  on  the 
Cimarron  River  in  the  following  year.  Immediately 
after  the  transfer  the  firm  increased  their  force  to 
nearly  four  hundred  men,  with  a  view  to  carry  out 
the  vast  plans  of  their  predecessors,  and  in  this  they 
appear  to  have  fairly  succeeded.  In  order  to  avoid 
injurious  rivalry  with  the  North  American  Company, 
ther  agreed  to  confine  themselves  to  certain  districts 
ir  'he  Missouri  region.     This  agreement  existed  for 


\ 


tmmsms/LiS':.,fmM  t  .axsz 


THE  SANTA  FE  ROUTE. 


515 


two  years,  after  which  they  reunited  under  the  nianaoje- 
ment  of  Pierre  Chouteau  junior,  who  had  succeeded 
to  the  business  of  Auguste  and  Pierre  Chouteau,  and 
had  in  1834  purchased  the  western  interests  of  Astor. 
In  1839  this  vast  concern  merged  into  the  lirni  of 
P.  Chouteau  junior,  which  controlled  nearly  all  the 
United  States  fur  business  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, as  well  as  the  Santa  F6  trade." 

The  opening  of  the  Santa  Fe  route  is  connected 
with  the  name  (jf  James  Pursley,  who  leaving  St 
Louis  in  1802  on  a  hunting  expedition  found  his  way 
to  New  Mexico.  A  regular  trade  sprang  up  soon 
after,  and  within  three  decades  it  ajfforded  an  outlet 
for  half  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  United  States 
effects.  The  return  was  chiefly  in  coin,  but  a  part 
consisted  of  furs,  which  were  brought  to  the  frontier  or 
into  Santa  Fe  from  surrounding  districts,  including 
Arizona  and  the  Arkansas  waters.  Trapping  within 
the  Mexican  territory  was  permitted  only  to  settlers 
under  license,  but  these  were  often  bought  by  Ameri- 
cans, who  carried  on  the  business  with  more  enterprise 
and  skill,  and  resorted  besides  to  smuggling.  Taos  as 
well  as  Santa  Fe  became  the  rendezvous  of  trappers 
from  Arkansas  and  the  Colorado  region.^'' 

Among  the  minor  fur-traders  who  had  appeared  in 
the  field  were  B.  Pratte  and  Company,  under  which 
firm  the  individual  traders  of  St  Louis  united  in 
1825,  but  only  for  a  few  years;  Bent  and  Company, 
who  afterward  under  the  firm  of  Bertt  and  St  Vrain 
became  the  chief  competitors  of  P.  Cliouteau  junior; 
Captain  Gantt,  who  trapped  l,etwecn  New  Pari;  and 
Laramie  Plains  about  1831;  Bridger,  called  the 
Blanket  Chief,  who  raised  a  monument  to  his  name 
in  Fort  Bridger;  Dripps,  Blackwell,  and  Fontenello 

"JHnes' Ex.  Or.,  40S'iO;  Om//'^  Or. ,  .'}8 ;  IX  'iow's  I nduM.  Re.'<.,'m.  &lli-l7; 
Ebbetts'  Trapper'K  Lije,  MS.,  2;  Waldo'^  Criuijiies,  MS.,  2;  Vktor'a  Rimr 
of  the  WeM,  34-39;  Matthieirs  Re/ugee,  MS.,  »-5;  Evana'  Hut.  Or.,  MS., 
342-3;  Pelfra'  Kit  Carwn,  llG-31. 

'"About  18'27  a  large  capture  of  otter-skin.s  was  marie  under  circutnatancea 
which  reunited  in  tlie  loss  of  several  lives.  Esiudem.  in  Pino,  N.  Hex.,  70; 
Jiarreiro,  Ojeada,  18-10;  Greg(j\s  Corn.  P  liriea,  i.  17-1»,  307. 


I 


516 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUR-TRADE. 


r:    ' 


who  committed  suicide  in  1837,  were  all  well  known 
names  among  the  Rocky  Mountain  trappers. 

Other  leaders  of  note  were  Robert  Campbell,  Frapp, 
Gervais,  and  Van  Dusen.  But  the  ideal  trapper  and 
mountaineer  is  perhaps  best  represented  by  Kit 
Carson,  renowned  not  only  as  €>.  trapper  and  Indian- 
lighter,  but  for  his  services  to  the  government  in  New 
Mexico  and  California,  particularly  as  guide  to  Frd- 
mont,  the  Pathfinder,  and  to  other  transcontinental 
leaders.  Another  like  >.:,-.  'vas  Jo  Meek,  who  after- 
ward fimiinwl  in  the  leg-.^.i^:ure  of  Oregon,  and  was 
honored  ly  Hwit  country  in  1847  with  a  commission 
to  the  if^wwmtfOt  af,  Wa^hiDgton.  James  P.  Beck- 
wourth  ag»in  stained,  in  *he  midst  of  his  trapping 
career,  to  distinctions  of  a  different  order,  to  the 
chieftainship  of  the  Crow  nati'Hri,  whose  admiration 
had  been  won  by  his  mulatto  hue,  liis  keen  mind,  and 
his  undoubted  bravery.  He  settled  afterward  in  Cal- 
ifornia." 

Bill  Williams,  on  the  other  har*d,  distinguished 
himself  as  an  explorer  of  fft*  ^Jolorado  basin,  and  left 
there  a  record  of  his  servicer  Ati  the  river  which  bears 
his  name.  Of  the  special  trading  expeditions  directed 
to  the  Pacific  slope  wax  that  of  Major  Pilcher,  which 
in  1827  penetrated  to  the  Colorado,  trapped  thence 
northward  as  far  as  Fort  Colville,  and  after  an  ab- 
sence of  two  years  returned  to  the  United  States  by 
way  of  the  Athabasca,  after  suffering  severely  from 
famine  and  hostile  Indians.  A  more  notable  venture 
was  made  in  1 832  by  Captain  Bonneville,  who  lod  a 
force  of  one  hundred  and  ten  men  into  Utah,  Nevada, 
and  Oregon,  «bnding  also  a  division  under  Walker  to 
California  Full  accounts  of  the  expeditions  into  the 
territories  of  the  Northwest  will  be  given  hereafter. 
Want  of  experience  made  him  commit  many  errors, 
which,  added  to  the  strong  rivalry  encountered  from 


"  The  deeds  of  these  thi'ee  mcu  have  been  regarded  a.s  so  extraordinary  and 

'  ,c  volumca,  as  lionner's  Ufe  of  Brrk- 
Hiver  qf  the  West,  the  last  fouaded 


intereating  aa  to  deserve  special  biographic  volumes,  as  lionner's  Life  of'  Berk 
woiirlh,  Peters'  Kit  Carbon,  and  Victors   '  -        — 


on  Meek's  adventure^,. 


i 

'1 


THE  ANNU^VL  RENDEZVOUS. 


517 


the  thoroughly  estabhshed  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
and  the  well  organized  American  companies,  could 
not  fail  to  entail  discourajjinjj  results.    Reco<jnizin<j 
the  futility  of  the  struggle,  he  retired  in  1834  to  the 
east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  established  a 
post  on  Powder  River,  where  he  courted  fortune  for 
a  while  longer.     Equally  unsuccessful  were  the  at- 
tempts made  at  the  same  time  under  Captain  Wyeth 
to  establish  ,  n  opposition  to  the  old  companies.    After 
losing  three  fourths  of  his  large  forces,  he  was  obliged 
to  sell  his  fort  on  Snake  River  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  and  to  seek  other  fields  for  his  enterprise.'* 
These    expeditions,  although    failures   financially, 
Avero  of  great  value  in  spreading  a  knowledge  of  the 
country  and  calling  the  attention  of  the  old  states  to 
the  value  of  its  resources.     Ignorance  of  the  western 
region,  and  want  of  time  and  patience  in  acquiring  a 
knowledge  of  the  trapping  business,  were  as  powerful 
obstructions  to  success  as  the  livalry  of  the  older  com- 
panies with  their  large  means.     The  reliance  on  raw 
recruits  was  to  a  certain  extent  compulsory,  for  the 
experienced  trappers  were  too  jealous  of  intruders  to 
readily  tender  them  their  services.     Yet  disengaged 
trappers  were   numerous  enough  in   the  mountains, 
kept  there  by  a  reckless  extravagance  which  deprived 
them  of  the  means  to  seek  other  fields,  or  by  the 
charm  of  the  rough  and  independent  mountain  life, 
which  had,  besides,  unfitted  them  for  settled  pursuits. 
They  were  always  to  be  found  in  force  at  the  annual 
rendezvous  appointed  by  the  larger  companies.     This 
was   usually  near  the    South    Pass   of    the   Rocky 
Mountains,  as  the  most  central  point  of  reunion  for 
parties  from  both  .'■lopes  of  the  continent,  and  some- 
times on  Wind  River,  but  usually  at  the  junction  of 


" 7'o»iWJ'enfr»  iVar. ,  passim;  Irvimf.-t  BonncviUe's  Adrcn.,  paflsim  ;  Victor''! 
River  of  the  West,  passim;  Silliman'ti  Jaiinml,  .lauuary  ISIJl;  Iliins'  loi/., 
ni-12;  /(/.,  Or.,  10-11;  AiiilerKmr-^  fli.'it.  Norlhire.il  CotVit,  MS.,  121-2;  Amer- 
ican Sttvle  Pajxrn,};].;  lhinl'.i  Mvr.  .Va-j.,  iii.  l!i7-'2('»4;  Twisa'Or.Q  ■<, '274-5; 
Gray's  Or. ,'M;  Fiicr.i'  Kit  Cmvon,  r)'2;  rcrhim' An.  l^'e«/,  807;  t'l,  ":r'»  Ex. 
Tour,  187;  l{oUt'r'.H  Amomj  the  Inf liana,  r>-19. 


i■K!P^  .-.vtife^^a 


518 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUR-TRADE. 


ill  m 


u  .   \ 


Horse  Creek  with  Green  River.  The  gathering  was 
as  motley  in  character  as  it  was  numerous,  rising  at 
times  into  the  thousands,  and  embracing  every  class 
and  race.  The  Indian  was  represented  in  all  stages, 
from  the  degraded,  root- eating,  naked  Bannock, 
with  humble  yet  cunning  mien,  to  the  chivalrous 
Nez  Perce  in  gaudy  trappings,  dashing  to  and  fro  on 
caparisoned  steed  amidst  wild  yells  and  apparently 
insane  gesticulations.  The  half-breed  was  there,  the 
connecting  link  between  Indian  and  white  man,  de- 
spised by  the  one  for  his  blood,  admired  by  the  other 
for  his  superior  intelligence  and  appearance.  His 
purer  confrere,  the  Mexican,  flitted  about  in  broad- 
brimmed  hat  and  pantaloneras,  and  with  imposing 
manner  that  hardly  conformed  to  the  position  of 
drudge  usually  assigned  him  at  the  camp  and  fort. 
Superior  to  these  was  the  half-effeminate,  half-hardy 
voyageur  of  French  extraction,  whose  worth  required 
the  discipline  of  servitude  to  become  developed,  and 
who,  together  with  the  ordinary  hired  trapper,  formetl 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  trading  parties.  The  most 
prominent  man,  however,  was  the  free  trapper,  inde- 
pendent of  all  save  his  horse  and  rifle,  delighting 
alike  in  braving  the  elements  and  in  thwarting  the 
redskin,  whom  he  surpassed  both  as  warrior,  hunter, 
and  horseman,  yet  whose  appearance  and  habits  he 
often  took  a  pride  in  affecting. 

The  life  of  these  men,  happy  as  it  has  been  painted, 
seems  to  have  been  a  perpetual  warfare  with  one  foe  or 
another,  yet,  perhaps  for  that  very  reason,  all  the  more 
attractive.  Between  the  years  18--^.>  and  1830  two 
fifths  of  the  fur-huuters  were  killed  by  Im&ns,  famine, 
cold,  wild  beasts,  and  accidents,  and  Ci^taiu  Wyeth 
is  said  to  have  brought  back  less  than  a  fourth  of  the 
two  hundred  men  whom  ho  t«v»k  westward.  Their 
relaxations  were  few.  Thoy  \vv>uld  squ^t  by  the 
camp-fire  at  night  and  roin  in  a  rvMiiid  of  yarns, 
wherein  mishaps,  t\>il,  and  dan-j  '      ^v  to  cveat*) 

amusement,  for  squeamish  s\  .  _    bunie.hed, 


' 


"j^'t^^.i^.  *^'     ■-'  :  \, 


■m^^ 


^.^;„iv':,^^''''^v-^^ 


RECREATIONS.  HI 

and  admiration  accorded  purely  to  successful  exploits. 
These  gatherings  were  usually  reserved  for  the  winter, 
which  was  spent  in  some  spot  endowed  with  abundant 
grass,  wood,  and  game.  A  favorite  wi uteri iig-greund 
was  in  the  bend  of  the  Yellowstone  Kiver,  which  en- 
joyed a  milder  climate  than  any  accessible  district  to 
the  south.  With  a  life  so  devoid  of  recognized  oujoy- 
ments,  it  may  be  readily  understood  that  the  novelty 
of  a  rendezvous  must  prove  exceedingly  attractive  to 
the  hunters.  It  was  their  Olyvupia,  with  Dionysius 
enthroned;  it  was  the  fair  of  the  wilderness,  with 
tents  instead  of  booths;  it  was  the  tournament  of  the 
prairies,  with  naked  Indians  and  rude  frontiersmen 
in  lieu  of  knights  and  ladies.  Noise  and  confusion 
reign,  d, drunkenness  and  rioting,  yelling  and  swearing, 
baying  of  dogs  and  tramping  of  horses,  whizzing  of  ar- 
rows and  cracking  of  rifles.  Employes  and  employers, 
traders  and  hangers-on,  found  it  botli  a  pleasure  and 
a  necessity  to  attend;  to  which  thr  Indian  brought  his 
squaw  and  pappoose,  the  hunter  his  half-breed  family. 
Accounts  had  to  be  settled,  and  furred  capital  ex- 
changed for  gaudy  fabrics  and  subtile  luxuries.  Extrav- 
agant and  depraved  habits  were  pandered  to ;  also  vain 
emulation.  With  whiskey  at  three  dollars  a  pint, 
and  gunpowder  at  six,  with  tobacco  at  five  dollars  a 
pound,  and  fancy  articles  at  fancy  prices,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  capital  was  soon  exhausted  and  even 
prospective  earnings  absorbed,  while  one  more  link 
was  welded  in  the  chain  of  bondage. 

The  respite  from  toil  was  not  long,  for  the  fur 
companies  vied  with  one  another  to  first  gain  the  ren- 
dezvou;?,  with  a  view  to  secure  the  best  chances  for 
sale,  and  tc^  contract  for  the  trappers'  services  or  fur 
yield,  and  also  to  he  the  first  to  secure  the  richest 
fur  district.  If  the  -xpedition  was  to  be  diiectcd  to 
.the  country  of  the  Elackfoot,  a  larger  fierce  than 
ordinary  was  required  to  intimidate  the  blood-tiiirstv 
savages;  clsewh<en3  a  small  party  sufficed,  for  instaiu-  ■ 
on  southern  and  Snake  expeditions,  the  former  embrac- 


".^"l^'HsijJ}'' 


S'       ) 


520 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUR-TRADE. 


ing  the  Colorado  basin  and  California,  and  the  latter 
Idaho.  Once  in  the  field,  the  companies  strained  every 
eflfort  to  discover  the  value  of  hunting-grounds  in  the 
possession  of  rivals,  and  to  profit  thereby.  This  led 
to  stealthy  pursuits  on  the  one  side  and  to  clever  baf- 
fling on  the  other,  resulting  in  loss  of  time  to  both.*' 

After  Captfiin  Wyeth's  withdrawal,  expeditions  to 
the  Pacific  slope  became  less  frequent  among  Amer- 
ican trappers,  for  the  immediate  region,  particularly 
south  of  the  Oregon  line,  was  no  longer  rich  enough 
to  tempt  enterprise.  California  was  distant,  and  the 
country  to  the  north  had  a  jealous  guardian  in  one 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  ejistern  slope,  however, 
still  enjoyed  t'  eir  favor,  and  the  main  stream  and 
tributaries  of  the  Missouri  were  lined  with  the  forts 
of  Astor's  successor.  Their  steamer  which  ascended 
to  Fort  Union  as  early  as  1832,  made  annual  trips 
with  supplies,  and  shortened  the  cordelle  to  the  Black- 
foot  station  to  seven  hundred  miles.  In  1859  a  small 
stern-wheel  boat  approached  to  within  a  few  miles  of 
the  great  falls  of  the  river,  and  it  was  not  till  1864 
that  any  other  than  the  fur  company's  steamers  were 
seen  on  the  upper  Missouri.  Opposition  was  not 
wanting,  but  in  1860  the  company  made  a  final  effort 
to  once  again  secure  the  monopoly  by  purchasing  the 
rival  forts.  A  part  of  the  trade  was  obiained  from 
the  Red  River  settlers,  who  since  1849  becoming 
more  independent  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
boldly  smuggled  sidns  across  the  frontier  if  their  de- 
mands were  not  trranted. 

The  furs  found  their  way,  for  all  that,  to  the  great 
emporium  of  Eai-gland,  for  Astor's  schemes  resulted 
only  in  making  N^ew  York  the  centre  of  the  United 
Suites  trade,  aed  with  the  exception  of  a  few  ship- 

'"  Jo  Meek  relates  that  the  .Uneriean  Fur  Company  sv  exasperated  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Compauy  by  djeir  steady  pursuit  that  tlio  latter  phtnned 
expeditions  for  the  mere  purpose  of  ler.ding  their  riv.als  into  the  midst  of  the 
r.ruel  IJlackfoot.  The  result  was  that  tho  American  Compauy  lost  their  leader 
and  one  or  two  men.  VU-tor^n  Iliiv,-  n/'  /he  IIV,i',  l30-'2.  So  intense  was  the 
rivalry  at  this  period  that  it  was  ;i.  matte'-  of  deatll  for  the  trapper  to  sell  funs 
to  any  other  company  than  the  om;  he  had  contracted  wich. 


CANADA  AXD  CHINA. 


521 


ments  to  neighboring  states,  Mexico,  ITamburg,  uiui 
Carlton,  her  surpkis  stock  had  to  be  sent  to  London. 
A  large  part  of  this  consisted  of  buffalo -robes,  the 
yield  of  which  had  during  the  fourth  decade  of  the 
century  reached  the  number  of  ninety  thousand  per 
annum.  The  few  consignments  from  abroad  were 
merely  for  domestic  use;  South  America  sending 
seal,  nutria,  vicuna,  and  deer  skins,  and  Europi;  the 
dressed  furs  of  the  squirrel,  genet,  fitch,  and  other 
animals. 

In  the  earlier  stages  of  the  fur-trade  in  the  United 
States,  her  merchants  had  been  obliged  to  go  to  Lon- 
don for  Canada  furs,  because  England's  colonies  ccjuld 
send  their  products  only  to  England.  This  at  that 
time  had  well  nigh  prevented  extensive  operations 
in  the  United  States,  for  all  large  supplies  of  furs 
nmst  come  from  Canada,  and  before  they  could  bo 
shipped  to  China,  then  the  best  market  in  the  world 
for  tine  furs,  they  had  to  be  sent  to  England.  But 
when  some  ten  years  after  the  organization  of  the 
Northwest  Com[)any  these  restrictions  were  removed, 
and  by  the  treaty  of  [7'.)^>  with  Great  Britain  direct 
dealings  were  opened  between  Canada  and  the  United 
States,  the  merchants  of  New  York  and  Boston  found 
themselves  possessed  of  decided  advantages,  as  the}'' 
might  then  ship  direct  to  China,  and  save  the  voyage 
to  England. 

Seventeen  thousand  dollars  was  considered  sufficient 
for  the  outfit  of  a  Boston  vessel,  and  the  cargo  con- 
sisted principally  of  tin  and  iron,  hollow-ware,  brass 
kettles,  wire,  beads,  lead,  knives,  nails,  small  looking- 
glasses,  bar  iron,  hatchets,  guns,  powder,  flints,  rum, 
and  molasses.  Prior  to  1830  New  Englanders  traded 
few  blankets  or  guns  for  beaver." 

In  all  the  early  history  of  tha  Northwest  Coast 


^*Boslon  in  the  Northwest,  MS.,  77;  Tolmie'a  Journal,  MS.;  Andermii'.s 
Northwest  Coast,  MS.,  91-101;  lluni'.s  Mcr.  Mwj.,  xii.  50;  Slehhins'  K'kjIUij 
Years'  View,  343;  liai/nal,  U'mt.  Pliil.,  xii.  557-8. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUR-TRADE. 


there  is  no  phase  or  epoch  equal  in  importance  to 
that  of  the  China  fur-trade.  The  whale-fislieries  did 
little  in  comparison  toward  brinj^ing  this  region  into 
notice.  Before  the  adventurers  trading  into  Hudson 
Bay  had  ventured  far  inland  from  their  swampy  shores, 
or  the  Montreal  merchants  had  formed  the  Northwest 
Company  partnership,  the  Russians,  impelled  by  the 
growing  scarcity  of  furs  in  Siberia,  had  extended  their 
operations  to  Alaska. 

The  Russians  had  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  the  lucra- 
tive China  trade  some  time  before  it  became  known  to 
Europe.  With  a  semicircular  cordon,  the  middle  link- 
ing the  Aleutian  Archipelago,  and  one  end  extending 
down  Alaska  and  the  other  Kamchatka,  they  were 
not  exposed  to  the  dangers  and  uncertainties  of  tran- 
sient voyages,  but  the  whole  sweep  of  icy  ocean  was 
theirs  to  deal  out  to  the  Asiatics  of  lower  latitudes  as 
occasion  might  offer. 

The  doings  of  the  Russians  will  be  fully  treated  in 
another  volume.  Suffice  it  to  say  here  that  to  facili- 
tate their  operations  a  company  was  incorporated  under 
patronage  of  the  crown  with  a  capital  of  two  hundred 
and  sixty  thousand  pounds  sterling.  The  Russians 
did  a  large  business  with  northern  China  which  did  not 
touch  Canton,  and  it  was  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
empire  that  the  consumption  was  greatest.  Canton 
was  in  truth  but  the  entrepot,  where  furs  were  received 
for  distribution  throughout  the  empire.  Now  if  by 
shorter,  quicker,  and  less  expensive  routes  the  same 
results  might  be  accomplished,  the  advantages  were 
obvious. 

Still  there  was  a  tempting  demand  at  Canton;  and 
later  the  Russians  were  found  laboring  under  a  cloud 
in  that  quarter.  However  this  might  have  been,  we 
know  that  about  1780,  a  quantity  of  sea-otter  skins 
sent  to  China  yielded  so  well,  that  a  stimulus  was  at 
once  imparted  to  the  traffic  of  the  northern  coasts, 
which  afterward  concentrated  on  the  seal. 

It  was  not,  ho\\ever,  until  the  return  of  Captain 


™' 


IN  THE  TACIFIC. 


James  King  from  the  expedition  so  fatal  to  Captain 
Cook,  that  the  high  prices  at  which  sea-otter  skiii.s 
were  ruling  in  Canton  became  generall}^  known  in 
Europe  and  America.  Then  it  Nvas  like  finding  a  new 
gold-coast.  British  and  American  merchants  both 
entered  the  field,  but  the  latter  being  less  hampere<l 
by  government  protection,  grants,  and  monopolies,  pos- 
sessed greater  advantages,  and  after  17U5  outstripped 
all  competitors. 

In  1792  there  were  on  the  coast  engaged  in  this 
traffic  not  less  than  twenty-five  vessels,  most  of  them 
from  Boston.  Their  method  of  business  was  wholly 
dijfiferent  from  that  of  later  periods.  It  was  a  kind  of 
ocean  peddling.  Traders  then  only  touched  at  differ- 
ent points  along  the  coast,  and  trafficked  with  the 
natives  without  attempting  to  penetrate  the  interior. 
There  were  no  forts,  no  resident  agents,  no  wood- 
rangers  or  collectors  of  any  kind.  The  savages  know- 
ing where  vessels  were  accustomed  to  touch,  carried 
thither  their  furs,  and  putting  out  in  their  canoes  to 
the  ship,  found  temptingly  spread  upon  the  deck  tlij 
things  that  most  delighted  their  hearts.  Many  of  the 
natives  living  on  the  coast  traded  the  articles  thus  ob- 
tained from  the  ships  with  the  adjacent  inland  tribes, 
and  these  with  those  beyond,  so  that  when  the  first 
expeditions  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  going  west- 
ward they  found  European  articles  five  hundred,  and 
in  some  instances  eight  hundred,  miles  from  the  coast. 

In  this  manner,  going  from  place  to  place  along  the 
coast,  the  trading  vessels  employed  the  summer.  Then 
as  the  inclement  season  approached,  they  proceeded  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  there  to  winter  and  cure  their 
furs.  The  following  spring  they  would  return  to  the 
American  coast,  as  it  was  not  possible  to  dispose  of 
their  cargo  or  load  theii-  ship  with  i'urs  in  one  season. 
But  after  two  summers'  successful  traffic  they  were 
prepared  to  sail  for  China,  frequently  carrying  witli 
them  some  products  of  the  Islands  to  complete  their 
cargo.     Arriving  at  China  the  ship-master  would  sell 


524 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FURTRADE. 


liis  furs  and  purchase  teas,  silks,  beads,  nankeens,  or 
other  articles,  and  return  to  Boston  after  a  two  or 
three  years'  absence.  The  profits  of  this  trade  greatly 
varied,  but  we  may  well  believe  that  they  were  enor- 
mous." 

But  adventures  thither  were  not  always  without 
reverses.  In  1792  a  wealthy  London  firm  united  with 
the  Northwest  Company  in  the  shipment  of  furs  to 
China.  For  five  successive  years  the  experiment  was 
continued,  to  the  ultimate  loss  of  eighty  thousand 
])ounds  sterling,  one  half  of  which  was  borne  by  the 
London  firm  and  one  half  by  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany. This  loss  was  attributed  by  the  adventurers 
not  directly  to  the  market  or  price  realized,  but  to  the 
diflSculty  of  getting  home  the  Chinese  goods  received 
in  payment  for  the  furs,  and  converting  such  returns 
into  money.  Great  as  were  the  fur  compames  in  the 
Ibrests  of  America,  they  were  powerless  when  com- 
peting with  the  omnipotent  East  India  Company, 
whose  ships  then  in  a  measure  controlled  the  trade 
between  China  and  Great  Britain.  United  States 
commerce  being  then  free  from  such  a  scourge,  and 
I'rom  the  enormous  expenses  and  restrictions  attending 
monopoly,  could  send  furs  from  the  Pacific  coast  to 
China  and  realize  on  the  returns  in  New  York  some- 
times within  twelve  or  fifteen  months,  so  that  Amer- 
ica possessed  great  advantages  over  Europe  in  this 
trade.  To  help  still  further  our  own  Northwest 
Coast,  from  1796  to  1814  the  Russians  were  not  per- 
mitted to  enter  Chinese  ports,  so  that  the  Boston 
ships  which  then  frequented  those  waters  stood  high 
in  advantage  above  all  others.'" 

Another  rich  field  was  opening  before  them  on  the 

'"This  casual  traffic  by  coasters  yielded  to  their  owners  in  former  days, 
by  means  of  the  returning  cargo,  an  average  clear  gain  of  a  thousand  per  cent, 
every  second  year. '  Jio/<s'  A  dv. ,  4. 

^^ Twigs'  Or.,  8;  Rons'  Adv.,  4;  Linm/'s  Astoria,  32-3;  Mackevzie's  Voy., 
xxvi.  In  the  London  Quarterly  Review,  October  1816,  Archibald  Campbell 
holds  to  the  opinion  as  expressed  by  Mackenzie  on  p.  363  of  this  volume, 
whereat  Greenhow  takes  oflence,  and  accuses  Campbell  of  writing  in  a  spirit 
of  the  most  deadly  hatred  toward  the  United  States. 


.-'^-i 


THE  CAUFORNIAN  COAST. 


525 


or 


lower  coast,  then  in  the  possession  of  Spanish  Amer- 
icans, who  had  neither  the  enterprise  to  estabhsh  a 
trade  nor  the  wise  government  to  foster  it.  True, 
the  fur  wealth  of  the  Californias  liad  not  been  over- 
looked, for  the  archives  record  a  shipment  in  178G 
from  San  Diego  of  two  thousand  dollars'  worth  of 
otter-skins,  and  also  that  for  some  time  the  article 
had  entered  into  trade  in  small  quantities;  but  this 
industry,  which  under  proper  management  might 
have  been  considerably  developed,  was  promptly 
trammelled  by  a  royal  cedula,  whereby  the  whole 
trade  was  reserved  for  the  king  and  his  commissioner, 
Vasadre  y  Vega,  and  to  him  the  missionaries  were 
strictly  ordered  to  deliver  all  skins  obtained  from  the 
Indians  at  a  low  fixed  rate.^^  The  receipts,  as  may  bo 
supposed,  were  insignificant,  and  the  monopoly  was 
abandoned  by  a  decree  of  1790,  but  the  export  of 
skins  was  restricted  to  Mexican  ports,  and  tlie  prict^s 
there  being  low,^^  the  settlers  preferred  to  clandes- 
tinely give  the  lion's  share  to  the  foreign  vessels  which 
now  began  to  appear  on  the  coast.  The  government 
neglected  to  entertain  more  liberal  and  enterprising 
plans  to  establish  a  trade,  and  the  people  were  too 
indolent  to  acquire  the  needful  skill  and  to  exert 
themselves  beyond  what  was  demanded  by  their 
actual  wants,  so  that  the  fur-traders  found  an  open 
field  when  by  increased  competition  on  the  northern 
coast  they  were  obliged  to  extend  their  operations 
southv/ard.  The  Bostonian  O'Cain,  of  the  Eclipse, 
had  observed  how  numerous  the  sea-otters  were  on 
the  coast  of  southern  California,  and  in  1803  he  pre- 
vailed on  the  Russian  authorities  in  Alaska  to  aid 

"  This  varied  from  seven  dollars  for  the  best  otter-skins  to  two  dollars  for 
the  lowest  class.  Arch.  Cal.,  MS.,  Dept.  St.  Pap.,  San  Jose,  i.  .31-5;  Prov. 
St.  Pap.,  vi.  38-9,  passim.  '  Prohibiendo  absolutamente  A  todos  los  de  Razon 
la  adquiaicion  delos  pieles  de  Nutrias.'  Governor  Pages'  Letter,  in  •Santa Bar- 
bara Arch.,  MS.,  xii.  3.  White  men  being  thus  restricted,  the  Indiana  were 
alone  reUed  upon  to  supply  the  monopoly,  and  they  had  no  interest  to  stimu- 
late them,  since  the  faniers  applied  the  money  to  mission  work. 

"Tliis  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  Philippine  Company  had  a  monop- 
oly of  the  China  trade  with  the  Spanish  possessions.  Arch.  Cat.,  MS.,  Prov. 
St.  Pap.,  xxi.  218  et  seq. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


I 


1.0 

I.I 

■50    ^^ 

'    m  ISA 

12.0 

1.25 

1^ 

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^4f  4K. 


'% 


'/ 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


i3  WIST  MAIN  ST»IET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MS80 

(716)  Sn-4503 


^v- 


6^ 


!: 


iH 


I  f 


i 


f 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUR-TRADE. 

him  in  exploring  this  wealth.  An  expedition  was  at 
once  sent  out,  with  twenty  bidarkas,  and  resulted  so 
well  that  the  Kussians  engaged  in  the  venture  on  a 
larger  scale,  and  soon  on  their  own  account  entirely. 
A  few  years  later  found  them  firmly  established  at 
Bodega,  with  Fort  Ross  as  the  centre  of  the  otter 
and  seal  fishery  operations  which  were  carried  on  from 
Oregon  to  Cape  San  Liicas,  along  the  shores  of  the 
coast  and  bays.  There  they  remained  with  their 
well  known  tenacity  until  1841,  by  which  time  the 
seals  as  well  as  otters  were  almost  exterminated.^* 

The  English  and  Americans,  particularly  the  latter, 
were  equally  zealous  in  the  trade,'^  though  barter, 
which  was  legitimized  under  republican  rule,  entered 
largely  into  their  operations,  and  afforded  quite  an 
acceptable  revenue  to  the  inhabitants.  Of  this  the 
missionaries  at  first  reaped  the  larger  share,  but  soon 
they  as  well  as  the  Mexican  settlers  were  displaced 
b}'^  the  more  enterprising  foreigners,  who  entered  into 
the  country  and  became  naturalized  in  order  to  engage 
in  the  fishery.^^  That  foreign  vessels  should  carry 
away  this  wealth  without  leaving  a  commensurate  re- 
turn, was  decidedly  objected  to  by  the  government,  and 
the  most  stringent  orders  were  issued  to  check  the 

'*  The  Russian  governor  as  early  as  1834  reported  that  the  rtAda  of  Amer- 
ican traders  would  soon  exterminate  the  otters,  overlooking  his  own  unrelent- 
ing persecution  of  the  animal.  Zavalishin,  Delo  o  Koloniy  Rons,  9.  General 
V^ejo  estimates  that  50,000  sea-otters  were  taken  in  Califomian  waters 
between  1830  and  1840.  Hist.  Gal.,  MS.,  ii.  204-5;  Khlibnikof,  Zapiski,  in 
Matefialui  cilia  Istor.  Rusa.,  iii.,  pt.  iii.  8-9;  Tikhminef,  htor.  OhoTranie, 
ii.,  app.,  272-3;  Arch.  (Jul,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xix.  307-9,  278;  Proo.  Rex., 
ix.  47-50. 

-"Captain  Smith  is  said  to  have  secured  130,000  sealskins  and  a  large 
number  of  otters  at  the  Farallones  between  1808  and  1810.  Taylor's  Discov. 
Fouiidtrs,  i.  76. 

'"  In  this  they  were  often  assisted  by  Alaskan  Indians  with  their  bidarkas, 
who  were  either  engaged  by  them  or  tendered  by  the  Russians  against  a 
share  in  the  yield.  The  missionaries  were  not  pleased  with  a  license  system, 
under  which  the  government  allowed  these  intruders  to  displace  native  enter- 
prise. The  superior  of  San  Buenaventura  mission  writes  in  1813  that  the 
mission  used  to  maintain  six  canoes  for  otter-fishing,  catching  annually  100 
to  150  pieces,  but '  ha  tenido  que  alargar  este  tan  util  como  precioso  ramo.' 
Arch.  Arzob.,  MS.,  ii.  97.  A  tax  was  levied  on  the  catch,  except  on  such  as 
had  been  obtained  by  native  Mexicans,  but  it  was  not  very  often  paid.  Arch. 
Cal.,U8.,  Dept.Rec.,vm.52,130i  VaMejo, Doc. Hist. Cal., US., i.Z23;  VdUejo, 
Ifotat  Hist.,  MS.,  36-8;  Santa  Cruz,  Arch.,  MS.,  96. 


(,*. 


OVERLAND  TO  CALIFORNIA. 


527 


abuse.  The  Spanish  government,  which  forbade  for- 
eigners ever  to  buy  furs,  had  been  able  to  enforce  its 
decrees  to  some  extent  with  the  aid  of  cruisers,  but 
those  of  the  repubhc  were  empty  threats,  and  the 
fishery  was  carried  on  with  impunity  even  in  sight  of 
the  forts.^^ 

The  interior  river  waters  of  the  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin  had,  on  the  other  hand,  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  even  before 
United  States  trappers  had  reached  them,  and  traders 
remained  there  in  unmolested  possession  long  after 
the  Russians  had  left  the  country.  The  feeble  fron- 
tier guard  could  do  nothing  but  protest,  and  finally 
when  the  trappers  had  pretty  well  exhausted  th«.  out- 
lying districts  and  wished  to  penetrate  into  the  centre 
of  the  state,  the  government  admitted  them  under  an 
agreement  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  whereby 
a  tax  of  fifty  cents  was  to  be  paid  for  each  beaver-skin."'' 

The  first  party  to  reach  California  from  the  United 
States  was  led  in  1825  by  Jedediah  Smith  of  Ashley's 
company,  across  the  desert  regions  of  Utah  and  Ne- 
vada. He  found  a  few  beaver.  Smith  came  again  two 
years  later,  but  met  with  so  disastrous  a  reception  from 
the  Indians  while  pursuing  the  route  to  Oregon  as  to 
deter  him  from  ever  visiting  this  coast  again.  Quite 
a  number  of  similar  parties,  varying  in  strength  from 
fifty  men  to  a  few  stragglers,  are  shown  by  the  official 
letters  of  the  period  to  have  entered  from  the  direc- 
tion of  Arizona  and  Sonora  after  1826,  and  till  the  time 
when  the  gold  excitement  converted  trappers  into  pros- 
pectors. One  of  these  parties  was  headed  by  Sylvester 
Pattie,  who  in  1824  passed  from  the  Missouri  to  New 

^^Arch.  Cat.,  MS.,  Dept.  St.  Pap.,  Prcf.  y  Juz,  iii.  24;  Dept.  St.  Pap., 
i.  64-5.  Ab  early  aa  1803  several  liundrcd  otter-skins  were  seized  on  tlie 
American  vessel  Alexander,  but  ■while  the  supreme  decision  in  the  case  wan 
following  the  red-taped  circuit,  moths  and  other  agencies  snatched  away  the 
Iwne  of  contention.  Arch.  Cat.,  MS.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xix.  145-15G;  xx.  !»;i, 
101-2;  Lanoadorfs  To//.,  185. 

"This  arrangement  waa  made  in  1841,  at  which  time  the  company  liarl 
already  acquired  a  trading  station  in  San  Francisco.  Vatlejo,  Doc.  Hist.  Cat., 
MS.,  X.  77;  xxxiii.  180;  Pertiajulrz,  Cat.,  MS.,  60-7. 


■:JU: 
:-,'h).': 


M: 


I'- 


:|f^ 


in,  i> 
ft. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  FUR-TRADE, 


Mexico,  and  thence  made  trapping  tours  into  Arizona 
till  1829,  when  he  entered  California,  to  find  a  prison 
and  a  grave.  His  son  James  succeeded  in  obtaining 
his  release  in  the  following  year,  and  published  shortly 
after  an  account  of  this  expedition.** 

It  is  time  these  fur-hunting  chapters  were  brought  to 
a  close.  I  would  gladly  have  maae  them  shorter  were 
it  possible  so  to  give  any  adequate  idea  of  the  origin 
and  operations  of  the  several  ponderous  agencies  that 
pushed  discovery  from  the  rivers  St  Lawrence  and 
Mississippi,  from  Lake  Superior  and  the  bay  of  Hud- 
son across  the  broad  continent  of  plains  and  mountains 
to  the  shores  of  the  Western  Ocean,  and  sent  fleets  of 
New  England  merchantmen  sailing  round  Cape  Horn, 
and  flittmg  between  California,  Vancouver  Island, 
Alaska,  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  China. 

'*PaUie'a  Peramud  Narrative,  210-230;  Areh.  Cat.,  MS.,  Dept.  St.  Pap., 
iL  4-6,  33-45;  iii.  101-2,  111;  Dept.  Bee.,  xiii.  17;  vii.  89;  vL  9;  v.  48,  73, 
102,  107;  St.  Pap.,  Sacramento,  ziz.  37-8;  Smith,  in  NowkUcs  Ann.  dea 
Voy.,  xxxvii.  210-11;  Frignet,  Cat.,  68-60.  Some  of  the  trappen  had  licenses 
from  New  Mexican  authoritieB. 


I 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


RELATIVE  ATTITUDES  OF  FUR -TRADERS  AND  NATIVES. 


m 


DiFFEKRNT  ViEWS  OF  SaVAOISM    BY  DIFFERENT    EUIU)PEANS,  ACCORDINO   TO 

THSiR  Several  Interests— United  Statks  Policy— HtrsiANE  Inten- 
TiOKB— Villainy  of  Agents — Border  Atrocities — Policy  of  th» 
•Northwest  and  Hudson's  Bay  Companies— The  Interests  of  Gold- 
beekebs,  Fur  Companies,  and  Settlers  Contrasted— System  of 
WiFB-TAKiNO— Half-breeds — Intoxicating  Drink — Missionaries. 

The  attitades  assumed  by  the  several  bands  of 
F  iropeans  at  different  times  and  places  in  America 
were  quite  distinct  one  from  another.  The  invaders 
were  governed  partly  by  clouded  conscience,  but  far 
more  by  interest.  Many  pretending  piety  made  con- 
science subservient  to  interest.  Many  really  good  men 
having  the  welfare  of  the  natives  at  heart  did  nearly 
as  much  harm  through  ignorance  and  bigotry  as  did 
the  vile  through  lust  and  avarice. 

In  the  minds  of  the  gold -seeker,  the  fur- hunter, 
and  agriculturist  the  savage  inspired  very  different 
sentiments.  In  the  first  instance  he  was  regarded  as 
a  temporary  tool  which  after  its  work  was  done  was 
to  be  thrown  away;  in  the  sec  d  case  he  was  a 
splendid  fellow  who  by  a  little  petting  and  pampering 
would  bring  splendid  returns.  In  the  path  of  perma- 
nent settlers  he  was  a  viper,  a  vile,  treacherous  thing, 
fit  only  for  extermination.  He  was  useful,  profitable 
in  the  first  two  instances ;  in  the  last  he  was  an  encum- 
brance, whose  presence  poisoned  the  air. 

With  the  Spaniards  conversion  was  no  less  a  part 
of  their  purpose  than  conquest.  In  any  event  the 
country  must  be  conquered  for  Christ,  and  the  peoplo 


Birr.  V.  W.  Court,  Vol.  I.    Si 


(629) 


■  \     I 


^Ir 


!.M 


t  i 


i;jj. 


slj 

1' 

1 

s    ■' 

630 


ATTITUDES  OF  FUR-TRADERS  AND  NATIVES. 


' 

^ 


lield  ill  lioiy  suWection.  If  they  would  accept  pope, 
and  king,  and  Christ  as  represent  3d  by  priests  and 
reckless  adventurers,  well :  if  not,  they  must  be  butch- 
ered for  Christ,  and  king,  and  pope.  The  cavaliers 
had  little  thought  of  cultivating  the  soil,  though  some 
jittempted  it.  Gold  was  their  chief  concern.  But  the 
native  abhorred  work;  furthermore,  it  killed  him,  so 
that  he  was  of  little  value  as  a  slave  or  for  any  other 
purpose. 

The  English  colonists  desired  land.  There  was 
little  gold  upon  the  eastern  seaboard  to  tempt  them, 
and  furs  offered  them  few  attractions.  Homes  fot* 
themselves  and  their  children  were  what  they  cov- 
eted, and  to  this  end  land  was  necessary.  This  was 
granted  them  in  most  cases  by  their  sovereign  before 
embarking  from  their  native  shore.  But  the  land  did 
not  belong  to  their  sovereign,  and  being  men  of  stub- 
born piety  and  principle,  some  of  them,  to  quiet  their 
own  minds  and  at  the  same  time  acquire  title  and 
peaceable  possession,  pretended  to  buy  the  land  they 
wanted  by  giving  for  it  a  few  valueless  trinkets.  Their 
descendants,  desiring  more  land,  took  it,  and  on  one 
or  another  pretext  slew  the  inhabitants;  but  always 
unjustly,  because  they  were  robbers  and  the  sons  of 
robbers.  Thus  civilization  crept  swiftly  and  treacher- 
ously westward,  the  people  meanwhile  receding  from 
forest  to  forest  in  their  vain  effort  to  escape  the  fell 
destroyer. 

White  people  were  at  first  regarded  by  the  Indians 
as  beings  superior  in  righteousness  as  well  as  in  ma- 
terial strength.  But  adas!  they  soon  learned  their 
mistake.  From  the  moment  Europeans  placed  foot 
on  American  soil  the  aborigines  were  doomed.  Sav- 
agism  and  civilization,  like  heat  and  cold,  or  light  and 
darkness,  cannot  dwell  together  in  harmony.  Native 
wise  men  and  philosophers  saw  this  at  the  time  and 
affirmed  it. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  Indian's  passion  for  finery 
and  fire-water,  Frenchmen  and  Englishmen  accumu- 


t-ai  ; 


t ,-;; 


SECTIONAL  POLICIES  CONTRASTED. 


S81 


[ndians 

I  ma- 

their 

;ccl  foot 

Sav- 

;ht  and 

Native 

line  and 


lated  vast  fortunes,  which  their  deseondants  now  enjoy, 
while  forest  ond  forester  were  swept  away. 

The  Indian  pohcy  of  the  United  States,  in  so  far 
as  a  pohcy  existed,  has  been  in  the  main  a  righteous 
one.  All  saw  that  the  race  was  doomed,  and  that 
little  was  to  be  done  but  to  make  savagism  as  com- 
fortable as  possible  during  its  death  agonies.  The 
more  bigoted  and  brainless  talked  of  Chrit;tianiziiig  or 
of  civilizing  the  natives;  but  such  knew  not  the  nature 
o^'  civilization.  The  more  enlightened  und  practical, 
regarded  them  as  children  needing  parental  care  and 
authority,  and  so  they  became  wards  of  the  nation. 

Nothing  could  have  been  nobler  or  more  humane 
than  this  view  of  the  matter,  which  has  been  gener- 
ally acted  upon  by  our  statesmen  for  the  past  half 
century.  Part  of  their  lands  were  fuirly  purchased 
from  them,  while  other  parts  wore  lield  in  reservation 
for  their  sole  use.  Their  comfort  was  likewise  re- 
garded: supplies  were  annually  furnished  them  by 
the  government.  Arms  and  ammunition  for  hunting 
were  given  them ;  likewise  blankets,  cloths,  provisions, 
and  utensils  of  various  kinds.  Schools  were  estab- 
lished, though  with  questionable  yet  harmless  wisdom. 
In  all  this  our  government,  which  should  mean  our 
])eople,  behaved  m  a  manner  of  which  we  may  justly 
feel  proud.  History  aflPords  no  higher  example  of 
kindness  and  forbearance  exercised  by  a  dominant 
power  to  those  whose  presence  could  scarcely  be  re- 
garded in  any  other  light  than  that  of  a  national 
nuisance.  Congress  was  even  so  magnanimous  as  to 
appropriate  eighty  thousand  dollars  for  a  miserable 
compilation  in  six  volumes,  illustrative  of  Indian  char- 
acter and  condition,  that  it  might  know  the  better  how 
to  provide  for  the  wants  of  the  savage. 

And  yet  our  government,  even  though  it  should 
mean  ourselves,  has  been  greatly  to  blame,  has  acted 
foolishly,  criminally,  in  not  protecting  from  the  spoilers 
these  children  of  its  adoption.  While  its  counsels  were 
in  the  main  wise  it  failed  to  suppress  the  most  das- 


illt^ 


ti 


:'■■  1 


A32 


ATTITUDES  OF  FUR-TRADERS  AND  NATIVES. 


Ill 
11  ^ 

11 

■tfi 


lul 


tardly  deeds.  It  allowed  the  exercise  of  its  parental 
care  to  degenerate  into  a  trade.  Appointments  ta 
agencies  were  openly  bought  by  unprincipled  men 
who  trusted,  for  a  profitable  return  of  the  investment, 
to  robbing  those  in  their  charge.  To  prevent  this, 
as  many  other  iniquitous  practices,  the  government 
has  been  too  weak  or  too  indifferent.  Notwithstand- 
ing our  fine  declamation  and  beautifully  spun  theories, 
our  conferences,  and  our  Christianizing  and  civilizing 
societies,  we  have  not  done  our  duty  by  the  Indian.* 
What  can  be  more  fatal  to  the  honor  and  dignity 
of  a  great  nation  like  that  of  the  United  States  than 
failure  to  keep  faith  with  the  helpless  barbarians  ou 
its  border?  It  is  not  enough  for  the  government  to 
say  that  it  has  not  required  of  the  natives  strict  com- 
pliance with  treaty  obligations;  to  break  faith  under 
any  circumstances  is  disgraceful,  most  of  all  to  break 
faith  with  the  poor,  ignorant,  and  helpless.  Fourteen 
supcrintendencies  with  numerous  agencies  under  the 
Indian  Bureau  branch  of  the  Interior  Department  at 
Washington  accomplish  the  evil.^ 


f.i 

I 

'  J  f ■ 

!       I 

-  I 


'  The  laxity  of  the  covcmment  in  protecting  the  natives,  and  the  conduct 
of  its  corrupt  officials,  have  been  for  years  notorious.  In  the  words  of  William 
Blackmorc,  writing  in  a  work  by  Richard  Irving  Dodge,  lieutenant-colonel  in 
the  United  States  army:  'It  would  be  extremely  difficult  to  find  any  treaty 
entered  into  by  the  government  with  the  Indians  during  the  last  twenty  years 
which  had  been  strictly  and  honorably  fulfilled. '  An  acting  general  in  tlio 
United  States  army  affirms  that,  'Civilization  makes  it  own  compact  with  the 
weaker  party;  it  is  violated,  but  not  by  the  savage.'  A  commission  on  In- 
dian affairs  reports:  'The  history  of  the  government  connections  with  the 
Indians  is  a  shameful  record  of  broken  treaties  and  unfulfilled  promises.  The 
history  of  the  border  white  man's  connections  with  the  Indians  is  a  sickening 
recorcl  of  murder,  outrage,  robbery,  and  Avrong  committed  by  the  former  as  a 
rale,  and  occasional  savage  outbreaks  and  unspeakable  barbarous  deeds  of 
retaliation  by  the  latter  as  the  exception.'  It  is 'useless  to  multiply  words 
upon  the  subject  when  we  can  find  them  officially  printed  in  black  and 
damning  characters  like  the  following  from  the  governor  of  Oregon  to  the 
sheriff  of  Umatilla  county,  dated  the  18th  of  July  1878:  'It  is  not  necessary, 
in  my  judgment' — Chadwick's,  I  presume,  too  g'  4  a  man  for  so  bad  a  judg- 
ment— 'that  any  of  the  Indians  taken  should  nave  been  personally  present 
at  any  particular  murder  in  order  to  make  tliem  amenable  to  the  law.  Their 
depredations  in  Umatilla  County  may  be  regarded  as  part^  of  a  general  com- 
bination or  conspiracy  for  the  commission  of  a  crime,  and  all  who  are  in  any 
way  connected  with  it  may  bo  regarded  as  principals. ' 

'An  a^ent  at  Siletz,  Oregon,  robbed  the  natives  in  his  charge  of  $50,000, 
took  service  in  the  army  as  a  colouel,  held  hich  his  head,  ta&ed  loudly  of 
extermination  as  the  only  cure  of  the  Indian  evil,  and  found  among  our  Intel- 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


r>8S 


All  our  Indian  wars  may  bo  traced  immediately 
to  one  of  three  causes,  namely,  outrages  by  border 
men,  failure  of  government  in  fulfilling  its  promises, 
and  frauds  peq)etratcd  by  agents.  The  outrages  com- 
mitted by  settlers  and  desperadoes  of  tiie  border 
equal  any  in  the  annals  of  crime.  Indian  agents  have 
idways  been  notorious  for  their  peculations,  tli'>  natives 
scarcely  over  receiving  more  than  twenty  or  thirty  per 
cent  of  the  amount  appropriated  by  tlie  government 
for  their  benefit.* 

Back  beyond  the  Allcghanies  the  natives  were  at 
first  driven;  then  they  were  made  to  vacate  the  fertile 
valleys  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  and  finally  the 
saints  of  Salt  Lake  and  the  jjold-diffijers  of  California 
completed  a  contmuous  line  of  pacified  cf)untry  to  the 
Pacific.  A  recital  of  events  durinjx  this  westward 
progress  of  civilization  would  cause  a  heart  of  stone 
to  bleed.  Adopting  the  red  man's  mode  of  warfare, 
liis  treachery,  and  his  ])itiless  exterminating  policy, 
which  civilization  so  loves  to  denounce,  stealthily  and 
in  darkness  crept  the  noble  European  from  east  to 
west,  his  pathway  marked  b}'  the  scalped  carcasses 

ligcnt  and  fair-minded  people  many  iinlent  admirers.  l'nn-ish'n  Iwl.  Aitec- 
dutei,  MS.,  74.  Chillimoii,  a  Coquillo  native,  .scpuratcd  \vliit(!  men  into  tlneo 
classes — the  missionaries,  who  were  sober  and  rightcoiis  ;  the  '  llostons,'  who 
dnink  whiskey,  swore,  and  abused  them ;  and  the  soldiers,  the  '  Bostons' ' 
dogs,  who  killed  the  Indians  when  set  upon  them  by  their  masters.  Vile, 
sensual  men,  far  below  the  bmtes  in  bestiality,  who  could  not  speak  Mith- 
out  copiously  interlarding  their  words  with  horrible  oaths  ami  imprecations, 
sometimes  played  the  mi-ssionary,  selling  the  savages  pack.s  of  card.s  for  bibles, 
and  telling  them  God  would  be  angry  with  them  if  tiicy  refused  tiiem  women, 
utid  the  like.  Martin's  IIudMii^n  liuy,  TS-(j;  Parker's  Ex.  Tour,  Si-ii. 

'  I  could  cito  by  the  score  instances  which  would  set  abl;izc  every  honest 
heart,  and  make  one  wonder  how  almighty  justice  should  slumber  nmidst  such 
inhuman  wrong.  The  interposition  of  force  to  jireviait  the  lustful  advances  of 
-dissolute  white  men  toward  their  wives  and  daughters  has  cost  the  life  of 
inany  a  native  father  and  husband,  and  has  been  the  occa.sion  of  many  Iwvttles. 
l>riven  fi"om  their  hereditary  hunting-grounds,  their  game  fii;,'htene<l  yet 
larther  away,  robbed  of  the  food  provided  by  tlie  government,  by  vampires 
v/ho  to  add  a  few  dollars  to  their  illicit  gains  with  brutiil  indifference  saw 
v.hole  families  starve,  to  save  their  lives  they  would  sometimes  kill  and  eat  a 
Btruy  animal  belonging  to  a  settler,  lint  sucii  iuHtancca  were  exceedingly 
rare,  and  occuri'ed  only  when  the  jwor  sheltei'lcss  people  M-ere  diiven  by 
hunger  to  desperation;  for  they  knew  that  in  nil  probability  their  lives  would 
be  the  penalty.  Often  and  often  in  Caliibrnia  the  nearest  rancheria  of  Indians 
have  been  butchered  by  drunken  miners  for  oll'ences  which  it  was  afterward 
jiscertained  never  had  been  committed  at  all. 


:  \,  ■  I 


as4 


ATTITUDES  OP  FUR.TRADER.S  AND  NATIVI'^S. 


of  savages  and  the  mutilated  bodies  of  unoffending^ 
women  and  innocent  children.  Such  is  Christianity 
and  civilization  as  carried  westward  from  Plymouth 
Rock  into  the  forests  of  America  by  descendants  of 
the  Puritans.* 

And  the  saddest  feature  of  it  is  that  there  should 
l>e  upon  this  so  righteously  governed  planet  so  great 
a  wrong  for  which  there  is  no  remedy.  While  in  tho 
full  enjoyment  of  what  God  had  given  them,  we  camo 
upon  them,  killed  them,  and  took  their  possessions. 
Being  stronger  than  they,  being  what  we  call  civil- 
ized, it  was  what  we  call  right  thus  to  displace  them. 
They  aie  dead,  and  have  left  no  inheritors  of  their 
wrongs.  All  we  can  do  is  to  hide  our  heads  in  shamo 
over  the  outrages  committed  in  our  behalf,  and  teach 
our  children  that  murder  and  theft  are  equally  wicked ^ 
whether  perpetrated  by  nations  or  individuals,  by 
civiUzation  or  savagism,  in  Christ's  name  or  in  tho 
devil's  name, 

Whom  did  we  make  a  neighbor  of  the  red  man? 
Who  upon  the  ever  shifting  border  of  these  American 
states  have  been  our  civilizers?  The  whiskey- seller, 
the  blasphemer,  the  cheat,  the  libertine,  the  des- 
perado, the  assassin.  Even  the  missionary  lacked  that 
complete  and  equitable  moral  sense  whence  alone 
comes  even-handed  justice." 

*  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  in  the  annals  of  law-making  anything  mor» 
absolutely  repulsive  to  a  humane  mind  than  the  following  from  tho  logislativo 
journals  of  Idaho:  'Resolved,  That  three  men  be  appointed  to  select  25  men 
to  go  to  Indian-hunting,  and  all  those  who  can  fit  themselves  out  shall  receive 
a  nominal  sum  for  all  scalps  that  they  may  bring  in ;  and  all  who  cannot  fit 
themselves  out  shall  be  fitted  out  by  the  commi^ee,  and  when  they  bring  in 
scalps  it  shall  bo  deducted  out.  That  for  every  buck  scalp  be  paid  $100,  and 
for  every  squaw  $50,  and  $25  for  everything  in  the  shape  of  an  Indian  under 
ten  years  of  age.  That  each  scalp  shall  have  the  curl  of  the  head,  and  each 
man  shall  make  oath  tliat  the  said  scalp  was  taken  by  tho  company.'  When' 
we  see  sucli  sentiments  promulgated  in  such  language  by  tho  legislature  of 
one  of  our  most  recently  formed  territories,  we  may  well  blush  for  our  people. 
Nothing  I  have  ever  read  of  outrages  in  any  form  has  called  up  strongei 
feelings  of  disgust. 

'What  shall  we  say  of  such  a  sentiment  as  this  proceeding  from  the  mouth 
of  Christ's  vicegerent :  '  If  a  policy  had  been  established  with  the  Indians  in 
the  outset  that  the  whites  had  in  tho  providence  of  God  become  the  inhabitants 
of  the  United  States,  the  inhabitants  of  the  same  soil  with  tho  Indians,  and 
that  we  had  just  as  good  a  right  to  tho  soil  as  the  Indians  because  there  was  a 
time  when  they  did  not  occupy  it,'  etc.  Parriah'a  Iiid.  Anecdotes,  MS.,  72. 


'  II 


THE  imiTISII  COMl'AMEa. 


535 


All  this  time  ilic  moro  rcspectablo  of  our  nation, 
good  and  kind  dolts  as  tlioy  are,  roading  of  outbi-eaks 
on  thu  border  and  thinking  only  of  slaughtered  set- 
tlors and  their  burning  homes,  regard  their  own  as 
the  most  injured  of  races,  berate  the  government  for 
its  leniency  in  its  dealings  with  savages,  and  on  Sun- 
day listen  to  their  pastor's  explanation  how  the  dilfi- 
culty  can  be  solved  oidy  by  the  total  extinction  of 
the  barbarians.  I  have  heard  God's  ministers  pieach 
blood  and  injustice  from  the  pulpit  until  my  soul  has 
sickened. 

Soldiers  burn  to  inflict  upon  them  the  very  hor- 
rors they  so  severely  denounce.  "  Dragoon  them," 
says  one.  "  Kill  seven  nations  if  necessary,"  says 
another,  in  order  to  protect  a  band  of  dissolute  trap- 
pers or  a  half  dozen  ruffian  miners.  It  is  the  old 
revenge,  hatred,  and  curses  for  those  we  have  injured.* 

The  Indian  policy  of  the  Northwest  and  Hudson's 
Bay  companies  was  quite  the  reverse  of  those  of 
Spain  and  the  United  States.  In  the  absence  of  gold 
and  the  desire  of  settlement,  the  great  temptations  to 
abuse  or  extirpate  were  removed. 

Several  causes  united  to  bring  about  this  state  of 
things.  The  British  who  first  planted  their  forts  on 
the  inhospitable  shores  of  Hudson  Bay  were  wholly 
dependent  upon  the  natives  for  their  entire  trade;. 
They  could  not  penetrate  the  interior  and  catch  the 
fur-bearing  animals  themselves.     Unless  they  were 

•The  tbeme  of  the  cruelty  of  mail  to  his  fellow-mun  liugina  with  tho  be- 
ginning of  tho  race,  and  to  all  appearances  will  cml  only  with  the  extinction 
of  the  race.  There  are  no  devils  more  wicked  tliim  man;  it  maligns  tho 
beasts  to  call  men  brutal,  for  brutes  do  not  indulge  in  sucli  merciless  diver- 
sion as  enslaving  or  torturing  tlieir  captives.  Those  wiio  have  a  desire  to 
continue  their  investigations  further  should  consult  Ermii'  I  lid.  Or.,  MS., 
172-5;  Parrisk'a  Indian  Anecdotes,  MS.,  9.5;  Sir  G<'iir<ie  Simpnon,  in  lfniin>' 
of  Commonn  Jii'pt.  ITud.wn\t  liuji  d.,  8.5;  Viclor's  Xcw  I'l-iiclo/jr,  Ki'i,  and 
River  of  th<:  IVe.it,  23;  Biitler'n  Wild  North  fAiiid,  ~:i:  Dohji'H  P/ahm,  xvii. 
321,  430,  passim;  UmfrevUle'a  Hudson's  JJay,  GO;  Ahhofl'n  Kit  (Janun,  7-. 
passim;  Peters'  Kit  Carson,  527;  Dunn's  Or.,  71,  SI-.T;  (Iri'm/iow's  Or.  unit 
(,'a/.,  307;  Dunraven's  Great  Divide,  118,  passim:  Marfliiiiti/d's  Brit.  <'ol., 
.'•0-124,172-204;  Irvinj's  Astoria,  b\5;  Tache's  North  West.  110;  llunivjii'* 
Journal,  '.i'^-^^. 


-4- 


SS6 


ATTITUDES  OF  FUR-TRADERS  AND  \ATIVE3, 


i  i 


' 


I 


't 


friendly  witli  the  inhabitants,  unless  their  conduct  was 
such  OH  to  iriHpirc  confidence,  not  alone  in  jiorBOQal 
Hafety  but  in  fair  dealinj^,  the  fur-traders  might  as  well 
have  ronxiined  at  home. 

Hence  it  was  ordered  at  the  Imme  office  that  tho 
savagi^s  should  be  treated  as  human  beings.  The  men 
won  not  t  >  be  shot  tlown  ,it  pleasure,  or  tho  women 
to  1)0  feU>len,  or  tho  children  scalped.  In  commercial 
intercourso  they  were  not  to  be  cheated;  their  self- 
respect  was  to  be  fostered;  credit  wn.'  +(• -be  given 
them,  and  their  necessities  w«'re  to  be  relieved,  even 
when  there  was  little  probability  -f  returns.  British 
sovereigns,  instead  of  calling  them  'bucks'  and  'squaws,' 
the  most  disgusting  and  brutal  appellations  ever  be- 
stowed on  men  and  womon,  designated  them  as  'Our 
American  Subjects,'  which  term  for  some  reason  car- 
ries with  it  a  sense  of  greater  security  and  fair  treatment 
than  the  'Our  Wards'  of  the  United  States. 

As  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  spread  southward 
and  westward,  and  finally  laid  claim  to  the  whole  of 
hyperborean  North  America,  their  original  policy 
became  yet  more  firmly  established.  They  found  tho 
natives  exceedingly  useful  to  them,  indispensable,  in 
fact,  to  their  trade;  to  hunt  was  one  of  the  few  things 
an  Indian  could  do  without  disgrace — that  and  beating 
his  wives,  decking  himself  in  finery,  assassinating  an 
enemy,  and  getting  drunk.  To  preserve  the  wild 
men,  the  game,  and  the  native  hunters  were  all  abso- 
lutely essential  to  tho  continuance  of  their  exceedingly 
lucrative  traffic.  By  this  time  they  were  strong 
enough,  backed  up  by  their  pretended  chartered  rights, 
to  hold  the  country  against  interlopers  and  completely 
to  dominate  it.  Obviously  settlement  would  be  fatal. 
The  admission  of  rival  traders  was  not  to  be  thought 
of  Even  the  employment  of  Irish  or  Orkney  men  as 
hunters,  were  such  a  course  possible,  would  sooner  or 
later  break  up  their  monopoly;  for  with  the  admission 
of  white  men  in  greater  numbers  t'ian  they  could 
individually  control,  tho  land  would  quickly  bo  thrown 


RBCXXJNITION  OF  KKJHTS. 


jU 


open  to  the  world.  In  tlioHo  rorost-s  tlioy  couh\  iiuumj^o 
Kiiva^sm  better  than  civilization;  and  they  did  inunjj^w 
pcrfbctly. 

By  their  moral  and  intelloctnal  Huperiority  thoy 
v^t  only  stimulated  the  natives  to  greater  activity  in 
bri  \  ing  in  peltries,  thereby  converting  tliem  into  ous- 
to^ri^-rs,  but  they  made  them  'Ii'i)endent.s  and  uUieH, 
buihiing  of  t^cm  bulwarks  for  pernuineiit  protection. 
And  hey^  liieir  servants,  the  patient  pta-sants  of  Aber- 
deen-hire; achieved  a  grander  conquest  than  did  ever 
*  >e  eomzadcs  of  Cortes  or  Pizario.  The  ra[)ine  of 
the  wealth  of  civilized  nations  required  little  else  than 
cunning  and  brute  courage,  whereas  in  the  domination 
of  the  countleu^  tribes  iidiabiting  the  vast  forests  and 
plains  of  tlie  north,  there  must  be  in  dealing;  with 
these  hunters  and  fishers,  in  a})[)eavance  at  least,  a 
recognition  of  rights.  Thus  it  was  in  tlie  Oregon 
Territory  that  such  British  subjects  as  the  company 
could  easily  control  were  welcome,  while  citizens  t)f 
the  United  States  were  discournged.  The  natives 
wore  taught  to  despise  alike  the  Amen  jans  and  their 
goods:  not  because  thoy  were  Americans,  but  because 
they  were  not  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  Their 
own  countrymen  of  the  Northwest  Company  they 
fought  far  more  bitterly  than  ever  they  opposed  the 
Americans,  Spaniards,  or  Russians. 

By  the  time  the  conquest  of  Canada  was  achieved, 
and  the  Northwest  Company  was  fairly  in  the  field, 
the  wise  and  conciliating  policy  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  had  become  so  firmly  established,  and  was 
so  universally  recognized  as  the  profitable  and  right- 
eous one,  that  the  Northwest  Company  was  in  a 
measure  obliged  to  adopt  it.  Indeed  during  their 
bitter  and  bloody  feuds  both  sides  became  too  con- 
ciliatory, feeding  the  native  with  fire-water  until  he 
could  not  hunt,  and  paying  him  more  for  his  peltries 
than  the  traffic  justified.  Nowhere  does  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  system  claim  our  admiration  to  greater 
extent  than  in  its  treatmc  nt  of  offenders. 


338 


ATXrrUDES  OF  FUR-TRADERS  AND  NATIVES. 


The  object  was  in  all  cases  even  and  exact  justice, 
not  indiscriminate  retaliation.  Unlike  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  the  British  North  Americans  did 
not  seek  to  revenge  themselves  upon  savage  wrong- 
doers after  the  savage  fashion. 

When  an  offence  was  committed  they  did  not  go 
out  and  shoot  down  the  first  Indians  they  met ;  they 
did  not  butcher  innocent  women  and  children;  they 
did  not  scalp  or  offer  rewards  for  scalps.  Professing 
Christianity  and  civilization,  the  argument  that  as 
brutes  and  savages  treat  us,  so  we  must  treat  brutes 
and  savages,  had  no  force.  A  stolen  article  must  be 
restored,  and  the  tribe  harboring  a  thief  was  cut  off 
from  commercial  intercourse.  The  fort  gates  were 
closed  to  them;  they  could  neither  sell  nor  buy  until 
the  thief  was  brought  to  punishment. 

If  an  Indian  murdered  a  white  man,  or  any  person 
in  the  employ  of  the  company,  the  tribe  to  which  he 
belonged  were  assured  that  they  had  nothing  to  fear, 
that  King  George  men  were  single-hearted  and  just, 
that  unlike  the  Indians  themselves,  they  did  not  deem 
it,  fair  to  punish  the  innocent  for  the  deeds  of  the 
guilty;  but  the  murderer  must  be  delivered  to  them. 
This  demand  was  enforced  with  inexorable  persistency ; 
and  herein  lay  the  secret  of  their  strength.  In  all 
that  vast  realm  which  they  ruled  there  was  not 
mountain  distant  enough,  nor  forest  deep  enough, 
nor  icy  cave  dark  enough,  to  hide  the  felon  from 
their  justice,  though  none  but  he  need  have  aught  to 
fear.  The  officers  and  servants  of  the  company  were 
ordered  to  go  to  any  trouble  or  expense  in  seeking 
and  punishing  an  offender,  and  they  were  never  to 
cease  their  efforts  until  the  end  was  accomplished. 
Threats  were  made  against  those  who  harbored  a 
criminal,  and  rewards  offered  for  theu  capture.  Num- 
berless instances  I  might  cite  where  criminals  were 
tracked  for  thousanas  of  miles,  and  where  an  officer 
of  the  company  would  enter  a  hostile  camp  alone,  and 
shooting  to  death  a  murderer  walk  away  unharmed. 


■ 


EVEN-HANDED  JUSTICE. 


530 


Often  friendly  natives  would  be  employed  to  capture 
malefactors." 

This  certainty  of  punishment  acted  upon  the  savage 
mind  with  all  the  power  of  a  superstition.  Felons 
trembled  before  the  white  man's  justice  as  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Almighty. 

Five  hundred  millions  of  dollars  the  United  States 
has  spent  in  Indian  wars.  Between  the  shores  of 
the' Atlantic  and  Pacific,  in  United  States  territory, 
there  is  not  a  hundred-mile  patch  on  which  white 
men  and  red  have  not  fought;  and  during  our  hun^ 
dred  years  of  national  history  each  successive  score 
may  count  its  great  Indian  battle,  and  some  scores 
three  or  five.  North  of  the  Canadian  line,  where 
dominate  the  same  avaricious  Anglo-Saxon  race  over 
the  same  untamed  element  of  humanity,  there  never 
have  been  Indian  wars  or  massacres  such  as  have 
been  almost  constant  on  the  United  States  border,  not 
a  single  encounter  such  as  we  could  call  a  bloody 
battle;^  and  no  money  spent  by  the  government  to 
keep  the  natives  in  peaceful  subjection.  The  reason 
is  plain.  In  the  latter  instance  the  natives  are 
treated  as  human  beings,  and  their  rights  in  some 

^Alexander  Simpson  in  his  life  of  his  brother,  Thomas  Simpson,  staten 
that  murder  was  avenged  by  blood  for  blood  without  trial.  The  House  of 
Commons  committee,  Report  Uvdaon^a  Bay  Company,  01,  asked  Sir  Gcorgo 
Simpson  if  this  statement  was  true.  Ho  replied :  '  ^Ve  are  obliged  to  punish 
Indians  as  a  matter  of  self-preservation  in  some  parts  of  the  country.  We  sel- 
dom ge-u  1  old  of  them  for  the  purpose  of  trial,  and  they  are  usually  punished  by 
their  own  tribe.  I  scarcely  know  a  case,  though  there  may  have  lieen  perhaps  a 
few  cases,  in  which  our  own  servants  have  retaliated. '  I  could  cite.  Sir  George, 
a  score  of  cases;  in  short,  retaliation  without  trial  was  the  rule,  and  punisli- 
mcnt  by  the  tribe  the  exception. 

*The  reverend  Mr  Hincs,  in  his  Oregon,  Us  History,  etc.,  31)1-5,  Ijeconu's 
somewhat  loose  in  his  statements  respecting  intercourse  with  the  natives. 
All  the  sins  of  all  the  fur-hunters  and  border  ruffians  ho  lays  indiscriminately 
upon  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  In  general  and  sweeiting  statements  lie 
fills  the  northern  country  with  wars,  robberies,  and  murders  wliich  I  fail 
utterly  to  find  coiToborated,  surpassing  even  Mr  (Jray  in  this  particular. 
Strangely  enough  wo  find  stated  on  the  same  page  that  while  they  are  in  the 
habit  of  sending  out  war  parties  to  attack  indiscriminately  the  offending  tribe — 
and  frequently  in  these  excursions  women  and  cliildren  have  been  tlic  greatest 
sufferers,  yet — 'whoever  has  been  intimately  acquj'.intcd  with  tlie  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  and  has  observed  its  operations  for  any  length  of  time,  must 
be  aware  that  the  policy  pursued  by  them  with  reference  to  the  Indians,  L» 
one  of  the  greatest  forbeaiance  and  conciliation.' 


i 


I'i 


i   i 


MO 


ATTITUDES  OP  FUR-TRADERS  AND  NATIVES. 


measure  respected.  Being  amenable  to  the  law  they 
are  protected  by  the  law.  In  the  former  case  they 
are  treated  as  brutes,  having  no  rights. 

Of  crimes  among  themselves,  of  their  wars  and 
atrocities,  the  fur  companies  did  not  feel  called  upon 
to  take  special  notice,  though  without  direct  inter- 
ference they  used  their  influence  to  prevent  barbarities 
and  maintain  the  peace,  for  the  men  could  not  hunt 
and  trade  while  fighting. 

By  preventing  the  coalition  of  neighboring  nations,, 
by  fostering  petty  jealousies,  by  refusing  arms  and 
ammunition  for  purposes  of  war,  by  dividing  clans,  by 
setting  up  one  chief  and  deposing  another,  by  weak- 
ening the  strong  and  strengthening  the  weak,  the 
fur  companies  held  the  balance  of  power,  and  easily 
controlled  the  fierce  tribes  by  which  they  were  sur- 
rounded." 

Now  it  would  not  be  just  to  human  nature,  it 
would  not  be  just  to  Spaniard  or  Russian,  or  to  our 
own  people  of  the  United  States,  to  infer  from  their 
superior  Indian  policy  and  kinder  treatment  of  the 
savage  that  the  fur-traders  of  British  North  America 
were  better  men,  more  humane  or  fair-minded.  It 
was  alone  the  difierence  of  situation  and  circumstances 
that  made  them  different.  In  the  gold -producing 
regions  of  middle  America  they  would  have  carried 
themselves  very  like  the  Spaniards;  thrown  among 
the  fierce  islanders  of  Alaska,  they  would  have  de- 
fended themselves  with  cruel  retaliations,  as  did  the 
Russians;  and  to  suppose  for  a  moment  that  the 
Scotch  and  English  who  traded  around  Hudson  Bay 
were  morally  superior  to  their  countrymen  who  landed 
on  Plymouth  Rock  and  founded  this  great  American 
republic  is  simply  ridiculous.     The  British  fur  com- 

•Townaend,  speaking  in  his  Narrative,  105,  of  Thomas  McKay,  who 
nnited  the  artless  fiiuikness  of  the  forester  with  the  affable  grace  of  khe 
Frenchman,  greatly  admired  the  discipline  of  his  men,  most  of  whom  were 
(vanadians,  half-breeds,  and  Indians.  McKay  ruled  them  completely,  although 
they  required  his  constant  attention.  Flagellation  was  sometimes  resorted 
to,  but  this  disgraceful  punishment  was  indicted  only  by  the  '  ad  of  the 
captain  himself;  othoiwLsc  the  humiliation  would  be  unendurabl 


I 


THE  FREE  TRAPPER. 


541 


panies  found  it  to  their  pecuniary  interest  to  be  just 
and  humane  in  their  dealings  with  the  natives — this 
aad  nothing  more.^° 

Unhke  the  United  States  border  men,  the  servants 
of  the  British- American  fur  companies  were  bred  to 
the  business,  and  held  to  a  strict  accountability  for 
every  act,  whether  in  their  intercourse  with  white  men 
or  Indians.  They  were  no  more  allowed  to  shoot  or 
ill-treat  savages  than  to  murder  or  swindle  their  own 
comrades," 

The  free  trapper,  on  the  other  hand,  was  often  a 
rough  character  escaped  from  home  in  early  life  or 
from  later  questionable  transactions,  governed  solely 
by  his  passions,  and  responsible  to  no  one;  all  cases 
were  to  him  simple  questions  of  expediency.  Many 
held  savages  to  be  really  soulless,  and  the  killing  of 
them  no  greater  crime  than  the  killing  of  wild  beasts. 
Indians  were  only  a  distinct  species  of  animals,  re- 
markable chiefly  for  their  instinct  of  revenge.     Con- 

•*Oray  says  that  Greenhow  is  quite  wrong  in  ascribing  to  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  eflforts  to  promote  culture  and  conversion,  and  I  am  of  tho 
game  opinion  myself.  There  are  instances  where  pious  postmasters  havu 
supplemented  the  efforts  of  tho  missionary,  and  encouraged  schools  and  coii- 
version.  But  in  the  main  it  was  money  the  company  souglit,  and  not  tlio 
mental  or  moral  improvement  of  the  savages.  As  a  dims  they  were  ungodly 
men  for  that  day,  and  quite  inclined  to  lechery,  the  freedom  of  tlio  forest 
seemingly  having  freed  their  minds  from  many  of  the  trammels  of  conven- 
tional thought. 

"  'A  Hudson  Bay  officer  would  receive  no  thanks  for  cheating  an  Indian. 
The  policy  of  the  company  was  honesty,  and  also  to  keep  the  several  tribes 
divided  and  at  enmity  among  themselves.'  Fiiilaysott'a  Vancouver  [daml,  MS., 
83.  Mr  Finlayson  also  Ijears  testimony  that  the  natives  were  honest  when 
honestly  treated.  Slaves,  he  says,  were  an  element  dangerous  to  the  fur- 
traders,  who  made  presents  to  the  chiefs  to  liberate  them :  for  if  a  slave  was 
ordered  by  his  master  to  kill  a  white  man  he  must  do  it  or  be  killed  himself. 
Said  Mrs  Harvey,  daughter  of  Dr  McLoughlin,  to  mo  in  her  quaint  way : 
'The  Indians  cams  into  the  Hudson's  Bay  fort  at  Vancouver  in  spring  moro 
than  at  any  other  time.  There  was  a  large  hall  there  where  they  came  in 
and  sat  down.  The  Indians  would  ask  what  was  right  to  be  done,  and  my 
father  told  them  what  was  right  and  what  was  not  right — whether,  for  in- 
stance, they  should  kiU  such  a  man  fur  doing  so  and  so.  If  he  said  'No,  you 
must  not,  it  is  wrong,'  it  would  be  all  stopped.  Tho  whites,  hired  men, 
sometimes  troubled  the  Indians,  and  they  would  complain  to  my  father.  He 
would  put  them  in  irons.'  Harve^Js  Life  McLourfhlin,  MS.,  6.  'I  have  not 
heard  as  yet  of  a  single  instance  of  any  Indian  being  wantonly  killed  by  any 
of  thn  men  belonging  to  this  company.  Nor  have  I  heard  any  boasting  among 
them  of  the  satisfaction  taken  in  killing  orabnciug  Indians,  that  1  have  cLsu- 
where  heard.'  Parker's  Ex.  Tour,  131. 


it 


M2 


ATTITUDES  OF  FUR      ADERS  AND  NJbXIVBK 


sequently  when  one  thoogiit  of  shooting  an  Indian  for 
the  beaver-skin  he  carried,  it  wa<=  well  enough  to  con- 
sider the  diances  of  capture  and  escape.  This  was 
the  doctrine  many  independent  frontiersmen  acted 
upon.  I  know  of  nothing  of  the  kind  during  the  two 
centuries  of  fur- hunting  history  north  of  the  United 
States  boundary." 

To  gain  yet  further  influence  over  the  savages, 
a  system  of  wife-taking  or  popular  concubinage  was 
encouraged  by  the  fur  companies  on  behalf  of  their 
officers  and  servants.  By  this  means  two  objects 
were  secured:  the  more  powerful  native  tribes  were 
allied  to  the  traders'  interest,  and  the  servants  of 
the  companies,  as  offspring  came  on,  became  fixed  in 
the  country.  Further  than  this,  gross  immorality 
among  officers  and  subordinates,  which  often  led  to 
dangerous  feuds,  was  thus  in  a  measure  prevented. 
No  civilized  marriage  rites  attended  these  unions. 
The  father  of  the  bride  was  usually  solicited,  and 

"  The  authorities  on  this  subject  are  almost  endless.  Among  the  more 
important  are  Harvey^sLi/e  of  McLaughlin,  MS.,  5-6 ;  Work'nJuuriicU,  MS., 205; 
Finlaygon'n  Vancouver  Island,  MS.,  8.'l-4;  Kane's  Wanderings,  96-7;  Umfre- 
ville's  Hudson's  Bay,  66 ;  Sir  G.  Back,  in  House  of  Commons  Rept.  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  186;  SchoolcraJVs  Per.  Memoirs,  327;  Viajes  al  Norti;  MS., 
411 ;  Sir  T.  Richardson,  in  House  of  Commons  Rept.  '/udsr,''s  Bay  Company, 
159-60;  Abbott's  Kit  Carson,  72;  Oreenhow's  Or.  a  -'.,  ;i97;  Dunraven's 

Oreat  Divide,  121;  Fitzgerald's  Vancouver  Island,  chu^)  "it,;  Victor's  River  of 
the  West,  29.  Mr  Gray,  Hist.  Or.,  chaps,  v.  vii,  Ixiv.,  cataloj^es  the  crimes 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company ;  and  others  ■writing  as  partim.  as  enumerate 
many  atrocities  committed  by  it*  servants.  These  I  do  not  deny.  It  would 
bo  strange  if  in  the  arbitra/y  and  informal  administration  of  justice  in  this 
ilistant  wilderness  some  excesses  were  not  committed  by  the  inexperienced. 
I  have  not  space  to  cite  examples.  I  am  not  writing  as  a  partisan.  My 
opinion,  based  upon  my  study  of  the  subject,  is  that  for  every  case  of  unfair- 
ness or  cruelty  perpetrated  by  the  northern  fur  companies  upon  the  natives, 
one  liimdred  crimes,  each  of  tenfold  intensity,  might  easily  bo  found  which 
liave  been  committed  by  our  border  rufBanc  and  the  holdeii  of  office  under  the 
United  States  government.  Martin,  Hudson's  Bay,  1 1 1-136,  quotes  The  Bishop 
of  Montreal's  Journal,  Missionary  Papers,  and  Extracts  from  Despatcltes  of 
iftriou.^  Chief  Factors  and  others  to  prove  that  the  conduct  of  the  company 
wua  wise,  prudent,  and  benevolent.  Mr  Martin  writes  only  in  the  interest 
of  the  company,  and  though  he  states  only  one  side,  his  assertions  are  in  the 
main  true.  A.  McDonnell,  m  House  of  Commons  Rept.  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
389,  thinks  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  system  one  of  bondage  to  the  native, 
and  believes  competition  to  be  materially  beneficial  to  him.  The  Nootkas 
begged  an  American  captain  not  to  sell  muskets  to  certain  tribes  lest  they 
should  become  too  powerful.    Viajes  al  Norte  de  Cal.,  MS.,  411. 


f 


THE  MARRIAGE  POLICY. 


543 


presents  were  made ;  the  delighted  women  thus  taken 
were  as  a  rule  affectionate  and  obedient,  and  to  the 
honor  of  the  fur-hurtters  be  it  said  they  were  treated 
by  the  men  with  kindness  and  often  with  show  of 
respect.  To  some  regrets  never  came :  they  seemed 
to  take  as  much  pride  and  happiness  in  their  Indian 
wives  and  half-breed  children  as  if  the  hair  liad  been 
less  lank  and  the  skin  less  dark  and  greasy;  others, 
more  refined  and  sensitive,  perhaps  experienced  re- 
grets in  finding  themselves  thus  trammelled  as  mar- 
riageable white  women  began  to  appear." 

Some,  in  returning  to  civilization  and  mingling 
again  with  graceful,  lovable,  fair- featured  women  , 
having  hearts  and  minds  akin  to  their  own,  remem- 
bered their  forest  family  with  some  degree  of  shame 
and  chagrin;  but  back  ajjain  amidst  their  old  associa- 
tions  they  were  speeduy  reconciled." 

The  British  American  fur  companies  were  not  the 
first  to  encourage  sexual  union  with  the  natives.  It 
has  been  the  English  policy  since  the  marriage  of 
John  Rolfe  and  Pocahontas  in  IGIG.  The  treaty 
with  Powhatan  growing  out  of  this  alliance  was  faith- 
fully observed  by  him,  and  renewed  by  his  successor. 
Yet  this  turning  the  wilderness  into  a  harem,  and  the 
settlements,  where  intoxicating  drink  was  introduced, 
into  pandemonium,  greatly  scandalized  the  mission- 
aries, who  saw  their  harvest  thus  spoiled  and  their 
religion  disgraced  by  emissaries  of  Satan. 

'*  Although  informal,  thsse  marriages  had  been  pronounced  binding  by  the 
t!0urt3.     From  the  Gticlf  Herald  Mr  Andei-son,  Hist.  Northwest  Coast,  MS., 
208-9,  extracts  a  case  decided  by  the  superior  court ''lit  Montreal.     William  j 
C'cnnoUy  in  1803  purciiased  an  Indian  wife,  thus  marrying  her,  according  to 
aboriginal  custom.     The  two  lived  together  28  years,  and  ten  oliildren  were  j 
bom  to  them.    In  1831  Connolly  returned  to  Canada  with  his  family  and  con-  j 
tinned  to  cohabit  with  his  wife  until  the  following  year.     lie  tiicu  married 
his  cousin,  and  the  Indian  wife  returned  to  her  country,  being  granted  an 
annuity  by  Connolly.     The  children  were  also  treateil  with  great  kindness 
and  liberally  educated.     Connolly  died  in  1849.     The  Indian  wife  died  iu 
1862.    Action  was  brought  by  the  eldest  son  to  recover  a  portion  of  the  prop- 
erty, on  the  ground  that  the  second  marriage  was  illegal.    Judgment  was 
rendered  for  tlio  plaintiff,  thus  affinning  the  Ic^alitj'  of  Indian  marriages. 

'*Seo  Victoria  New  Penelope,  103;  Harmoii^s  Journal,  xiii.;  Butlers  Willi 
North  Land,  44-7;  Wilkes'  Nar.  U.  S.  Ex.  Exped.,  iv.  352;  Maynt'a  Brit.  doL, 
116;  Oreenlum's  Or.  and  Cat.,  398;  White's  Or.,  119-20. 


^e'i'i 


p 


%i^ 


JiioO 


^v^ 


-lit'v)^.:^ 


S44 


ATTITUDES  OF  PUR-TKADERS  AND  NATIVE:^. 


Attached  by  wife  and  children  to  the  soil,  of  which 
during  good  behavior  a  small  patch  for  a  garden  was 
allowed  them,  the  servants  of  the  company  sank  to 
a  state  of  vassalage.  The  strictest  decorum  was  in 
this  way  secured,  out  the  offspring  thus  engendered 
were  usually  without  much  mind  or  energy. 

The  term  metis,  or  half-breed,  is  used  to  designate 
any  mixture  of  white  and  Indian  blood;  sometimes  a 
person  with  one  fourth  Indian  blood  is  called  a  quad- 
roon, but  that  appellation  is  not  common  in  northern 
intermixtures.  The  chief  distinction  is  French  half- 
breeds  and  English  half-breeds,  which  are  so  desig- 
nated according  to  the  language  spoken  rather  than 
actual  parentage.  Yet  it  :s  interesting  to  note  the 
difference  in  those  of  different  nationality  on  the 
father's  side.  All  inherit  the  deep-seated  passions 
of  the  mother,  but  while  those  of  the  French  father 
are  frivolous  and  extravagant,  the  sons  of  Scotchmen 
are  often  found  to  be  staid,  plodding,  and  economical. 
Though  swarthy,  the  half-breeds  are  usually  largo 
handsome  men,  proud  of  their  parentage  and  nation- 
ality, and  quite  hardy.  No  shame  is  manifested  by 
reason  of  their  aboriginal  extraction,  and  some  scarcely 
show  it  at  all.  They  are  a  sharp-sighted,  sharp-tem- 
pered race,  yet  too  often  uniting  savage  sluggishness 
of  mind  with  civilized  proclivities  to  drink  and  disease. 
Yet  I  have  seen  many  beautiful  and  intelligent  ladies 
who  were  daughters  of  Indian  mothers.  The  half- 
breeds  have  large  families,  and  though  their  instincts 
are  Indian,  they  are  generally  kind-hearted  and  hos- 
pitable. The  women  are  better  than  the  men;  they 
make  good  wives  and  are  quite  thrifty.^ 


1^  Many  half-breeds  proved  themselves  able  men,  and  were  allotted  high 
positiouB.  Moses  Norton,  born  at  Prince  of  Wales  Fort,  where  he  subse- 
quently governed  with  prudence  and  ability,  being  very  successful  in  for- 
warding the  interests  of  the  company,  was  a  half-breed,  educated  in  England. 
Six  of  the  most  l)eaatiful  Indian  girls  were  kept  fur  his  harem.  At  the  same 
time  he  was  exceedingly  jealous  for  the  honor  of  his  people,  andof  the  reputation 
of  their  wives  and  daughters  for  chastity.  He  lost  no  occasion  while  indulging 
himself  in  every  excess  to  inculcate  precepts  of  virtue  and  preach  morali^  to 
others.     The  wrath  of  God  and  the  savageness  of  Indiaa  natm'e  were  alike 


HALF-BREEDS. 


545 


The  fur  companies  have  generally  acknowledged 
the  claims  of  their  half- breeds  to  protection  and  sus- 
tenance, and  this  class  has  never  been  forced  into 
savagism.  Attached  to  the  Northwest  Company  in 
1817  were  fifteen  hundred  half-breed  women  and  chil- 
dren; so  many,  indeed,  that  the  company  forbado 
their  servants  taking  new  wives  from  the  foi'^st, 
there  being  sufficient  of  this  mixed  element  for  J 
practical  purposes.  Several  thousand  dollars  were 
about  this  time  subscribed  by  the  partners  and  clerks 
of  the  Northwest  Company  to  establish  a  school  at 
Rainy  Lake  or  Fort  William  for  the  education  of  their 
children. 


'''&*.»iw.T!Hg 


The  liquor  question  was  always  one  of  no  small 
moment  to  the  fur-trader.  The  savage  took  greedily 
to  intoxicating  drink  and  tobacco  from  the  first.  His 
passion  for  rum  and  whiskey  approached  madness, 
and  his  only  idea  of  happiness  in  the  bottle  was  dead- 
drunkenness.  Anything  he  had,  his  gun,  his  horse,  his 
wife,  he  would  give  for  a  quart  of  bottloil  oblivion. 

Intoxicating  drink  was  not  only  the  strongest 
magnet  for  brmging  hunters  to  the  forts,  but  its  i)ur- 
chasing  power  was  greater  than  that  of  any  otiior 
commodity.  Hence  the  constant  temptation  to  swull 
the  profits  by  dealing  out  fire-water. 

But  experience  soon  taught  that  the  advantage 
thus  gained  was  temporary;  that  the  Indian  would 
not  hunt  so  long  as  he  could  get  drink;  and  that  it 
was  not  only  safer,  but  in  the  long  run  more  profitable, 
to  dispense  entirely  with  the  destroying  liquid  in  abo- 
riginal traffic.  To  collect  furs  the  Indian  must  pos- 
sess his  senses;  to  endure  the  winter's  cold  he  must 
be  fed  and  clothed;  drink  destroyed  his  energies,  ab- 
sorbed his  property,  and  left  him  hungry  and  naked. 

held  up  as  a  waminK.  In  his  old  age,  overcome  by  jealousy,  he  is  said  to 
have  poisoned  two  of  his  young  women.  See  Oood's  Brit.  Col.,  MS.,  110-17; 
I learne's  Journey,  Q2;  Bnllantyne^a  Hudnorin  Baij,  107;  Tachc's  Northwftt, 
D7-110;  Biitler'n  Wild  North  Land,  45;  Kane's  Waiuleriiiys,  75-0;  GratU't 
Ocean  to  Omni,  175. 

HiKT.  N.  W.  CoABT,  Vol.  I.    35 


um, 


!|i 


-I'     ] 

i   ' 

■1 1 


646 


ATTITUDES  OF  FUR-TRADERS  AND  NATIVES. 


The  great  monopolies,  therefore,  had  no  diflScultv 
not  alone  in  regulating  the  trade  within  their  terri- 
tory to  suit  themselves,  but  in  forming  compacts  with 
their  neighbors  prohibiting  the  traffic.  It  was  onl}- 
when  opposition  was  rampant  that  prudential  prin- 
ciples were  thrown  aside,  and  the  fragrant  forest  air 
was  thickened  with  the  fumes  of  vile  distillations. 

In  1742  by  the  French  in  Canada  the  traffic  was 
forbidden,  and  to  trade  required  license  and  passport; 
yet  the  governor  winked  at  it,  and  the  trader  met 
with  little  difficulty  when  liberal  with  his  profits  to 
the  officials.  The  missionaries  affirmed  that  the  devil, 
to  pervert  the  gospel,  had  with  the  gospel  sent  rum. 
Therefore  they  bestirred  themselves  to  thwart  the 
adversary;  and  for  a  time  the  prohibitory  order  which 
they  procured,  seconded  by  their  own  watchful  exer- 
tions, stopped  the  traffic.  Spiritual  as  well  as  temporal 
punishment  followed  the  violation  of  the  order;  for 
not  only  were  the  privileges  of  trade  withheld,  but  the 
rite  of  sacrament  was  denied  offijnders,  though  some 
evaded  the  regulation  by  giving  the  Indian  liquor 
instead  of  selling  it  to  him. 

Under  later  French  regime  the  license  law  was  gen- 
erally observed;  but  following  the  conquest  of  Canada 
was  free  dispensation  attended  by  the  usual  violence 
and  debauchery.  It  was  to  do  away  with  drink, 
among  other  things,  that  the  Northwest  Company 
organized.  The  X.  Y.  Company,  however,  appearing 
in  the  field  as  an  opposition,  with  a  plentiful  supply 
of  fire-water,  the  Northwest  Company  was  obliged  to 
sell  it  or  to  abandon  the  situation.  With  the  junction 
of  the  two  factions  the  sale  almost  wholly  ceased,^"  but 
was  revived  again  on  the  breaking-out  of  hostilities 
with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

*• '  It  was  shown  by  accounts  produced  at  the  meeting  that  the  quantity  of 
spirituous  liquors  intrckluced  into  the  Northwest  country  had  in  the  two  pre- 
cedinff  years  been  reduced  from  50,000  to  10,000  gallons;  no  great  quantity, 
considering  there  were  at  tliat  time  2000  white  persons  in  their  employment, 
of  which  the  greater  number  were  to  pass  the  winter  in  a  Siberian  climate. ' 
Northwest  Company's  Nar.  of  Occurrences  in  the  Indian  Countries,  x. 


m 


INTOXICATING  DRINK. 


547 


It  was  no  difficult  matter  for  the  United  States 
after  the  evil  had  long  been  prevalent  to  pass  prohib- 
itory laws,  but  to  enforce  them  was  totally  beyond 
the  nation's  strength  or  inclination."  After  the  union 
of  the  Northwest  and  Hudson's  Bay  companies  the 
sale  of  liquor  ceased  almost  entirely,  and  Sir  George 
Simpson  m  1842  even  prevailed  upon  the  Russians  to 
stop  the  selling  of  it  to  the  natives.  The  American 
Fur  Company  were  in  the  habit  of  obtaining  annual 
permits  to  sell  a  limited  quantity  in  order  successfully 
to  compete  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  across 
the  border. 

On  the  Pacific  coast  the  natives  obtained  copious 
supplies  at  an  early  date  from  the  masters  of  trading 
vessels,  to  whom  the  demoralization  of  the  people  was 
a  matter  of  indifference  so  long  as  they  were  enabled  t< » 
fill  their  ship  with  furs.  In  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
in  the  disputed  Oregon  Territory  prior  to  1842,  alcohol 
flowed  freely.  The  entire  property  of  a  village  would 
sometimes  be  swept  into  the  pockets  of  the  traders 
during  one  debauch. 

At  different  times  and  places  the  practice  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  quite  different.  In  1833 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  it  was  the  custom  to 
deal  it  out  sparingly  but  gratuitously,  giving  the 
voyager  a  regale,  as  they  called  it,  on  his  arrival  and 
departure,  and  the  same  to  the  Indian  hunter  when 
he  brought  in  furs  to  sell.  Strange  to  say,  the  Chipc- 
wyans  would  not  touch  intoxicating  drink,  and  at  one 
time  the  Crows  would  not  allow  it  to  be  brought  into 
their  country.  They  called  it  "  fools'  water."  Heads 
of  families  were  sometimes  presented  a  few  gallons  of 
whiskey  on  Christmas.  In  1841  wagon-loads  of  al- 
cohol in  barrels  were  conveyed  openly  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi River  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  sold 
everywhere,  notwithstanding  the  laws  then  in  force 

"  The  agents  were  not  slow  to  profit  by  this  law,  supplying  the  natives,  as 
thejr  did,  but  making  them  pay  enormous  prices,  while  they  pocketed  the 
profits.    Schoolcrc^ft'aPer.  Mem.,48Q. 


i»',  J 


1 1'- 


MS 


ATTITUDES  OP  FURTRADERS  AND  NATIVES. 


against  the  traffic.  All  the  great  companies  north  and 
south  of  the  Canada  line  bewailed  the  necessity  of 
dealing  out  alcohol,  affirming  that  they  would  gladly 
discontinue  it  but  for  their  competitors.  Later,  in 
1850  and  1851,  the  Hudson  Bay  servants  grew  lax,  for 
we  find  complaints  by  the  Russians  on  the  one  side, 
and  the  American  government  on  the  other,  of  their 
lack  of  good  faith  in  selling  alcohol  to  the  natives.^" 

The  missionaries  of  the  several  denominations  who 
played  so  prominent  a  part  in  the  settlement  of 
Oregon  and  of  other  sections  of  the  Northwest  Coast 
were,  in  the  main,  intelligent,  honest,  well  meaning 
men,  who  sought  to  do  the  best  for  themselves,  their 
families,  their  country,  and  their  God.  We  shou'  1 
scarcely  expect  those  who  were  inspired  with  sufficient 
enthusiasm  to  enable  them  to  brave  the  hardships 
and  dangers  of  pioneer  missionary  life,  to  be  wholly 
free  from  partisanship  or  fanaticism.  We  should 
hardly  expect  the  highest  practical  wisdom  from  per- 
sons educated  in  closets,  and  from  books  and  teachers 
regarding  all  human  affiiirs  from  a  single  standpoint. 
We  should  hardly  expect  to  find  the  most  evenly 
balanced  minds  among  votaries  of  a  religion  which 
recognizes  no  higher  rights  than  those  belonging 
to  its  dogmas.  Nevertheless  I  am  prepared  to  do 
honor  to  the  pioneer  missionaries  of  the  Northwest, 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  for  I  believe  them  to  have 
been  single-hearted  men  and  actuated  by  the  purest 
motives,  though  I  must  be  permitted  to  take  excep- 

'^In  1795  the  Hudson  Bay  Indians  were  enervated  and  debased  by  reason 
of  the  deadly  drink.  Winterbotham'a  Hist.,  iv.  21;  E.  Ellice  testifies  before 
the  House  of  Commons,  Hept.  lludnon^s  Bay  Co.,  326,  that  from  1811  to 
1821  liquor  waa  used  wherever  rivalry  existed,  that  is  in  territory  occupied 
by  both  the  great  companies  and  on  the  United  States  border  over  which 
from  either  side  Indians  were  enticed  for  hundreds  of  miles.  See  School- 
cnijfa  Per.  Mim.,  326-7;  Victor's  Rivera/ the  West,  225-6;  T.  Roe,  in  House 
of  Commons  Rept.  Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  37,  43-4;  R.  King,  id.,  316;  Evaiis' 
Hist.  Or.,  MS.,  173;  White's  Or.,  78-9;  Rockjf  MoujUnin  Scene-'*,  28-9;  U.  S. 
Catholic  Magazine,  v.  20;  Martin's  Hudson's  Bay,  68-71 ;  Greenhow's  Or.  aiid 
Col.,  389;  Gray's  Hist.  Or.,  33-4;  Or.  Sfjectator,  June  11  and  25,  ISiH ;  Kane's 
Wanderings,  97-8;  Armstrong's  Per.  Nar.,  Isi,  164;  Richardson's  Polar 
Regions.  298-330;  Stvan's  Northweat  Coast,  106. 


MISSIONiiRY  LABORS. 


549 


m 
for 
side, 
;heir 

13 


tions  to  such  acts  as  appear  to  mo  unwise,  impolitic, 
or  unjust. 

In  looking  back  upon  their  early  efforts  wo  can  but 
regret  that  those  whose  zeal  in  their  great  work  was 
never  wanting  to  carry  them  through  any  sufferings 
demanded,  even  unto  death,  and  who  bore  their  trials 
with  a  courage  which  claims  our  admiration,  should 
not  have  met  with  the  success  which  their  meritorious 
services  seemed  to  deserve. 

Several  causes  united  to  bring  about  the  result. 
First  of  all,  impossibilities  were  attemj^ted.  Speaking 
generally,  all  missionary  effort  is  a  failure.  Such  his- 
tory pronounces  to  be  its  fate.  Missionary  effort 
seeks  to  lift  the  savage  mind  from  the  darkness  of  its 
own  religion,  which  God  and  nature  have  given  it  as 
the  best  for  it,  and  to  fix  it  on  the  abstract  principles 
of  civilized  belief  which  it  cannot  comprehend.  It 
seeks  to  improve  the  moral  and  material  conditions 
of  the  savage  when  its  very  touch  is  death.  The 
greatest  boon  Christianity  can  confer  upon  the  heathen 
is  to  let  them  alone.  They  are  not  ready  yet  to  culti- 
vate the  soil  or  learn  to  read,  or  to  change  their 
nature  or  their  religion.  These  ends  the  Almighty 
accomplishes  in  his  own  good  time  and  way,  unfolding 
their  minds  as  from  a  germ  of  his  own  implanting 
into  the  clearer  light  as  they  are  able  to  receive  it. 
Then  the  religious  civilizers  'became  too  quickly  ab- 
sorbed in  the  acquisition  and  cultivation  of  landed 
possessions,  which  at  best  were  to  reduce  the  inhab- 
itants to  a  state  of  serfdom. 

It  was  indeed  a  hard  task  thus  imposed  upon  the 
poor  missionary,  a  task  whose  innate  difficulties  he  him- 
self did  not  comprehend.  Manfully  he  applied  himself 
to  the  material  as  well  as  mental  and  moral  improve- 
ment of  the  savage,  all  unconscious  of  the  poisonous 
nature  of  the  civilized  atmosphere  which  environed 
him.  As  settlers  came  in,  the  bad  examples  of  those 
of  his  color  and  ^lith  tended  to  destroy  his  influ- 
ence with  the  na    ves.    The  simple  savage  reasoned 


i  I 


■I    1 


'iij 


050 


ATTITUDES  OP  FUR-TRADERS  AND  NATH'ES. 


within  himself  that  if  drunkenness,  profligacy,  and  dis- 
grace were  the  practical  fruits  of  Christianity  and  civil- 
ization, they  were  better  off  without  these  blessings. 

As  regards  the  attitude  of  the  fur  companies  to- 
ward the  missionaries  I  should  say,  speaking  broadly, 
that  it  has  been  indifferent  or  at  least  undemonstra- 
tive. The  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  charter  required 
of  it  the  encouragement  of  missionary  effort.  Tiie 
company  did  not  dare  to  throw  impediments  in  the 
way  of  the  missionary.  And  yet  any  interference  of 
white  men  with  their  traffic  or  with  the  natives  was 
unwelcome.  Post  commanders  usually  treated  priests 
and  preachers  with  politeness  and  consideration.  If  a 
missionary  was  stationed  near  a  fort,  he  was  usually 
installed  as  chaplain  of  the  fort  with  a  salary  of  fifty 
pounds  per  annum  and  free  passage  to  and  from  the 
country.^" 

We  still  read  of  the  attendance  of  chaplains  on  the 
soldiers  who  go  out  to  fight  the  natives,  which  calls  to 
mind  Cortes  and  Pizarro  of  old,  who  with  their  blood- 
hounds and  Indian-killers  carried  their  man  of  prayer 
to  beseech  the  God  who  made  the  Indians,  to  give  the 
white  marauder  the  Indians'  lands  and  join  the  in- 
vader in  the  extinction  of  this  wild  race  whose  creation 
must  assuredly  have  been  a  mistake. 

"Douglas,  Private  Papers,  MS.,  Ist  ser.,  82-7,  gives  some  interesting  in- 
formation respecting  the  natives  before  their  demoralization.  Richarosou, 
Journal,  ii.  55-0,  says  that  'the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  aid  the  clergymen  of 
all  the  persuasions  by  free  passages,  rations,  and  other  advantages,  besides 
granting  salaries  to  those  employed  at  their  fur-posts,  whether  Protestants  or 
Roman  Catholics.'  See  also  .<46-<a-ra-i'a,  180;  Mayne'aBrit.  Col.,  305,  349;  Hoi- 
comhe'H  Slraiujfv  than  Fiction,  passim;  IIoreXzkij'H  Canada  on  the  PoA-ifie,  2G, 
138;  Orai/s  Hist.  Or.,  100;  Orant's  Ocean  to  Ocean,  140-1;  Mackenzie's  Voy., 
V. ;  London  Times,  July  22,  1858. 


fTM 


lis- 
Ivil- 


to- 
lly. 

tra- 
Ired 

Ithe 
of 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE    NORTHWEST    COMI'AIVY. 
1783-1821. 

ClURACTER  OF  THE  MONTREAL  ASSOCIATES  — TlIE  FnEXfll  RfeoiME  RE- 
VIEWED— Trade  at  Michiumackinac— The  Montreal  MERciiAVTa 
Penetrate  North-westward  and  Form  a  Commercial  Cofartner- 
BHiP— The  Disaffectionists  form  tue  X.  Y.  Company— Union  ok  thi 
Two  Factions — Inteiujal  Reoulations  of  the  Northwest  Company— 
The  Grand  Portaop  -Early  Voyages  from  Montreal  to  Lak» 
Superior— Feudal  Glories  of  Fort  William — Wars  between  thb 
Northwest  Company  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company — The  Red 
BivEB  Affair — Fusion  of  the  Two  Companies. 

Of  all  associations  formed  at  any  time  or  place  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  skins  of  /ur-bearing  ani- 
mals, the  Northwest  Company  of  Montreal'  was  the 
most  daring,  dashing,  audacious,  and  ultimately  suc- 
cessful. Its  energy  was  surpassed  only  by  the  apathy 
of  its  great  chartered  rival,  which  had  been  in  exist- 
ence one  hundred  and  thirteen  years.  Canada  jiad 
been  twenty  years  in  British  possession  when  it  was 
organized,  without  assistance,  privileges,  or  govern- 
ment favors,  by  a  few  Scotch  Canadians  for  the  better 
prosecution  of  a  business  with  which  they  were  all 
more  or  less  familiar. 

Infusing  into  their  traffic  the  spirit  of  enterprise, 
these  associates  pushed  adventure  beyond  Lake  Su- 
perior to  Winnipeg,  Saskatchewan,  and  Athabasca, 
and  finally  overspread  the  then  wholly  new  North- 
west.    It  was  they  who  found  the  river  Mackenzie, 

'  Sometimes  called  the  Canada  Company,  Injcauae  it  was  organized  ia 
Canada,  in  contradistinction  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  cliartered  ui  Kng- 
.land. 

(531) 


tmm 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 

and  followed  it  to  the  Frozen  Ocean;  it  was  they  who 
ascended  Peace  River,  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
planted  posts  upon  their  western  slope,  and  traversed 
the  country  to  the  Pacific;  it  was  they  who  by  their 
Scotch  shrewdness  and  resistless  energy,  after  absorb- 
ing the  Canada  trade,  took  possession  of  the  North- 
west Coast,  swept  Astor  from  the  Columbia,  and 
brought  the  monster  monopoly  itself  upon  its  knees. 

We  have  seen  how  under  the  French  regime  those 
forest  pedlers,  called  coureurs  des  bois,  obtained  from 
the  merchant,  perhaps  on  credit,  the  necessary  store  of 
goods,  and  set  out  in  their  birch-bark  canoes  for  the 
great  lakes  and  regions  beyond,  whence  after  one  or 
two  years  of  successful  traffic  they  returned  richly 
laden  with  their  annual  harvests,  followed  perhaps  I  y 
crowds  of  Indians  with  furs  to  sell.  We  have  seen 
how  after  settling  accounts  with  the  merchants  these 
rovers  gave  themselves  up  to  dissipation  \  hich  shortly 
left  them  with  little  of  their  hard-won  earnings. 

This  licentiousness  excited  to  jealous  action  the 
missionaries,  who  endeavored  to  suppress  this  prosti- 
tuted traffic  by  requiring  every  man  trading  with  In- 
dians to  procure  a  license  from  government,  which, 
license  prohibited  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drink  to 
natives,  and  was  to  be  given  only  to  men  of  good 
character. 

Pure  men  only  were  thus  to  be  brought  in  contact 
with  the  tender  savage.  The  church  was  to  furnish 
its  quota  as  well  as  the  state.  Men  made  holy  by 
hunger,  by  filth  and  fasting,  by  sleepless  vigils,  coarse 
gowns  and  bead-tellings,  should  enter  the  forest  only 
for  good.  In  their  trail  there  should  follow  no  siimy 
serpents  of  civilization,  no  hissing  flames  of  disease 
or  deadly  distillations;  and  more  wondcr+ul  than  all, 
honest  servants  of  the  government  should  be  found 
who  would  deal  fairly,  humanely,  with  these  rude  and 
defenceless  forest -dwellers.  Saturn  &houl:l  supply 
them. 


I 


vm 


AFTER  THE  MISSIONARIES. 


553 


And  for  a  very  short  time  the  system  worked  well. 
The  forests  were  exorcised  of  Christian  demons;  mis- 
sionaries salted  souls  without  let,  and  merchants  paid 
their  own  price  for  furs.  It  was  heavenly.  It  was 
far  too  fine  a  state  of  things  to  last.  The  mission- 
aries began  discussing  transubstantiation,  whilst  the 
traders  fell  to  cheating,  and  so  the  devil  was  per- 
mitted to  return,  fire-water  was  used  again,  and  civil- 
i-'iation  followed  its  beaten  track. 

The  establishing  of  military  posts  on  the  shores  of 
the  great  lakes  brought  upon  the  border  a  better  in- 
fluence than  that  of  either  missionaries  or  licenses, 
by  bringing  the  traffic  into  more  respectable  and  re- 
sponsible hands  and  checking  improper  policies.  The 
chief  officer  of  a  fort  at  this  time  was  recjarded  in 
the  light  of  a  commander  rather  than  trader.  This, 
however,  did  not  change  the  character  of  the  estab- 
lishment; for  call  himself  what  he  would,  he  com- 
manded that  he  or  others  might  trade. 

Following  the  interruption  of  trade  incident  to  the 
conquest  of  Canada  by  the  British,  Scotch  merchants 
with  purses  as  long  as  their  heads  located  themselves 
at  Montreal  and  assumed  control  of  the  fur-trade 
formerly  enjoyed  by  the  French.  By  employing  such 
French  Canadians  as  were  friendly  with  the  natives 
and  attached  to  forest  life,  of  whom  there  were  thou- 
sands, the  new  masters  of  the  country  were  enabled 
in  time  to  conquer  the  repugnance  of  the  savages 
to  everything  English,  which  aversion  had  been  stren- 
uously instilled  by  the  French.  Indeed  many  French- 
men still  took  part  in  trade,  for  by  the  cession  of  Canada 
in  1763,  they  had  become  British  subjects. 

Beginning  in  a  small  and  prudent  way  in  17G6, 
with  Michilimackinac  as  their  interior  station,  singly 
or  in  pairs,  or  parties  of  three  or  four,  accompanied  by 
French  boatmen,  guides,  and  interpreters,  the  Mon- 
treal Scotchmen  entered  the  field,  at  first  venturing 
scarcely  thirty  miles  away  from  head -quarters,  l)ut 
quickly  gaining   confidence  with   success,  until   one 


-i![. 


i'l^ 


in 


554 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPAirr. 


Thomas  Curry  with  four  canoes  crossed  to  Fort 
Bourbon,  and  returned  the  following  spring  with  furs 
enough  to  supply  his  wants  for  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  James  Finlay  visited  Nipawee,  the  farthermost 
French  port  on  the  Saskatchewan,  and  returned  with 
four  canoes  fully  laden  vdth  furs. 

More  adventurers  now  entered  the  field,  and  com- 
petition became  animated,  not  only  among  themselves 
but  with  their  brethren  of  the  United  States  on  the 
south,  and  the  Hudson  Bay  people  on  the  north.  In- 
deed the  latter  became  more  jealous  of  their  fellow- 
countrymen  than  ever  they  had  been  of  the  French; 
and  in  1774,  aroused  to  the  adoption  of  protectionary 
measures  by  constant  encroachments,  they  established 
a  post  on  the  east  bank  of  Sturgeon  Lake. 

Gradually  the  nearer  country  became  exhausted 
and  remoter  regions  were  sought.  In  1775  Joseph 
Frobisher  penetrated  beyond  Churchill  River.  A 
year  or  two  later  his  brother  reached  He  h,  la  Crosse, 
both  meeting  with  success.  In  1778  some  traders  on 
the  Saskatchewan  River  having  surplus  stock  agreed 
upon  a  common  venture,  filled  four  canoes  and  sent 
them  to  the  Athabasca  country  in  charge  of  Peter 
Pond.  The  goods  bought  twice  as  many  furs  as  the 
boats  could  carry ;  and  having  secured  a  portion  in  his 
winter  hut,  he  returned  for  them  the  following  springl 

This,  however,  was  exception  rather  than  rule,  for 
throughout  the  country  generally  trade  was  falling 
into  evil  ways.  Every  possible  artifice  was  employed 
to  undermine  competitors,  and  among  others  liquor 
was. again  introduced.  The  natives  in  consequence 
became  troublesome,  threatened  to  exterminate  the 
traders,  and  were  in  a  fair  way  to  succeed  when  the 
small-pox  broke  out  among  them,  committing  fearful 
ravages. 

Traffic  was  brought  to  a  standstill.  The  country 
was  well  nigh  depopulated,  for  those  who  escaped  the 
disease  fled  to  the  forests.  Nor  did  the  fur -hunters 
perceive  very  flattering  prospects  before  them  cvou 


ORGANIZATION  OF  COMPANIES. 


555 


com- 
Ives 
the 
In- 


when  the  scourge  ceased.  Satisfactory  results  could 
be  secured  only  by  excursions  of  constantly  increasing 
extent  and  danger,  performed  by  parties  of  constantly 
increasing  size  and  strength.  More  boats  were  neces- 
sary, more  goods  to  fill  them,  and  men  to  navigate 
them ;  forts  must  be  built  and  Indians  awed. 

Thus  matters  stood  when  in  the  winter  of  1783-4 
Simon  McTavish,  Benjamin  and  Joseph  Frobisher, 
McGillivray,  Recheblave,  Fraser,  and  others,  including 
the  larger  part  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  influential 
of  the  merchants  of  Montreal,  together  with  the  more 
able  and  successful  of  the  traders  in  the  country', 
associated  themselves  under  the  name  of  the  North- 
west Company  of  Montreal,  though  sometimes  called 
McTavish,  Frobisher,  and  Company,  and  agaii  McGil- 
livray, Thain,  and  Company. 

The  number  of  shares  originally  was  sixteen,  but 
Peter  Pond  and  Peter  Pangman,  able  and  successful 
traders,  not  being  admitted  by  the  association  upon 
such  terms  as  they  deemed  their  due,  left  their  busi- 
ness in  the  country  and  proceeded  to  Montreal,  in- 
tending to  form  a  rival  company.  Pond  was  at  once 
admitted  to  the  Northwest  Company,  so  his  opposition 
fell  to  the  ground.  Pangman  won  to  his  scheme  two 
influential  men,  Mr  Gregory  and  Mr  McLeod. 

Shortly  before  this  the  famous  Alexander  Mac- 
kenzie had  been  five  years'  clerk  in  the  counting-house 
of  Mr  Gregory,  and  was  then  at  Detroit  w'th  a  small 
stock  of  goods  intrusted  him  by  his  former  employer. 
Without  his  solicitation  or  knowledge  Mackenzie  was 
made  partner  in  the  Pangman  and  Gregory  Company, 
which  now  took  the  name  of  the  X.  Y.  Company,* 
provided  he  would  make  an  expedition  into  the  Indian 
country  in  the  following  spring  of  1785,  which  pro- 
posal wa^  iramedip.tely  accepted  by  Mackenzie. 

'Schoolcraft,  Per,  Mem.,  135,  eiToncously  states  tha*'  Mackenzie  estab- 
lished the  X.  Y.  Company.  Mackenzie  was  at  first  opposud  to  tho  Northwettb 
Company,  and  always  dislilced  McGiillivray,  who  never  spoke  well  of  him. 


i 


056 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPAM. 


I   { 

I  1 


A  severe  struggle  now  arose  between  the  McTavish 
Company  and  the  Pangman  Company,  the  bitterest 
hitherto  experienced  in  those  parts,  arising  from  the 
attempt  of  the  former  to  crush  the  latcer.  In  the 
feuds  which  followed,  one  of  Pangraan's  partners  was 
killed,  another  lamed,  and  a  clerk  shot  but  not  killed, 
the  bullet  passing  through  the  powder-horn  before 
entering  his  body.  Hostilities  were  finally  terminated 
by  the  admission  in  July  1787  of  the  plucky  opposi- 
tion into  the  ranks  of  the  Northwest  Company,  whose 
unequally  divided  shares  were  increased  for  that  pur- 
pose to  the  number  of  twenty. 

The  Northwest  Coaipany  was  now  prepared  to 
make  its  influence  felt;  and  the  partners  purposed 
to  do  business.  The  association  included  the  best 
men  in  the  country,  the  very  cream  of  the  Canada 
fur- traders.  It  was  a  simple  commercial  partnership, 
and  none  the  less  strong  because  not  a  dollar  of  capi- 
tal was  required  from  anybody.  Every  partner  must 
be  a  man,  a  strong  man  in  some  one  particular  branch 
of  the  business. 

There  were  no  two  houses  in  Montreal  of  greater 
might  or  wealth  than  the  Frobishers  and  Simon 
McTavish;  these  two  distinct  houses  while  continuing 
their  regular  business  acted  conjointly  as  agents  for 
the  Northwest  Company  in  Montreal.  They  were 
to  supply  the  necessary  capital  for  conducting  the 
business,  the  money  actually  employed  to  draw  in- 
terest. They  were  to  obtain  supplies  from  England; 
have  the  goods  made  at  Montreal  according  to  the 
requirements  of  the  trade,  and  packed  and  shipped 
to  the  Grand  Portage  on  the  north-western  side  of 
Lake  Superior,  where  the  French  Canadians  had 
formerly  a  rendezvous,  and  where  the  Northwest 
Company  now  made  their  head-quarters,  bringing 
there  every  spring  the  furs  collected,  and  sending 
thence  for  the  interior  fresh  supplies.  There  two  of 
the  Montreal  agents  were  to  proceed  every  year  to 
;;ttend  to  the  business,  for  which  service  the  Montreal 


t 


PARTNERS  AND  CLERKS. 


067 


,vjsh 
3rest 
the 
the 


partners  were  to  receive  a  commission  in  addition  to 
dividends  on  shares. 

The  other  proprietors  were  to  spend  their  time  in 
the  Indian  country  managing  the  business  with  tho 
assistance  of  clerks,  and  occupied  during  winter  in  tho 
fur-trading  districts,  whereby  they  were  called  winter- 
ing partners.  They  were  not  obliged  to  furnish  capital, 
but  ability  and  enei-gy,  and  even  then  such  was  tho 
skill  and  influence  of  some  of  them  that  they  held  two 
shares,  with  one  of  which  they  might  at  any  time  re- 
tire from  active  service,  each  naming  a  clerk  as  his 
successor  who  should  have  the  other.  It  was  an  ad- 
mirable combination  of  skill  and  capital,  founded  not 
on  speculative  theory,  but  on  actual  experience  and 
practical  necessity. 

To  obtain  admission  into  partnership  was  no  easy 
matter.  It  could  be  accomplished  only  by  long  and 
arduous  service;  money  was  no  object,  ability  was 
everything.  It  was  what  the  candidate  could  do,  not 
who  his  grandfather  was,  that  spoke  him  favorably. 
Yet  those  admitted  were  generally  of  good  family. 

Clerks  succeeded  to  partnership  after  a  five  or  sevuu 
years'  apprenticeship,  receiving  one  hundred  pounds 
sterling  for  the  term,  according  to  prior-ity  and  merit. 
If  at  the  expiration  of  their  apprenticeship  there  was 
no  immediate  vacancy  in  the  partnership,  from  one  to 
three  hundred  pounds  per  annum  according  to  merit 
was  allowed  as  a  salary  until  they  could  take  their 
place  in  the  company  as  partners.  During  their  term  of 
apprenticeship  some  added  to  their  duties  the  office 
of  interpreter,  receiving  therefor  extra  pay.  Shares 
could  be  sold  only  to  servants  of  the  company  whose 
admission  as  partners  was  secured  by  vote;  the  seller 
of  a  share  received  only  its  value  based  upon  actual 
earnings  irrespective  of  probable  dividends.  This  held 
out  to  meritorious  young  men  having  served  a  five  or 
seven  years'  apprenticeship  the  prospect  of  some  day 
obtaining  shares  without  the  payment  of  a  premium ; 
and  if  worthy  they  were  seldom  disappointed.     Each 


■I'l 


.1  ,v 


088 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 


share  was  entitled  to  a  vote,  and  a  two  thirds  vote 
was  necessary  to  the  carrying  of  a  measure.  Thus  by 
a  liberal  and  intelligent  policy  interest  was  aroused 
and  emulation  sustained,  and  the  affairs  of  the  com- 
pany were  no  less  wisely  ordered  than  efficiently  exe- 
cuted. 

Forty  thousand  pounds  was  the  gross  return  in 
1788,  increasing  to  three  times  that  amount  in  eleven 
years.  So  signal  a  success  was  unparalleled  in  the 
annals  of  the  fur-trade.  In  1790,  the  term  of  part- 
nership having  expired,  the  organization  underwent  a 
change.  Some  retired,  while  new  partners  were  ad- 
mitted and  the  shares  were  increased  to  forty-six.  A 
new  firm  was  formed  by  the  retired  partners,  who 
built  a  fort  at  the  Grand  Portage  and  styled  them- 
selves the  X.  Y.  Company,  and  for  a  time  there  were 
again  two  powerful  parties  in  the  field;  but  in  1805, 
yielding  to  the  dictates  of  interest,  the  two  factions 
coalesced. 

The  company's  business  routine  was  as  follows :  No 
money  was  directly  employed  in  the  purchase  of  furs 
from  the  natives;  Indians  scarcely  ever  knew  what 
money  was.  In  October  of  each  year  the  agents  at 
Montreal  ordered  goods  from  London,  which  were 
shipped  the  following  spring  and  reached  Canada  in 
the  summer.  These  goods  consisted  of  coarse  woollen 
and  cotton  cloths,  calicoes,  blankets,  silk  and  cotton 
handkerchiefs,  hats,  hose  and  shoes,  thread  and  twine, 
brass  kettles,  cutlery  and  other  hardware,  arms  and 
ammunition,  and  tobacco.  Liquors  and  provisions 
were  obtained  v   Canada. 

The  next  winter  the  cloths  were  made  into  such 
articles  as  suited  trade  with  the  natives.  The  stock 
required  was  then  put  into  packages  of  ninety  pounds 
each,  and  sent  from  Montreal  the  following  May,  and 
reached  the  wilderness  market  the  winter  following, 
two  years  from  the  date  of  ordering.  Goods  for  the 
posts  of  the  Pacific  were  yet  longer  in  reaching  their 
destination. 


T^ 


BUSINESS  ROUTINE. 


SM 


No 


This  is  not  all.  Goods  wore  frequently  kept  over 
a  year  or  two  at  the  interior  forts,  and  the  furs  did 
not  reach  Montreal  until  the  autumn  following  the 
winter  of  their  purchase.  Then  they  were  shipped  for 
the  most  part  to  London  and  sold;  but  pay  was  not 
received  until  the  succeeding  spring  or  summer, 
three  years  at  least  from  the  shipment  from  England 
of  the  goods  with  which  they  were  purchased,  and 
sometimes  four  or  five  years. 

The  expenses  attending  the  sale  of  the  goods  were 
about  equivalent  to  their  first  cost.  Allowing  the 
Montreal  agents  twelve  months'  credit  in  London, 
they  were  still  obliged  to  carry  for  two  years  the 
outlay  for  the  goods  and  the  expenses  attending  their 
sale.  It  is  easilj'  seen  that  when  the  traffic  was 
£80,000  or  £120, 000  per  annum,  the  amount  required 
to  be  carried  especially  for  those  times  was  enormous ; 
so  that  although  profits  were  large,  expenses,  risk, 
and  labor  were  likewise  large.  At  first  goods  for  the 
Pacific  posts  were  transported  across  the  mountains 
in  boats  and  on  men's  backs,  at  fearful  cost  and  labor; 
later  they  were  shipped  round  Cape  Horn  and  taken 
up  the  Columbia  and  Fraser  rivers.^ 

'  There  were  employed  in  1798  by  the  Northwest  Company  50  clerks,  11  "JO 
canoe-men,  and  35  guides.  Of  these  between  Montreal  and  the  Grand  Port- 
age, some  going  as  far  as  Lac  la  Pluie,  were  employed  during  the  summer  live 
clerks,  eighteen  guides,  and  350  boatmen.  These  people  were  called  'pork- 
eaters,'  also  'goers  and  comers,'  as  they  lived  chicQy  on  pork  instead  of  the  meat 
of  wild  animals,  which  was  almost  the  only  food  of  those  in  the  forest,  and  spent 
tlieir  lives  going  and  coming  between  Montreal  and  Fort  William.  As  com- 
pensation for  this  trip  the  guides  received,  besides  expenses  and  privileges  to 
trade  on  their  own  account,  §100  and  their  equipment;  foremen  and  steers- 
men, §90;  middlemen,  §70,  and  a  shirt,  trousers,  and  blankets.  In  trading 
they  often  maile  as  much  as  their  wages.  Those  who  wintered  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  route  received  double  pay.  All  other  employes  were  engaged  by 
the  year,  and  for  a  term  of  years.  A  first-class  equipment  consisted  of  four- 
teen pounds  of  tobacco,  two  blankets,  two  shirts,  two  pairs  of  trousers,  two 
handkerchiefs,  and  some  trinkets  for  trading;  second-class,  ten  pounds  of 
tobacco  and  the  otlier  articles ;  third-class,  half  the  quantity  of  second-class. 
To  the  northmen,  as  the  employes  who  wintered  in  the  field  were  called, 
were  attached  more  tlian  700  native  women  and  children,  victualled  at 
the  company's  expense.  During  the  height  of  their  power  2000  voyageurs 
were  employed  at  an  average  wage  of  £40  per  annum.  Korthwi'nt  Com- 
pany's Nor.,  77-87;  E.  Ellke,  in  Iloiise  of  Commons  Report  Hudson's  Hay 
Company,  323;  SiUiman'a  Journal,  April  1834;  Mackenzie's  Voy.,  iii.  xliv. ; 
Harmon's  Journal,  40;  Dallaiityne'i  Hudson's  Bay,  244;  Franchere's  Nar., 
338-9;  Dunn's  Or.,  14-33;  Pons'  Fur  Hunterr,  i.  270-7;  Cox's  Col.  ]iiver,i.  xi.-- 
xix.;  Irviny's  Astoria,  21;  Gray's  Or.,  22-23.     'Employed  at  one  time  not 


\i 


060 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 


When  the  boundary  line  between  Canada  and  the 
United  States  was  determined  it  was  found  that  the 
old  fort  of  Grand  Portage,  situated  on  the  north- 
western side  of  Lake  Superior,  and  which  from  the 
date  of  their  organization  had  been  the  rendezvous  of 
the  Northwest  Company  in  that  region,  stood  on 
United  States  soil,  and  the  company  determined  to 
demolish  it  and  build  another  forty-five  miles  to  the 
northward,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kaministiquia  River, 
flowing  into  Thunder  Bay,  still  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
Superior.  It  was  in  1805  when  the  two  unfriendly 
factions  of  the  Montreal  merchants,  that  is  to  say 
the  X.  Y.  Company  and  the  Northwest  Company, 
were  united  that  this  was  done,  and  the  new  estab- 
lishment, built  upon  a  magnificent  site,  was  called 
Fort  William,  in  honor  of  William  McGillivray,  then 
chief  agent  of  the  company  at  Montreal.* 

Fort  William  became,  as  the  Grand  Portage  had 
hitherto  been,  the  grand  dep6t  for  the  interior  posts, 
where  every  summer  assembled  the  wintering  parties 
from  the  interior  and  the  agents  from  Montreal,  the 
former  to  deliver  the  furs  collected  and  receive  new 
outfits,  the  latter  to  bring  forward  the  necessary  sup- 
plies, discuss  the  affairs  of  the  association,  and  plan 
the  campaigns  of  the  ensuing  season. 

Let  us  follow  a  brigade,  as  they  called  their  little 
fleets,  from  Montreal  to  Fort  William,  and  then  look 


I 

! 


i 


!    i 


fewer  than  2000  voyageurs.'  Tmss'  Or.,  13;  OreenJiow'e  Or.  and  Cal.,  325; 
British  N.  Am.,  247;  Lord  Selkirk  and  tfte  Northwest  Company,  in  London 
Quarterly  Review,  October  181 G.  'The  number  of  voyageurs  in  the  service 
of  the  Northwest  Company  camiot  be  less  than  2000.  Their  nominal  wages 
are  from  30Z  to  60Z,  some  as  high  as  802  or  even  1002;  the  average  cannot  be 
less  than  402,  and  is  probably  higher;  so  that  the  sum  total  of  wages  must  bo 
80,0002  or  90,0002.  The  gross  return  of  their  trade  seldom  exceeds  150,0002." 
Selkirk's  Sketch  Fur  Trade,  39,  not  the  best  authority  on  Northwest  Com- 
pany. Umfreville,  Iludson^a  Bay,  71-5,  asserts  that  while  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  through  a  false  sense  of  economy  endeavored  to  make  boatmen  of 
the  Indians,  and  ground  their  servants  down  to  £15  per  annum,  the  Canada 
merchants  paid  theirs  £40.  Yet  the  former  stigmatized  the  latter  as  pedlers, 
thieves,  and  interlopers,  because  they  went  where  trade  was  instead  of  wait- 
ing for  it  to  come  to  them. 

*  McGillivray  originated  the  measure  which,  first  in  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany and  later  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  made  every  efficient  clerk  in 
due  time  partner  or  shareholder. 


d  the 

at  the 

lorth- 

n  the 

ous  of 

od  on 

led  to 

;o  the 

River, 

Lake 

endly 

say 

Qpany, 
estab- 
called 

f,  then 


FROM  MONTREAL  TO  FORT  WILLIAM. 


561 


in  upon  them  for  a  moment  there;  for  it  was  a  gay, 
dashing  hfe,  in  which  creature  comforts  were  by  no 
means  forgotten,  though  it  was  the  boast  of  this  com- 
pany, from  the  managing  agent  to  the  humblest  voy- 
ageur,  that  he  was  always  ready  to  accept  hardships 
cheerfully,  that  upon  emergency  he  could  tramp  for- 
ests, buffet  rapids,  burrow  in  snow,  carry  burdens, 
sleep  hard,  and  eat  dog. 

The  start  is  made  from  Lachine,  a  prettily  situated 
village  on  the  bank  of  the  St  Lawrence,  eight  or 
nine  miles  above  Montreal,  and  in  the  month  of  May, 
when  the  rivers  and  lakes  are  nearly  free  from  ice. 

At  a  cost  of  about  sixty  dollars  each  the  requisite 
number  of  canoes  have  been  provided,  say  thirty, 
in  which  case  the  s'^aadron  is  divided  into  three 
brigades,  each  having  its  guide  or  pilot,  whose  busi- 
ness it  is  to  point  the  course,  take  charge  of  boats 
and  property,  attend  to  all  repairs,  and  act  as  com- 
mander or  admiral,  to  whom  the  voyagiurs  stand  in 
the  relation  of  common  sailors. 

In  each  boat  are  eifflit  or  ten  men  with  their  ba<jf- 
gage,  six  hundred  pounds  of  biscuit,  two  hundred 
pounds  of  pork,  three  bushels  of  pease — these  as  shi[)'.s 
stores,  with  sixty-five  packages  of  goods  as  freight. 
The  equipment  of  the  canoe  consists  of  two  oilcloths 
with  which  to  cover  the  goods;  a  sail  and  sailing 
tackle;  an  axe,  a  towing-line,  a  kettle  for  cooking 
purposes;  a  sponge  for  bailing,  and  some  gum,  bark, 
and  watape  for  repairs.  To  the  inexperienced  ob- 
server of  these  frail  craft,  thus  crowded  with  men  and 
heaped  with  goods  three  or  four  tons  in  each,  until 
the  gunwale  is  within  six  inches  of  the  water,  it  seems 
that  destruction  is  inevitable,  especially  when  winds 
and  swift  currents  are  considered.  But  so  experienced 
and  expert  are  these  Canadian  boatmen  that  loss  of 
life  and  property  is  comparatively  rare,  although  acci- 
dents are  frequent.  Two  picked  men,  a  foreman  and 
a  steersman,  are  placed,  the  one  in  the  bow  and  the 
other  in  the  stern  of  every  canoe;  those  who  simply 

HiBT.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    "' 


I 


3G 


I'    i 


ui 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 

ply  the  paddle  are  called  middlemen.  A  sail  is  hoisted 
whenever  the  wind  is  favorable.  Above  Fort  William 
and  the  Grand  Portage  the  boats  are  about  half  the 
size,  and  are  managed  by  four,  five,  or  six  men.  They 
carry  about  thirty- five  packages,  twenty- three  of 
which  are  for  purposes  of  trade,  and  the  remainder 
luggage  and  stores. 

A  prayer  and  a  vow  to  Saint  Anne,  a  few  confessions 
and  cheap  votive  oflferings,  a  farewell  carouse  to  com- 
rade and  sweetheart,  and  the  voyageur  is  ready.  Then 
adieu  for  a  time  to  civilization  and  dissipation,  adieu 
to  church-bells  and  tutelar  saint;  for  the  white  mis- 
tress now  must  give  place  to  the  brown,  the  dusty 
cobwebbed  vault  of  Saint  Anne  to  the  open  arc  of 
God's  temple,  where  the  stars  shall  keep  vigil  amidst 
the  companionship  of  wild  men  and  wild  beasts. 

Embarking,  soon  the  rapids  of  Saint  Anne  are 
reached,  when  part  or  the  whole  of  the  cargo  must  be 
unladen.  These  portages,  from  porter,  to  carry,  though 
frequent  and  fatiguing,  are  not  annoying,  because 
taken  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  voyageurs  at  these 
places  vie  with  each  other  in  displays  of  strength  and 
celerity ,  and  would  as  soon  think  of  complaining  because 
the  sun  heated  them,  or  the  water  made  them  wet,  or 
mm  drunk. 

The  advantage  of  ninety-pound  packages,  from  long 
experience  proved  the  most  convenient  weight,  is  now 
.seen.  The  usual  load  for  one  man  is  two  packages, 
but  if  the  way  be  exceedingly  rugged  one  suffices, 
though  the  ambitious  boatman  will  sometimes  carry 
three.  These  are  thrown  upon  the  back  and  there 
supported  in  slings  suspended  from  the  head.  The 
cargoes  are  thus  carried  to  some  point  above  the  fall 
or  rapid,  to  which  the  canoes  are  either  towed  by  a 
strong  line  or  carried  on  men's  shoulders.  The  car- 
rying-place passed,  the  boats  are  again  loaded  and  the 
party  proceeds.  So  methodical  and  expert  have  these 
boatmen  become  by  practice,  that  a  portage  is  made  in 
an  incredibly  short  time,  twelve  or  twenty  of  them 


'Tm 


ALONO  THE  LIQUID  HIOHWAY. 


CAa 


being  frequently  iiassed  in  a  single  day.  The  length 
of  the  portages  varies  greatly,  extending  from  sixty 
yards  to  six  miles,  or  even  twice  or  thrice  that  dis- 
tance. Round  a  perpendicular  fall  the  way  is  usually 
not  far.  In  crossmg  from  one  stream  to  another  the 
carrying-places  are  longest.* 

Up  the  Ottawa  River  the  Portage  de  Chaudibre  is 
passed,  where  over  craggy  rocks  the  stream  plunges 
twenty-five  feet;  then  Portage  desChones,  after  which 
Lac  des  Chaudi^res  is  entered. 

Whatever  calls  to  mind  the  Christ,  his  crucifixion,  and 
his  comfortings,  claims  recognition.  In  passing  a  fork  of 
the  river,  or  a  cross  erected  over  a  grave,  of  which  there 
are  many  on  all  the  main  routes,  the  voyageurs  solemnly 
remove  their  hats,  cross  themselves,  while  one  in  each 
boat  or  in  each  brigade  repeats  a  short  prayer.  But 
not  alone  their  songs  and  superstitions  break  the  mo- 
notony of  portages  and  paddling.  Like  the  sailors 
they  have  their  Tines,  passing  which  for  the  first  time 
comrade  or  clerk  must  treat  or  take  a  ducking.  Heavy 
hearts  and  weeping  eyes  were  all  left  with  Saint  Anne ; 
and  the  wild  solitudes  echo  only  laughter  and  loud 
delight. 

Step  by  step  picturesque  waterfalls  are  surmounted, 
.•md  the  transparent  streams,  placid  lakes,  and  wild 
untenanted  shores  come  and  go  as  in  panorama. 
Hunters  are  sent  out  and  bring  in  fresh  meat;  a  light 
eanoe,  paddled  by  twelve  picked  men  gorgeously  ar- 
]-ayed  and  striking  in  exact  time,  shoots  past,  carrying 
n  director  clothed  in  rich  furs  and  surrounded  by 
sovereign  state  for  the  grand  council  to  be  presently 
held  at  Fort  William. 

Portage  des   Chats  is  passed;  likewise  Ddcharge 


"'The  tract  of  a  transport  occupies  an  extent  from  three  to  four  thou- 
sand miles,  through  upwards  of  sixty  large  lakes  and  numerous  rivers,  and 
the  means  of  ^transport  are  slight  bark  canoes.  It  must  also  be  observed  that 
those  waters  are  intercepted  by  more  than  two  hundred  rapids,  along  which 
the  articles  of  merchandise  are  chiefly  can-  1  on  men's  backs,  and  over  one 
hundred  and  thirty  carrying-places  from  twenty-five  paces  to  thirteen  miles 
in  length  where  the  canoes  and  cargoes  ])roceed  by  the  same  toilsome  and 
perilous  operation.'  Mackenzie's  Foy.,  410,  note. 


m 


m 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 


dea  SableB,  and  Mountain  Portage,  and  Lac  Coulonge, 
and  fifty  other  places  with  old-fashioned  names,  smack- 
ing of  the  all-absorbing  traffic  of  the  times.  Then 
across  the  Nipissing  Lake,  past  Huron,  and  to  the 
upper  end  of  Superior,  where  at  Thunder  Bay  the 
centre  round  which  the  fur-hunting  universe  revolves 
is  reached.® 


111 


Rightly  to  picture  in  our  minds  such  an  establish- 
ment as  Fort  William  in  the  flush  fur  times,  wo  must 
place  the  feudal  beside  the  original  and  mark  the 
eflfect  of  subserving  civilization  to  commerce.  As  in 
the  classical  abnormities  of  California  gold -seeking 
there  were  many  phases  of  huDan  nature  never  be- 
fore displayed,  many  scenes  in  social  statics  never 
again  to  be  dramatized,  so  here  we  may  see  the  blend- 
ing of  savagism  and  civilization,  a  mercantile  mixture 
of  French  volatility  and  keen-edged  Scotch  cunning, 
such  as  the  world  will  never  witness  again.  There 
are  no  more  unguarded  Californian  valleys,  gilt-edged 
with  a  gold -embosomed  sierra;  there  are  no  more 
hyperborean  planet-parks  filled  with  various  animals^ 
beasts,  birds,  and  fishes,  and  hunted  only  by  simple- 
minded  savages;  no  more  of  these  vast  unappro- 
priated natural  treasures  in  which  civilized  man  may 
make  display  of  his  voracity.  Within  the  palisades 
of  Fort  William,  in  the  centre  of  the  enclosure,  stood 
the  great  corporation's  great  house  which  was  both 
council-chamber  and  caravansary. 

In  it  were  the  rooms  of  officers,  the  spacious  dining 
hall  where  staid  revels  were  indulged  in ;  below  was  the 
ample  kitchen,  stocked  from  Montreal.  Surrounding 
the  council-house,  and  still  within  the  pickets,  were 
subordinate  tenements,  eating,  sleeping,  and  working 
houses,  warerooms,  and  stores. 

Outside  the  stockade  during  the  summer  fortnight 
of   business   festivity  were    ^wo   encampments,  con- 

.  *  For  less  tlian  one  fiftieth  th^  cw'^  by  canoe  trensportation  from  Montreal^ 
goods  arc  uow  landed  at  Fort  \\  iV.iam  in  ships  direct  from  Fnglaud. 


FORT  WILLIAM. 


im 


IS 


Prob- 
loust  con- 
ned they 

lb  lost,  was 


^istin^  f)f  between  three  and  four  hundred  men  each, 
the  one  on  the  east  side  of  the  fort  being  the  man- 
(jevvK  ih'  lard,  pork-eaters,  comers  and  goers  between 
Montreal  and  Fort  William,  and  those  on  the  west 
side  the  hivernants,  or  winterers  in  the  field.  Behind 
the  fort  were  camped  such  Indians  as  were  drawn 
thither  by  curiosity,  love  of  liquor,  or  love  of  finery 
and  display. 

The  four  groups  afforded  many  conl 
ably  of  them  all,  the  least  thoughtful,  tli- 
cerned  about  the  here  or  hereafter,  as 
\vere  the  liappiest,  the  noisiest,  and  the  gi\ 
the  pork-eating  company.  They  had  not  the  reflective 
melanoholy-mindedness  of  the  Indian,  although  they 
vied  with  him  in  filth  and  freedom.  Next  to  tlie 
chiefs  and  their  immediate  followers  who  inhabited 
the  fortress,  and  made  pretensions  to  refinement  and 
even  luxury,  were  the  winterers,  who  were  indeed 
the  chivalry  of  the  company.  As  a  cla.^-  they  were 
entitled  to  the  credit  of  some  de<jree  of  intellectual 
rasping  in  addition  to  their  sylvan  accomplishments. 
Across  the  river  from  tlie  fort  was  a  small  settlement 
of  worn-out  voyagcurs,  their  little  log-houses  filled 
with  native  wives  and  children,  who  cultivated  small 
patches  of  corn  and  potatoes,  Avhich  with  a  few  fish 
and  perhaps  a  tobacco  pension  from  high  quarters, 
sufficed  to  secure  what  kingdoms  could  not  buy,  con- 
tent. 

A  busy  buzzing  characterized  the  day  both  within 
and  without  the  fort.  There  were  multitudes  of  ac- 
counts to  be  settled,  of  old  scores  to  be  wiped  out  and 
new  obligations  to  be  assumed.  Expired  engagements 
were  renewed,  and  promotions  made.  Those  who  de- 
sired mijjht  send  their  earninjjs  to  Montreal  or  London 
by  purchasing  the  company's  draft  on  those  places. 
Always  there  was  more  or  less  bartering  going  on 
between  employes,  accompanied  by  boisterous  mirth 
or  sullen  cursings,  as  the  case  might  be.  Games  of 
chance  and  skill  were  indulged  in,  Indians  and  French- 


M8 


THE  NORTHWESI'  COMPANY. 


men  alike  entering  into  them  with  the  keenest  zest. 
Thus  the  gathering  bore  to  some  extent  the  appear- 
ance of  a  pleasure  party  no  less  than  a  business  meet- 
ing. While  the  bizarre  brotherhood  of  Canadians, 
Indians,  and  half-breeds  without  the  fort  were  engaged 
in  their  noisy  industry  and  still  louder  voiced  pas- 
times, the  grave  Scotch  seigniors  were  holding  weighty 
councils  within.  It  was  a  huge  machinery  which  they 
had  set  in  motion  and  were  now  obliged  to  keep  run- 
ning, and  at  no  Spanish  c6rtes  were  ever  presented 
countenances  stiffer  with  concern;  and  although  some 
pqmpous  diction  and  swelling  oratory  were  indulged 
in,  there  was  much  more  of  tough  Orkney  logic,  the 
immediate  result  of  practical  business  intuition.  Buu 
it  was  at  the  hour  of  dining,  when,  the  sober  business 
of  the  day  accomplished,  like  old  feudal  barons  the 
wintering  partners,  each  surrounded  by  his  retainers, 
had  entered  the  great  banqueting-hall,  there  to  meet 
the  still  more  august  magnates  from  the  city,  that  the 
glories  of  the  fortress  shone  resplendent.  Running 
parallel  down  the  hall  were  two  large  tables  loaded 
with  the  combined  delicacies  of  forest  and  field,  }.  re- 
pared  by  skilled  cooks  and  served  by  experienced 
stewards  from  London.  Fish,  beef,  and  venisc  i,  vdth 
rarer  and  more  savory  side-dishes,  moose  nose,  beaver 
tails,  and  buffalo  tongue;  milk  and  butter,  white  hraad 
and  corn,  pease  and  potatoes,  luxuries  indeed  to  those 
whose  regular  diet  was  only  meat;  dainty  desserts, 
ale,  liquors,  delicate  wines,  and  finest  tobacco — all  this 
and  much  more  was  every  d"  :)laced  before  the  as- 
sembled fur-hunters  in  the  great  hall  at  Fort  William. 
At  the  head  of  each  table  a  proprietor-agent,  the 
highest  officer  of  the  association,  took  his  seat,  and  on 
either  side  partners,  clerks,  guides,  and  interpreters 
arranged  themselves  according  to  their  several  pre- 
tensions. The  Montreal  partners  were  nabobs  richly 
attired,  and  with  the  surroundings,  whether  at  home, 
en  voyage,  or  at  the  rendezvous,  of  luxury  and  wealth. 
In  the  city  they  kept  open  liouse,  and  entertained  like 


THE  MONTREAL  PARTNERS. 


m 


est  zest, 
appear- 
ss  meet- 
nadians, 
engaged 
ed  pas- 
weighty 
ch  they 
ep  run- 
esented 
h  some 
ndulged 
•gifi.  the 
u.    Bui. 
business 
ons  tho 
tainers, 
[to  meet 
bhat  tho 
RrUnning 
J  loaded 
3ld,  i  re- 
2rien,:^jd 
y.\,  vntli 
,  beaver 
'Q  bread 
0  those 
esseHs, 
•all  this 
the  as- 
/^illiam. 
nt,  the 
and  on 
preters 
al  pre- 
richiy 
home, 
v^ealth. 
od  like 


lords,  and  in  the  field,  though  they  should  sleep  upon 
the  ground,  they  slept  soundly,  and  were  attended 
like  monarchs.  Though  ranking  no  higher,  and  in  the 
council  having  no  extra  vote,  by  reason  of  position 
their  influence  was  more  general,  having  the  buying, 
selling,  and  handling  of  all  merchandise  employed  in 
the  traffic,  than  that  of  the  wintering  partners ;  though 
there  were  few  of  these  last  named  but  ruled  a  realm 
as  large  as  England.  Nor  must  we  forget  that  be- 
tween the  several  members  of  this  assembly  there  was 
a  bond  of  common  sympathy;  they  were  not  only 
friends  but  business  brothers;  so  that,  when  they 
came  together  on  this  great  occasion  of  the  year*  it 
was  not  like  an  ordinary  feast  made  for  the  indulgence 
of  vain  display,  but  more  like  a  family  festive  gather- 
ing, in  which  the  senior  j)artners  were  patriarchs,  and 
the  juniors  their  sons  of  enterprise.  As  the  more 
importunate  claims  of  appetite  became  appeased,  and 
the  mellowing  influence  of  happy  surroundings  brought 
relaxation,  the  dry  distasteful  parts  of  British  charac- 
ter disappeared,  and  there  beamed  in  every  face  a 
kindly  sympathy  which  presently  kindled  to  enthusi- 
asm as  home  and  distant  friends  were  brought  to 
mind;  likewise  future  plans  were  discussed  and  the 
present  as  usual  well  nigh  forgotten.  How  different 
an  affair  it  was,  this  thinfj  of  livinfj  here  and  there. 
Become  savages  for  furs  1  a  commentary  truly  upon 
the  divine  ideal  in  progress.  There  was  little  philoso- 
phy, however,  little  inquir}''  into  the  a  priori  reasons 
of  their  skinnings ;  instead,  storieji  were  told  of  youtn- 
ful  frolics  in  the  dear  old  native  land,  and  these  com- 
pared with  the  life-defendings  of  pathless  wastes, 
which  often  swelled  in  the  recital  to  a  diapason  of 
<langers. 

And  as  the  generous  wine  went  round  and  brim- 
ming bumpers  were  drank  to  loyal  toasts,  and  rising 
impulse  broke  forth  in  highland  song  and  chorus, 
making  the  rafters  of  Fort  William  ring  witli  high 
liihirity,  round  tlu;  outskirts  of  this  knightly  wassail- 


1 


nm 


11     •! 


■    H 


! 


tir 


U       ;l        ; 


ai8  THiS  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 

ing  were  heara  the  roarinQjs  of  French  and  Indian  bac- 
chanals, which  were  indeed  a  credit  to  lordly  example. 
Such  was  Fort  WilUam,  and  such  the  magnificent 
Northwesters  in  the  days  of  their  popular  renown. 

Slowly,  slowly  awoke  the  monster  monopoly,  as  by 
their  charter  ar.d  se!  -affection  they  would  wish  to 
be,  well  nigh  dv  imj?...  "n  their  hyperborean  dealings 
these  hundred  }  Liar.:,  and  more,  to  a  realization  of 
their  situation.  These  Montreal  Scotchmen,  with 
their  constantly  increasing  wealth  and  independence, 
with  their  superior  intelligence,  enterprise,  and  pluck, 
were  becoming  formidable. 

What  should  be  done? 

There  was  but  one  answer  an  Englishman  could 
make  to  such  a  question:  they  must  be  driven  out. 
Although  they  were  planting  themselves  firmly  enough 
in  all  the  wide  north-west,  scaling  the  stony  barrier 
which  had  so  long  obstructed  the  fur-hunter's  path  to 
the  Pacific;  and  although  the  fiercer  beat  upon  them 
the  storms  of  rivalship  the  let  ner  and  more  fiimly 
did  they  root  themselves  to  ihe  '.oil,  yet  they  must  be 
driven  out.  For  every  ,io  *  ti  oy  planted,  another 
should  be  built  beside  it,  f-^r  e  .  '?fy  inducement  offered 
the  natives  to  trade,  double  siio.:.u  be  given;  so  the 
council  ordered,  and  so  the  servants  did. 

Now  no  highland  chieftain  in  his  sovereign  strong- 
hold was  ever  more  ready  for  the  issue  than  these 
same  revellers  in  the  great  hall  of  Fort  William;  no 
highland  clansmen  were  ever  more  eager  for  the  fray 
than  the  impulsive  voyr  'eurs  and  fierce  half-breeds 
that  echoed  their  mf^^»^  .r*'  bacchanals  beyond  the 
pickets. 

Three  claims  to  sole  occupation  and  superiority  the 
Hudson's  Pay  Company  set  up,  not  one  of  which  with 
tin  Nor tlr vest  Company  was  of  a  feather's  weight. 
I  iifcit  wafi  III  ir  royal  grant,  which,  whether  confirmed 
b  parliament  or  established  by  time,  or  neither  con- 
iirmed  nor  established,  restricted  the  grantors  to  Ru- 


THE  BRITISH  BROTHERS  QUARREL. 


560 


pert  Land,  which  latter  terir»  signified  the  territory 
immediately  encircling  Hudson  Bay.  Secondly,  the 
policy  of  the  Rupert  Land  adventurers,  which  was  to 
let  the  natives  of  the  interior  alone,  while  the  white 
men  should  remain  at  their  factories  on  the  coast  and 
rec»eive  such  peltries  alone  as  the  Indians  chose  to 
bring  them.  This  method  was  deemed  better  than 
to  push  traffic  into  the  heart  of  the  continent  to 
the  speedy  extermination  of  native  men  and  beasts. 
Thirdly,  fixed  prices,  sober  routine,  orderly  inter- 
course, and  various  slow  commercial  flummeries  to 
which  the  wide-awake  Northwesters  would  not  even 
listen.  It  must  be  confessed  tliat  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany were  not  so  strictly  scrupulous  in  their  use  of 
means  as  they  might  have  been ;  but  in  principle  they 
were  sound  enough.  The  north-west  territories  were 
as  rightfully  open  to  one  robber  as  to  another;  and  of 
this  a  Scotchman  did  not  need  to  be  told.  Evils  arose 
from  bitter  rivalry  which  might  be  justly  chargeable 
to  both.  I  have  no  disposition  to  put  in  a  pica  for  or 
against  either.  Competition  led  to  summer  hunting, 
which  yielded  imperfect  furs,  and  to  dam  and  cub 
killing,  alike  suicidal  and  cruel. 

By  this  time,  say  1805,  private  speculators  were 
practically  driven  from  the  Canadian  fur-trade.  In 
the  region  north-west  from  the  great  lakes,  beyond 
the  established  boundary,  the  Canada  Company  did 
not  attempt  to  penetrate  after  1804.  Prior  to  that 
time,  besides  forts  on  the  great  lakes,  the  Northwest 
Company  had  forts  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi.'' In  like  manner  the  United  States  com- 
panies east  of  the  mountains  confined  themselves  to 
their  own  territories.  West  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
where  proprietorship  was  yet  uiidisputed,  nation- 
alities met,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter.    Hence  the  two 

' '  Prior  to  the  year  1789  tliey  had  extended  tlieir  discoverica  an<l  estab- 
lishments along  the  numerous  lakes  and  rivers  situated  north  of  that  high 
tract  of  countrywhich  divides  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  waters  from  those 
wliich  run  toward  the  north  and  east  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  Rooky 
Mountains. '  G'ow'  Journal,  4. 


h!',- 


'!  i. 


m 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 


!i!ii 


J     i 


great  British  companies  were  prepared  in  British  ter- 
ritory to  throw  their  whole  weight  against  each  other, 
in  bloody  rivalry;  school-fellows  perhaps  in  England 
or  Scotland  were  now  to  array  themselves  under  com- 
mercial banners  in  deadly  antagonism. 

In  1806  a  Hudson  Bay  trader  named  Corrigal  was 
stationed  with  a  body  of  men  at  Bad  Lake,  within 
a  short  distance  of  which  was  a  fort  commanded  by  a 
Northwest  partner,  Haldane,  it  having  now  become 
customary  for  both  companies,  following  their  de- 
clared policy,  to  plant  their  posts  beside  each  other. 
Corrigal  having  obtained  some  skins  from  natives 
owing  Haldane,  the  latter  with  five  men  broke  into 
the  establishment  of  the  former,  and  threatening  to 
kill  him  if  he  interfered,  carried  them  off.  Then 
Alexander  McDonnell,  clerk  with  the  Northwest 
Company,  broke  into  the  house  of  T.  Croor,  a  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  trader,  and  after  beating  him 
and  stabbing  his  servant,  righted  some  real  or  fancied 
wrong  by  seizing  some  furs,  a  quantity  of  provisions, 
and  a  canoe.  In  like  manner  William  Linkwater  and 
Duncan  Campbell  fought. 

From  Churchill  Factory  in  1809,  Peter  Fidler  went 
with  eighteen  men  to  establish  a  post  at  He  h.  la  Crosse, 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  having  failed  in  previous 
similar  attempts,  being  driven  away  by  their  rivals, 
who  had  secured  the  attachment  of  the  natives  of 
that  locality.  Mr  Fidler  built  his  fort;  but  mean- 
while the  Northwest  Company  stationed  a  party  of 
hattailleurs  or  professional  bullies  in  a  watch-house 
built  for  that  purpose,  in  order  to  overawe  the  natives 
and  prevent  them  from  trading  at  the  Fidler  fortress. 
Not  liking  his  situation,  Mr  Fidler  retired,  and  his 
persecutors  set  fire  to  his  fort.  In  like  manner 
the  Hudson  Bay  people  treated  their  opponents  as 
opportunity  offered;  and  for  such  outrages  Canada 
at  this  time  offered  no  redress,  for  had  one  party 
attempted  to  capture  another,  and  carry  prisoners 
to  Mont  .al  for  trial,  general  war  would  have  been  the 


TRIALS  AND  DUELS. 


671 


(Visions, 


result.  In  shott  such  action  was  not  possible.  A 
thousand  Hudson  Bay  men  could  not  carry  a  single 
Northwester  through  his  own  territory  to  a  Montreal 
prison. 

But  one  instance  of  bringing  an  offender  to  trial 
occurred  within  a  period  of  twelve  years,  and  that  was 
the  memorable  case  of  Mowatt,  a  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's servant,  who  killed  a  Northwester  at  Eagle 
Lake  in  1809.  Surrounding  the  house  in  which  ho 
took  refuge,  the  Northwesters  demanded  his  imme- 
diate surrender,  which  was  made  on  condition  of  his 
being  taken  to  Montreal  for  trial.  This  was  done ; 
and  after  long  and  harassing  delay,  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  then  having  no  agent  at  Montreal  and  the 
man  no  friends,  he  was  finally  convicted  of  man- 
slaughter and  sentenced  to  six  months'  imprisonment, 
and  to  be  branded  on  the  hand  with  a  hot  iron.^ 

During  this  bloody  epoch  pugilistic  encounters  were 
frequent,  not  only  between  the  men  but  between  the 
principals.  Clerks  who  had  not  fought  their  duel  were 
regarded  as  little  better  than  cowards.  Liquors  were 
circulated  freely  by  the  associations  both  among  the 
natives  and  the  servants  of  the  companies.  Trade 
was  demoralized  to  a  disgusting  extreme.  White 
men  besieged  the  Indians'  hunting- path  so  as  to  se- 
cure the  catch.  Some  of  these  clansmen,  while  they 
would  fight  fiercely  in  the  field,  once  leturned  to 
their  respective  forts  were  brothers,  visiting  each 
other  freely  and  keeping  holidays  in  common.  Their 
friendships  were  their  own,  their  fights  were  their 
masters'.  So  tame  were  some  of  the  servants  of  tlio 
old  monopoly  that  a  Hudson   Bay  clerk  was  once 


*A  complete  history  of  the  war  between  the  rival  companies  would  fill  a 
volume.  The  instances  cited,  however,  together  with  a  brief  account  of  tho 
Red  River  difficulties,  will,  I  trust,  bo  sufficient  to  give  the  reader  a  clear 
idea  of  tho  nature  and  method  of  the  contest.     Cumberland  I{ouso  was  a 

Slace  much  spoken  of.  'The  houses  of  tlio  two  companies  at  this  place,'  says 
ir  John  Franklin,  Nar.,  i.  80,  'are  situated  close  to  each  other, 'with  no 
friendly  intercourse  at  this  periotl  between  them.  'A  suspicious  kind  of  armed 
neutrality  was  preserved  on  each  side.'  Cox^h  Adv.,  li.  229-244 ;  see  also 
Northwest  Company's  Nar.,  40-r). 


'^-  ^f . 


m 


THE  N0RTE[WE8T  COMPANY. 


heard  to  say  in  declining  the  challenge  of  a  chival- 
rous sprout  of  the  Northwest  Company,  "that  he  waa 
employed  to  trade  for  furs  and  not  to  kill  his  fellow- 
countrymen." 

In  playing  at  duello,  it  must  be  confessed  the  clerks 
succeeded  well  in  their  efforts  not  to  harm  each  other. 
Tricks  were  always  in  order,  and  the  bright  doings  on 
both  sides  lost  nothing  in  the  telling. 

One  winter's  day  in  the  Athabasca  country  a 
Hudson  Bay  scout  reported  Indian  tracks  in  th'e 
snow,  thereby  indicating  the  return  of  a  hunting  ex- 
pedition. As  usual  the  forts  of  the  two  companies 
were  near  together,  so  that  it  was  almost  impossible 
for  one  to  make  a  move  in  any  direction  without  ex- 
citing the  curiosity  of  tJie  other.  The  question  was 
how  to  reach  these  returned  hunters  and  secure  their 
furs  without  the  interference  of  their  rivals. 

There  were  too  many  to  coerce,  therefore  courtesy 
should  do  it.  Childish  rivalry  for  the  moment  should 
give  place  to  friendship's  hallowed  communion.  A 
grand  ball  should  be  given  to  the  honorable  North- 
west Company,  and  on  the  spot.  When  drink  was 
not  wanting,  a  ball  in  fur-hunting  circles  was  a  matter 
quickly  arranged.  Invitations  were  answered  by  the 
dancers  presenting  themselves  in  the  evening  at  the 
hour  named  in  grandest  apparel,  with  clean  capotes, 
bright  hat-cords, and  new  embroidered  moccasins.  The 
native  fiddler  struck  up  a  Scotch  re(}l,  and  while  from 
the  huge  fire  came  fitful  gusts  from  savory  roasts, 
the  guests  were  invited  to  manifest  their  appreciation 
of  the  entertainment  by  the  measure  of  their  pota- 
tions. Would  they  not  drink?  would  they  not  dance? 
would  they  not  take  another  drink,  and  another,  and 
another? 

This  within  the  palisades;  while  down  in  a  hollow 
behind  the  fort  muffled  men  with  packs  and  snow-shoes 
were  hurrying  to  and  fro  hitching  dogs  to  sledges,  pat- 
ting the  creatures  to  keep  them  quiet,  and  directing 
their  eager  movements  only  by  signs  and  whispers. 


RfTTT 


DEATHLY  COMPETITION. 


573 


chivftl- 
he  waa 
fellow- 


Finally,  the  sledges  being  well  loaxled  with  goods  and 
the  bells  all  removed  from  the  dogs'  necks,  the  party 
started  at  a  round  pace  for  the  Indian  camp.  Long 
after  the  noiseless  train  had  departed,  the  sound  of 
revelry  was  borne  upon  the  frosty  air,  until  finally  still- 
ness reigned.  Next  day  the  Northwest  lookout  re- 
ported the  returned  hunters.  With  bolls  ringing 
merrily  a  party  set  out  in  pursuit,  only  after  a  long 
day's  journey  to  find  the  hunters  all  dead-drunk,  with 
nftt  so  much  as  a  musquash  left  to  sell. 

Yes,  it  was  a  brilliant  ball,  but  the  NForthwestcrs 
swore  there  should  be  dancing  to  anoikcr  tune  ere 
long.  Soon  opportunity  offered.  Rival  trains  in 
search  of  the  same  hunters  meeting  one  cold  day,  it 
was  proposed  to  build  a  rousing  fire,  and  eat  and 
drink  together.  Soon  a  huge  pile  of  logs  was  crack- 
ling furiously,  and  spirits  were  flowing  freel}'.  This 
time  the  Northwesters  by  spilling  their  liquor  upon  the 
snow  were  at  length  enabled  to  put  their  competitors 
into  a  state  of  beastly  intoxication;  then  tying  them 
to  their  sledges  they  sent  the  dogs  homeward,  wliilc 
they  went  fcrward  to  the  Indian  camp  and  secured 
the  furs. 


A  novel  idea,  though  unmarked  by  deep  diplomacy, 
nesit  arose  in  the  minds  of  the  monopolizers.  If  they 
could  not  extirpate  their  enemies  they  might  at  least 
hope  more  thoroughly  to  annoy  and  exasperate  them. 
The  route  of  the  Northwest  Company  from  Montreal 
and  Fort  William  to  their  posts  in  the  western  inte- 
rior lay  along  Rainy  Lake  and  Lake  of  the  Woods, 
and  thence  by  way  of  the  river  and  lake  Winnipeg 
to  Athabasca,  or  across  Red  River  to  the  Saskatcli- 
ewan  country. 

Now  if  by  any  pretext  their  way  westward  might 
be  barred,  if  at  the  very  threshold  of  their  broad  field 
of  operations  these  impudent  interlopers  might  be 
driven  back  or  turned  aside  from  their  beaten  path 
and  compelled  to  make  a  wide  ddtour  in  order  to 


I'i!;,! 


I'll     i 


it 


f 


^ 


I  li 


m* 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 


reach  their  destination,  thereby  adding  time  and  ex- 
pense to  all  their  operations  and  enabling  the  monopo- 
lizers the  better  to  compete  with  or  crush  them,  would 
it  not  be  a  fine  thing,  a  noble  thing,  a  thing  worthy 
of  civilized  Christians  to  do? 

They  would  try  it.  Round  the  junction  of  the 
Assiniboine  with  Red  River,  at  the  lower  end  of  Lake 
Winnipeg,  and  between  Lake  of  the  Woods  and 
Manitoba  Lake,  and  extending  thence  westward  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  is  a  region  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary fruitfulness  and  beauty  called  the  fertile  belt. 
It  is  well  watered  and  wooded,  and  consists  in  part  of 
prairie  land  and  in  part  of  rich  river  bottom.  This 
tract  they  would  appropriate :  though  not  their  own 
they  would  call  it  theirs,  and  so  make  a  cheap  oflfering 
of  it  to  civilization.  Yes;  they  would  magnani- 
mously curtail  the  common  hunting-grounds  to  that 
extent;  they  would  gather  here  the  hybrid  race  which 
they  were  so  rapidly  propagating  in  every  forest  and 
beside  every  stream;  they  would  here  establish 
schools,  teach  the  simple  savage  superior  cunning, 
improving  him  meanwhile  to  his  swift  destruction. 
It  was  contrary  to  rule  they  well  knew  to  colonize 
or  settle  hunting-ground;  but  might  they  not  here  at 
once  help  themselves  and  injure  their  enemies?  Might 
they  not  indeed  serve  God  as  well  as  the  devil  by 
building  churches  and  making  revenge  popular  as 
well  as  profitable?  They  would  do  it.  Singular 
they  had  not  thought  before  of  applying  religion  to 
fur-hunting,®  Briefly  the  history  of  the  Red  River 
settlement  is  as  follows: 

In  1811  the  earl  of  Selkirk  obtained  from  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  possession  of  a  tract  of  land 
round  Red  River,  extending  from  Lake  Winnipeg  far 
into  United  States  territory,  for  the  purpose  ojp  estab- 

*  Says  Governor  Semple  himself,  about  1816 :  '  I  have  trodden  the  burnt 
ruins  of  houses,  bams,  a  mill,  a  fort,  and  sharpened  stockades,  but  none  of  a 
place  of  worship,  even  on  the  smallest  scale.  I  blush  to  say  that  throughout 
the  whole  extent  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories,  no  such  building  exists.' 
Jlinds'  li-  J  River  -Ex.,  i.  174;  Northwent  Company^ s  Nar.,  36-9. 


'*'*'^,«-« 


^mm 


THE  RED  RIVER  SETTLEMENT. 


578 


Kshing  there  a  Scotch  colony,  though  Irish,  Scandi- 
navians, or  native  half-breeds  were  not  excluded. 
The  tract  was  given  Selkirk  in  the  form  of  a  grant 
from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company;  the  Northwest 
Company  denied  the  validity  of  the  grant,  but  the 
British  government  was  disposed  to  encourage  the  col- 
onization scheme. 

The  spot  selected,  besides  being  situated  on  the 
great  thoroughfare  between  the  St  Lawrence  and  the 
Northwest,  included  the  pemican  depot  of  the  North- 
west Company,  who  were  already  in  possession.  Here 
this  important  article  of  food  was  manufactured ;  and  if 
colonization  were  permitted,  the  buffalo  would  shortly 
disappear,  and  the  company  be  obliged  to  remove 
their  manufactor}''  to  other  parts,  or  bring  supplies  at 
heavy  cost  from  Canada.  In  short,  as  every  one  well 
knew,  a  colony  planted  in  a  hunting-ground  was  in  a 
measure  ruinous  to  the  fur  traffic. 

The  scheme,  as  may  well  te  imagined,  was  not  favor- 
ably regarded  by  the  Northwest  Company.  Hence 
when  in  1812  several  Scotch  families  presented  them- 
selves as  the  vanguard  of  Lord  Selkirk's  colonial  army, 
they  were  met  by  a  large  party  of  natives  and  half- 
breeds,  retainers  of  the  Northwest  Company,  and 
warned  not  to  attempt  settlement  there. 

Passing  the  winter  at  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
post  Pembina,  in  the  following  May  the  colonists  re- 
turned to  Fort  Douglas,  near  the  present  site  of  Fort 
Garry,  and  began  agriculture,  spending  the  winter 
again  at  Fort  Pembina.  Some  became  discouraged 
and  returned  to  Canada,  free  passage  being  offered  in 
their  canoes  by  the  Northwest  Company.  Those  re- 
maining now  determined  to  attempt  permanent  settle- 
ment upon  the  forbidden  ground;  but  every  effort 
was  attended  by  danger,  their  houses  being  destroyed 
and  their  lives  threatened.  During  this  summer  of 
1814  Miles  McDonnell,  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
governor  of  the  Assiniboine  district,  famine  being  im- 
minent, issued  a  proclamation  forbidding  the  sending 


'i  r 


:,\ 


{.    11 

!'  I    1 


I!) 


m 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 


away  of  any  kind  of  provisions.  To  this  the  North- 
west Company  paid  no  attention,  their  store-keeper, 
Mr  Pritchard,  having  in  charge  several  hundred  bags 
of  pemican  which  they  drew  upon  at  pleasure.  Hear- 
ing of  it,  McDonne]!  sent  Pritchard  an  order  de- 
manding the  surrender  of  the  pemican,  which  order 
Pritchard  refusing  to  obey,  McDonnell  seized  the 
pemican  and  carried  it  off  by  force.  The  servants  of 
the  Northwest  Company  flew  to  arms,  coming  in  from 
quite  a  distance  to  recover  their  winter's  provender, 
and  but  for  the  opportune  arrival  of  one  of  the 
Northwest  partners  blood  would  then  have  flowed. 
Half  of  the  pemican  being  immediately  restored,  the 
remainder  was  allowed  to  remain  under  protest. 
During  the  severities  of  winter  part  of  the  colonists 
had  joined  the  Northwest  Company,  but  repudi- 
ated their  obligation  in  the  spring.  The  exasperated 
Northwesters,  however,  appeared  among  them,  burned 
houses,  killed  one  Warren,  took  Governor  McDonnell 
prisoner,  and  ordered  all  settlers  to  retire  from  the 
river.  Thus  it  was,  when  in  October  1815  the  main 
body  of  colonists  arrived  from  Scotland,  starvation 
and  the  sufferings  incident  to  a  shelterless  winter  in 
that  region  stared  them  in  the  face. 

But  Selkirk  proved  equal  to  the  emergency.  If 
war  was  the  cry,  war  it  should  be.  Strengthening 
himself  by  a  new  purchase  of  shares  in  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,^"  he  assumed  active  management  of 
affairs,  opened  a  general  store  at  Fort  Douglas  where 
colonists  were  supplied  on  credit,  won  to  his  service 
by  promises  of  higher  positions  and  pay  several  clerks 
of  the  Northwest  Company  discontented  by  reason 
of  non-promotion,  of  which  there  were  always  some, 
and  displayed  on  every  side  a  determination  to  adopt 
extreme  retaliatory  measures. 

Fortunately  securing  for  his  manager  Colin  Robert- 

'* '  For  this  purpose  it  is  said,  and  we  believe  truly,  his  lordship  purchased 
at  a  price  far  beyond  its  value,  about  one  third  part  of  the  stocli  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  the  whole  of  wliich  is  only  £100,000.'  London  Quarterly 
Jtevietc,  October  1816. 


WAR  IN  EARNEST. 


577 


son,  one  of  the  Northwest  Company's  most  shrewd 
and  enterprising  men,  with  him  Selkirk  obtained  all 
the  Canadians  he  required,  and  throwing  aside  the 
traditional  caution  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
met  his  rivals,  in  the  person  of  Mr  Robertson,  with 
their  own  daring  policy. 

Trade  with  the  natives  was  now  opened ;  and  know- 
ing all  the  weak  points  of  his  late  masters,  Robertson 
carried  the  war  into  the  enemy's  stronghold,  which 
■was  then  the  Athabasca  country.  Thither  he  made 
an  expedition  which  proved  eminently  successful,  Mr 
Clarke,  late  partner  with  Astor  in  the  Pacific  Fur 
Company,  was  engaged  and  sent  there.  By  paying 
higher  prices  for  furs,  the  nearest  natives  were  seduced 
from  their  late  allegiance,  and  the  loyalty  even  of  the 
more  distant  was  made  to  waver.  The  enemy  visibly 
winced  beneath  these  blows. 

Selkirk  was  j  ubilant.  His  triumph,  however,  was  of 
short  duration.  As  well  might  he  attempt  to  stop  the 
eruptions  of  Mount  ^tna  with  his  hat,  as  thus  to 
quench  the  audacious  fire  of  his  opponents.  Rousing 
themselves  to  action  with  their  rising  wrath,  the 
Northwest  Company  prepared  for  the  campaign  of 
1815  by  raising  the  wages  of  their  men,  promoting 
clerks  to  proprietors,  and  doubling  the  usual  quantity 
of  goods  "'^nt  to  the  interior.  Codte  qiiil  cotltc,  buy  furs, 
was  th      1  ler  on  both  sides. 

It  seems  a  little  strange  to  hear  of  actual  war  be- 
tween commercial  companies  of  the  same  nationality 
on  American  soil,  of  attacks  and  repulses,  of  capturing 
forts,  and  holding  business  competitors  as  prisoners; 
yet  truth  compels  the  utterance,  for  throughout  this 
then  practically  limitless  region  arms  were  the  only 
argument  and  brute  force  was  the  ultimate  appeal. 

Early  in  181G  the  war  began  iu  earnest,  and  in  tho 
battles  which  followed,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
and  the  colonists  were  the  greater  sufferers.  Three 
hundred  half-breeds,  armed,  painted,  and  plumed,  were 
mounted  by  the  Northwest  party  and  sent  forth  to 

IIiBT.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    37 


w 


I    Ij 


878 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 


maraud  in  good  old  feudal  fashion.  First  the  settle- 
ment was  destroyed  and  the  colonists  dispersed,  some 
proceeding  to  Norway  House  and  others  to  diflferent 
parts,  thoujjh  their  fort  on  Red  River  yet  remained, 

At  Athaoasca  Mr  Clarke  was  besieged;  and  after 
losing  seventeen  men  by  starvation  he  capitulated. 
At  Slave  Lake  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  were 
more  successful,  though  they  elsewhere  lost  thirt-een 
more  by  famine  in  June.  Two  of  the  Northwest 
Company's  forts,  with  all  their  properties,  were  taken, 
Mr  Cameron,  proprietor,  made  prisoner,  and  the  for- 
tresses burner'  The  keeper  of  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany's static  I  Qu'appelle  River,  who  had  been 
threatened  w^.^x  annihilation  by  the  Hudson  Bay 
people  should  he  attempt  to  pass  downward,  growing 
anxious  for  the  arrival  of  a  party  expected  from  the 
northward,  on  the  1 9th  of  June  sent  Alexander  Fraser, 
seconded  by  Cuthbert  Grant,  with  eleven  men  and  some 
fifty  Indians  and  half-breeds,  and  having  two  carts 
loaded  with  supplies. 

Their  way  carried  them  within  two  miles  of  the 
colonial  post  Fort  Douglas,  where  Governor  Semplo 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  then  in  command. 
Notified  of  their  approach,  the  governor  with  twenty- 
six  men  sallied  from  the  fort  and  demanded  their 
purpose.  Grant  answered  that  they  were  attending 
to  their  business,  and  wished  to  know  of  the  governor 
what  he  was  going  to  do  about  it. 

Words  came  sharper  and  quicker;  and  almost  be- 
fore any  one  was  aware  of  it,  Semple  had  given  the 
order  to  fire.  The  order  was  obeyed,  and  the  result 
Avas  one  killed  and  one  wounded.  Then  at  the  com- 
mand of  Fraser,  the  Northwesters  raised  their  deadly 
implements,  and  taking  deliberate  aim  fired.  Seven 
fell,  among  them  the  governor  himself,  mortally 
wounded.  The  Hudson  Bay  people  turned  and  ran 
for  the  foi't,  the  Northwesters  pursuing  and  firing. 
Of  the  twenty -six  who  so  lately  left  the  fort  only 
four  returned.     The  Northwesters  then  took  posses- 


mm 


MORE  FIOHTINO. 


579 


Bion  of  the  fort,  securing  therewith  a  large  quantity 
of  arms  and  ammunition.    Among  the  officerH  of  the 

farrison  killed  were  Governor  Semple,  Doctor  White, 
IcLean,  Rogers,  Holt,  and  Wilkinson.     Again  for  a 
time  the  colonists  abandoned  the  place." 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Red  River,  however, 
the  Northwest  Company  suffered  severely,  while  at 
a  distance  their  superior  energy  and  boldness  carried 
all  opposition,  Selkirk  himself  staited  to  quell  the 
disturbance,  but  paused  at  Fort  William,  preferring 
discretion  to  valor.  Proclamations  were  issued  by  the 
governor-general  of  Canada  threatening  peace-breakers 
with  the  severest  punishment,  which  fuhninations  were 
treated  by  the  spirited  fur-hunters  on  both  sides  with 
sovereign  contempt.  Commissioners  were  then  ap- 
pointed to  proceed  forthwith  to  the  scene  of  action  to 
investigate  outrages  and  seize  offenders;  but  such  a 
mission  smacked  of  danger,  and  was  easily  postponed 
on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  season,  thereby  per- 
mitting the  fur-hunters  to  fight  through  the  winter  of 
1816-17  unmolested  by  the  busy,  buzzing  law. 

Meanwhile  the  war  continued  with  unabated  vigor. 
Men  were  killed  and  forts  captured  on  both  sides, 
the  monopolists  being  as  usual  the  greater  sufferers. 

"  The  statements  respecting  the  affray  are  very  conflicting.  As  told  by 
different  persons  it  can  hardly  be  recognized  aa  the  saiiio  story.  Some  say 
tliat  Semple  wa«  out  in  search  of  this  band ;  others  that  the  Northwesters 
■were  about  to  attack  the  fort.  Each  side  accuses  the  other  of  havLiig  fired 
the  first  shot.  By  n  careful  comparison  of  all  tlio  authorities,  my  text  con- 
veys the  facts  as  nearly  as  I  am  able  to  airivc  at  them.  That  Governor 
Semple  was  an  amiable,  modest,  humane  man,  following  his  line  of  duty,  there 
can  be  no  question.  The  Montreal  Jferatd  of  October  l"2th  hides  u  body 
of  cavalry  in  the  woods,  which  surrounds  Semple  and  his  party,  when  one 
Bouche  opens  the  conference  by  applying  insulting  language  to  the  governor, 
lloss,  Red  lilver  Settlement,  iii.,  is  obviously  so  biassed  in  favor  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  that  I  find  myself  unable  to  follow  him  with  any  degree  of 
confidence.  In  describing  the  attack  he  goes  further  even  tlian  Selkirk 
himself,  and  asserts  that  an  armed  band  of  65  approached  the  fort  to  at- 
tack it,  when  Governor  Semplo  appeared  at  the  head  of  27  men,  and  that 
while  he  was  in  consultation  with  his  party  'the  Indians  and  half-breeds 
divided  themselves  into  two  bodies  and  instantly  commenced  firing  from  the 
shelter  afforded  by  a  few  willows ;  first  a  shot  or  two  and  then  a  merciless 
volley.'  The  Northwest  Company  in  their  ofUcial  version  of  the  affair.  Nar- 
rative of  Occurrences,  54,  assert  that  in  view  of  the  fact,  not  even  denied  by 
the  opposite  party,  that  they  marched  out  and  followed  tlie  Indiana,  and  fired 
first  upon  them,  no  doubt  can  remain  who  were  the  aggressors. 


'    11 


i    i 


580 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 


Trade  was  complotely  ruined.  In  their  revengeful 
competition  the  natives  were  paid  more  for  furs  than 
their  value  at  Montreal,  while  their  expenses  were 
wonderfully  increased.  And  when  at  last,  tired  of  all 
this,  Selkirk  was  permitted  to  bring  his  hundred  sol- 
diers up  from  Fort  William  and  call  back  his  frightened 
colonists,  the  charges  and  arrests  which  followed  were 
little  preferable  to  war.^** 


*"  Ross  Cox,  A  dv. ,  ii.  225-42,  gives  the  best  account  of  any  one  there  duiinp 
hostilities.  Lord  Selkirk's  Sketch  of  the  British  Fur  Trade  in  North  America, 
published  in  1810,  as  well  as  the  Statement  Respecting  the.  Earl  of  Selkirk's 
settlement  upon  the  Red  Itiver,  London  1817,  are  not  so  much  historical  and 
descriptive  accounts,  but  rather  bills  of  indictment  against  tho  Northwest 
Company.  They  bear  no  comparison  with  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  llistonj 
q/"  the  Fur  Trade,  in  points  of  intelligent  observation  and  fairness.  In  th'a 
Narrative  of  the  Occurrences  in  the  Indian  Countries  of  Aiuerica,  50-5,  published 
by  the  Northwest  Company  in  18)  7,  wo  have  the  other  aide  of  tho  story,  whicli 
must  be  accepted  with  the  same  u  igrees  of  allowance.  When  men  became  so 
crazed  with  anger  as  to  resort  t»i  e '  .ling,  little  reliance  was  to  be  placed  on  oaths 
and  asseverations.  From  the  uiinutes  of  a  meeting  of  a  council  of  Rupert 
Land  held  at  Red  River,  1845,  Gray,  Iliat.  Or.,  Gt?,  quotes  eight  rules  regu- 
lating the  rights  of  settlers.  See  also  JJoiiijlas'  Privalv  Papers,  m&.,  1st  series, 
79-80.  In  tho  House  of  Commons  Report  from  the  Select  Committee  on  Iht 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  323,  in  the  testimony  of  E.  Eliice,  \n\\  he  found  the  text 
of  tho  gi-aut  mai'.e  to  Lord  Selkirk  by  the  Hudson's  Riy  Company,  dated  the  1 2tli 
of  Juno  181 1 ;  also,  3G1-2,  copy  of  land  deed  as  made  by  tho  company  in  convev- 
ing  land  to  settlers  at  Red  River;  on  381-5  statistics  of  the  colony  by  Donalil 
Gunn,  and  on  445-G  a  complaint  made  by  Pequis,  chief  of  tho  Saulteaux,  of  un- 
just treatment  by  the  settlers  and  by  the  Hudson's  liay  Company.  Coniwallis, 
New  El  Dorado,  Gl-2,  gives  an  accoimt  of  the  overflow  of  Red  River  in  1820, 
when  houses  by  the  score  were  lifted  up  and  can-ied  away.  Van  Tramp\i 
Adv.,  2G0-6,  and  Farnham's  Travf/s,  13-14,  contain  general  sketches  on  tlio 
Red  River  settlement.  Evans.  Jlixt.  Or.,  MS.,  109,  gives  a  general  sketch  of 
Red  River  afiairs.  See  also  Macdoiiald's  B.  C,  247;  Gray's  Hist.  Or.,  2i-(i, 
61-6.  During  the  a*l'ray  and  for  years  thereafter  those  belonging  to  tho 
Hudsou'a  Bay  Company  were  known  as  the  '  Blues,'  while  tho  Northwesters 
were  designated  as  the  '  Grays,'  from  tho  officers  affecting  a  uniform  of  those 
colors  respectively.  Anderson's  Northwest  Coast,  MS.,  53.  Tho  advantages 
and  disadvantages  of  the  Red  River  establishment  over  similar  settlements 
are  given  at  length  by  Sir  Jar"e3  Douglas  in  his  Private  Papers,  MS.,  1st 
series,  79-80;  Ballantyne's  Hudson's  Bay,  94-6;  Hinds'  Red  River  Ex.,  i. 
172-5;  Martin's  Hudson's  Hay,  19;  Rosa'  Red  River  Settlement ;  Andrews' 
Min.  Letterx. ;  Franchere's  Nar. ,  330^3;  Palliser's  Papers  and  Further  Papers  : 
Iuart'i'"'s  British  Colonies,  iii.  532-3;  West's  Red  River  Colony ;  Cray's  Or.,  24, 
212-13;  Milton  and  ChewHe's  Northwest  Passage,  37-45;  Hinen'  Life,  387; 
Gretnhow'a  Or.  and  Cal.,  323-4;  Britixh  N.  Am.,  '^"•2;  Lord  Selkirk's  Sketch  of 
the  British  Fur  Trade  in  North  America;  British  Quartet  ly  Review,  xvi.  129- 
44;  Beltrami's  Pilgrirnafie,  ii.  349  et  seq. ;  Harmon's  Jour.,  259-Gl;  Portland 
Oregonian,  January  ir.,  1870;  Anderson's  Northwest  Coast,  MS.,  49-52;  Tod's 
Neio  Caledonia,  MS.,  3;  Douglas'  Private  Papers,  M.S.,  1st  series.  89.  John 
Dunn,  Or.  Ter.,  10,  gives  a  rabid  and  rambling  statement,  the  erroneous  de- 
ductions of  which  are  only  exceeded  by  its  remoteness  from  truth.  Call  his  nar- 
rative by  another  name,  and  one  would  scarcely  recognize  the  story  as  told  by 
others. 


JUSTICE  AND  LAW. 


581 


At  that  time  the  Canadian  courts  had  nominal 
jurisdiction  over  all  the  north-west  territories.  The 
offending  of  both  companies  were  equally  amenable, 
and  after  feuds  so  serious  as  those  of  Red  River  it 
wa,s  scarcely  to  be  supposed  that  on  the  field  of  battle 
the  trouble  should  be  ended. 

Human  justice,  however,  is  an  uncertain  affair. 
The  wonder  is  that  men  pretending  to  be  wise  should 
make  so  much  of  it;  that  is  to  say,  it  would  be  strange 
were  not  chicanery  become  reputable.  No  sooner 
was  it  announced  that  legal  investigations  had  been 
ordered  than  a  general  scattering  on  both  sides  took 
place,  particularly  among  the  Northwesters,  who  had 
fought  in  earnest  and  with  fair  success,  and  who  did 
not  care  to  face  close  scrutiny.  It  was  remarkable  how 
many  of  these  fighters  just  then  had  business  at  remote 

Eosts,  even  in  the  depths  of  the  wilderness  and  in  the 
osom  of  native  families;  so  that  when  law's  slow 
minions  appeared  there  was  scarcely  a  bad  man  to  be 
found.  Innocence  was  stamped  on  all  faces.  Enough, 
however,,  were  arrested  to  g've  occupation  to  the  law- 
vers  and  cause  much  trouble  to  offenders.  Several  of 
the  more  prominent  actors, those  whom  to  secrete  would 
be  inconvenient,  were  taken  to  Canada  or  England  for 
trial;  but  money  and  influence  seldom  failed  to  hood- 
wink justice. 

Four  years'  fighting  in  courts  followed  criminations, 
prosecutions,  and  suits  over  titles,  leaving  matiXTS 
exactly  where  they  were  originally.  The  adventurers 
into  Hudson  Bay  still  held  Rupert  Land,  and  the 
Northwest  Company  still  disputed  their  ligl.'t  to  ex- 
<;lusive  trade,  and  still  carried  off  the  larger  part  of 
the  peltries.  Over  fifty  thousand  pounds  sterling  were 
spent  by  each  company  in  these  litigations;  after 
which  unsatisfactory  attcm[)t^  to  achieve  the  ulti- 
mate, both  at  force  and  at  law,  negotiations  followed. 
By  the  deed-poll  statute  of  the  2Gth  of  :March  1821, 
the  trade  was  to  be  carried  on  exclusively  in  the  name 
of  the  adventurers  of  England  trading  into  Hudson 


I  • ! 


682 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 


Bay,  and  bj  that  of  the  6th  of  July  1834,  an  attempt 
was  made  still  further  to  regulate  the  trade  in  furs 
t^  ..ghout  tho  territory  and  diffuse  the  duties  of  em- 
ploycrs.  Notwithstanding  which,  after  much  suffer- 
ing the  colony  at  Red  River  ultimately  prospered. 
Churches  and  academies  were  built,  and  close  beside 
them  jails ;  and  law,  learning,  and  religion  were  thus 
administered  to  multitudes  of  the  fur-hunters'  half- 
savage  offspring. 

Steadily  all  this  time  the  Northwest  Company  had 
extended  its  cordon  into  and  to  the  westward  of  tho 
mountains,  particulars  of  which  extension  will  be  given 
in  their  proper  place.  Old  Establishment  on  Peace 
River  was  built  by  Mr  Pond  in  1778-9.  No  other 
fort  was  built  in  that  region  until  1785. 

Fort  Chipewyan,  on  Athabasca  Lake,  was  one  of 
the  most  important  posts  of  the  Northwest  Company. 
Thence  Alexander  Mackenzie  took  his  departure  in 
both  of  his  expeditions.  Two  months  were  occupied 
in  bringing  goods  from  the  Grand  Portage  to  this^ 
place.  Often  one  hundred  men  would  winter  there, 
dependent  for  their  sustenance  wholly  upon  such  fish 
as  they  could  catch.  Prior  to  1782,  the  natives  round 
Athabasca  used  to  go  to  Fort  Churchill  to  trade,  but 
the  hardships  they  experienced  on  the  way  more  than 
offset  the  higher  price  obtained  for  their  furs.  In  1 8  2 1 , 
the  Northwest  Company's  force  between  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  Pacific  numbered  three  hundred.'* 

In  other  places  than  at  Red  River,  with  greater 
or  less  intensity  at  various  times,  hostilities  raged  be- 
tween the  two  companies  until  negotiations  for  peace 
were  instituted."  Alexander  Mackenzie  pointed  out 
the  advantage  of  union  as  early  as  1801,  which,  had 

^^Boitchette'g  Brit.  Dom.,  i.  15:  Mackenzie^  Voy.,  Ixxxvii. ;  Boston  Tran- 
vrript.  May  25,  1S57. 

''Tliis  ui  1820.  'It  is  not  the  dread  of  the  Indians,  but  of  one  another, 
that  has  brought  the  rival  companies  so  close  togetlier  at  every  trading-post; 
each  party  seeking  to  prevent  the  other  from  engaging  tho  affections  or  the 
natives,  and  monopolizing  tho  trade.  Whenever  a  settlement  is  mode  by 
the  one,  the  other  immediately  follows,  without  considering  the  eligibility  of 


fp 


tston  Tran- 


UNION  OF  THE  COMPANIES.  ail 

it  then  been  concluded,  would  have  saved  great  loss  of 
life  and  property,  besides  a  general  demoralization 
of  the  trade. 

Both  companies  possessed  such  international  rights 
as  they  had  the  strength  to  maintain.  The  Huds«Mi's 
Bay  Company  might  plead  their  charter,  but  as  they 
had  failed  to  fulfil  its  conditions  their  better  claim 
was  prior  possession.  This  likewise  was  the  title  of 
the  Northwest  Company  to  the  territory  claimed  by 
them,  derived,  through  the  conquest  of  1759,  from 
the  French  discoverers  and  colonizers  of  the  country. 
At  one  time  negotiations  were  entered  upon  for  the 
sale  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  the  Northwest 
Company.  In  1804  Edward  Ellice,  then  a  partner  in 
the  Northwest  Company,  offered  Sir  Richard  Neave, 
governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Companyj  £103,000 
for  the  whole  concern,  that  being  the  capital  stock  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  that  time.  But  part 
of  the  stock  being  the  property  of  minors,  the  bar- 
gain was  not  consummated." 

In  June  1819  the  question  of  rivalries  and  existing 
disputes  between  the  Northwest  and  Hudson's  Bay 
Companies  was  brought  before  the  British  parliament. 
Later  by  interposition  of  the  ministry,  a  compromiso 
was  effected  and  the  two  companies  merged  into  one. 
In  conjunction  with  this  coalition  an  act  for  regulating 
the  fur- trade  and  establishing  a  criminal  and  civil 
jurisdiction  in  certain  parts  of  North  America  was 
passed  by  parliament  the  2d  of  July  1821,  which 
consummated  the  union.  The  capital  stock  of  the 
united  association  was  divided  equally  between  the 
late  members  of  the  two  companies,  and  more  "^^laii 
half  of  the  officers  were  secured  by  the  former  y  .li- 
ners of  the  Northwest  Company.  Upon  the  happy 
consummation  of  these  arrangements  a  grant  was 
made  by  the  sovereign  of  Great  Britian  to  the  repre- 

the  place;  for  it  may  injure  its  opponent  though  it  cannot  benefit  itself, 
wliicn  is  the  first  object  of  all  other  commercial  bodies,  but  the  second  of 
the  fur-traders.'  Fraidliii'i  Xar.,  i.  '290. 

^^Ilouae  of  Commons  liept.  Iluihon'.s  Bay  Cuinjxiiiy,  344. 


'!•     'I 


lip"  ""V\ 


' 


884 


THE  NORTHWEST  COMPANY. 


sentatives  of  both  companies,  of  exclusive  trade  for 
twenty-one  years.  The  name  of  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany was  retained  in  preference  to  the  other  by  reason 
of  its  age,  respectability,  and  charter.'® 

"  Simpson,  Life,  46,  says  the  Northwest  Company's  resources  were  well 
nigh  exhausted  by  the  huge  expenses,  particularly  for  legal  processes.  But 
if  this  were  true,  how  could  they  bring  tne  proud  old  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
to  such  humiliating  terms.  See  also  Oreeu/iow^s  Or.  and  Col.,  324-6. 
No  less  were  the  hearts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  turned  toward  recon- 
ciliation by  reason  of  loss  of  dividends.  Says  one:  'The  interests  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  suflfered  so  much  that  between  1800  and  1821  their 
dividends  were  for  the  first  eight  vears  reduced  to  four  per  cent. ,  during  the 
next  six  years  they  could  pay  no  aividend  at  all,  and  for  the  remaining  eight 
years  they  could  only  jmy  four  per  cent.'  BritMi  N.  Am.,  249,  note.  Al- 
though throughout  its  whole  career  the  Northwest  Company  labored  under 
disadvantages,  assuming  risks  and  dangers  which  were  declined  by  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  although  they  paid  their  servants  much  more 
liberally,  and  were  under  many  heavy  expenses  which  their  rival  was  not, 
and  required  a  much  longer  time  in  which  to  turn  their  capital,  yet  by  reason 
of  superior  energy  the  Northwest  Company  made  their  business  more  profita- 
ble than  the  older  and  slower  company.  Sir  George  Simpson,  in  House.  Com- 
moiia  Report  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  87,  laments  the  general  demoralization 
of  Indians  and  whites  arising  from  the  rivalry  between  the  two  companies. 
'  It  was  very  uncertain  for  a  long  time  which  of  them  lost  most  money ;  none 
of  them  gained  money.'  Ellire,  in  House  Commons  Report  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  348-9.  Mr  Finlayson,  Vancouver  Island,  MS.,  84-8,  says  that 
both  companies  were  almost  ruined,  and  that  their  rivalry  tended  to  the 
demoralization  of  the  Indians.  See  also  the  testimony  of  McLoughlin  and 
McDonell  in  House  Commons  Report  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  2C3-6,  283, 
387;  Anderson's  Northwest  Coast,  MS.,  40  et  seq. 


^p 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


EARLIEST   OVERLAND   EXPLORATIONS   NORTH-WESTWARD. 

1640-1786. 

Unknown  North- wests — The  North-west  of  New  France — Champlain — 
BrAboeuf — Mesnard — Allouez— Marquette  and  Joliet — La  Saixk 
AND  Hennepin — Grosseliez  and  Radisson— La  Honian — The  Stoey 
OP  Joseph  la  France — Verendrye,  the  Ftru-HUNTER,  Proposes  to  Fit 
Out  an  Expedition — Character  of  Veuendhye — Governou-general 
BEAniARNAis  Regards  the  Plan  Favorably — Verendrye's  Copart- 
nery AND  Route — Embarkation— Erection  of  Forts— Massacre  at 
Lac  i>l3  Bois  of  Young  Verendrye,  Pere  Anneau,  and  Twenty 
Mi.N — Discovery  of  the  Rocky  Mountains — Verendrye's  Return 
AND  Death — Infamous  Conduct  of  Canadian  Officials —Adven- 
tures 'F  Moncaciit  Ap6 — Carver's  Speculations — Hearne's  Jour- 
ney— Pike's  Expeditions— Long's  Explorations. 

The  term  North-,. est  was  orginally  applied  by 
Spanish,  French,  and  EngHsh  colonists  to  the  unde- 
fined regions  of  North  America  in  the  direction  indi- 
cated. Later,  both  the  United  States  and  Canada 
had  each  within  prescribed  limits  their  North-west 
Territory,  as  the  former  had  its  South-western  Terri- 
tory east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  At  the  close  of 
the  revolution  in  1783  the  country  south  of  lakes 
Huron,  Michigan,  and  Superior,  now  comprising  the 
states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wis- 
consin, was  organized  as  the  North-western  Territory. 

Fifty  years  ago  Canada  called  all  that  portion  of 
her  domain  west  of  Lake  Superior  and  Hudson  Bay, 
except  such  portion  as  belonged  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  the  North-west  Territories.^    As  the  Hud- 

' '  By  the  North  -west  Territories,  is  generally  understood  all  that  portion 
of  country  extending  from  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  westward  to  the  west- 
ern shoren  of  America,  northward  to  tiie  Frozen  Ocean,  and  north-westward  to 

(685) 


I 


! ':    i 


1^ 


il 


586 


EARLIEST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 


•i;3 


son's  Bay  Company  gradually  absorbed  its  lesser 
rivals,  and  from  the  borders  of  its  original  Rupert 
Land  spread  its  dominion  over  all  unoccupied  country, 
naturally  such  territory  took  its  name ;  but  when  m 
1870  the  Hudson  Bay  Territory  passed  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  the  term  of  North- 
west Territories  was  again  applied  to  this  region, 
which  to-day  comprises  all  British  North  America 
except  the  provinces  of  Ontario,  Quebec,  Nova  Sco- 
tia, New  Brunswick,  Newfoundland,  Prince  Edward 
Island,  Manitoba,  and  British  Columbia. 

It  includes  the  surfaces  drained  by  streams  flowing 
into  Hudson  strait  and  bay,  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and 
Lake  Winnipeg. 

The  name  Northwest  Coast  was  given  by  early 
voyagers  to  that  part  of  the  Pacific  seaboard  north 
of  California.  For  the  purposes  of  this  volume  I 
extend  this  designation  from  the  sea-shore  north  of 
the  forty- second  parallel  back  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, excepting  only  Alaska.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
none  of  this  domain  has  ever  come  within  the  appel- 
lation proper  of  the  North-west  Territories  as  it  was 
applied  to  portions  of  their  possessions  east  of  the 
Kocky  Mountains,  both  by  Canada  and  the  United 
States;  nor  would  it  make  any  difference  in  this  con- 
necticii  if  it  had.  Between  the  years  of  1776  and 
1796,  the  white  population  of  the  United  States  over- 
spread her  south-western  territory,  and  from  1795  to 
1804  her  north-western. 

To  the  French  in  the  north,  as  to  the  Spaniards 
in  the  south,  are  due  the  first  attempts  to  traverse 
the  continent  from  east  to  west.  While  yet  in  timid 
bands  Dutch  and  English  fur-hunters  were  percolat- 
ing through  the  chief  Atlantic  range  into  the  valley 

the  limits  of  the  territory  granted  under  the  Hudson's  Bay  charter.  What 
these  limits  actually  are,  has  long  been  a  subject'  of  doubt  and  difficulty ;  and 
created  not  many  years  ago  the  most  inveterate  and  alarming  feuds  between 
the  rival  traders  of  the  north-west  and  Hudson's  Buy,  whidi  led  to  conse- 
quences the  most  disastrous  and  lamentable.'  Bouchctte'n  Erit.  Doni.,  i.  29. 


JE8UIT  MISSIONARIES. 


,.j, 


587 


of  the  Ohio,  whose  sombre  shades,  like  the  Sea  of 
Darkness,  were  filled  with  monstrous  creations  of  the 
fancy;  and  while  the  hypothetical  shores  of  the  South 
Sea  were  thus  receding  from  the  western  base  of  tlieso 
Blue  Mountains,  as  the  Alleghanies  were  then  called, 
observant  Frenchmen  from  Canada  were  quietly  de- 
scending the  Mississippi  and  noting  the  streams,  wliieli, 
flowing  in  from  the  north-west,  told  of  more  continent 
in  that  direction  than  had  ever  yet  been  dreamed  of. 

Aroused  perhaps  by  the  reckless  chivalry  of  Cham- 
plain,  a  kind  of  forest  knight-errantry  broke  out  among 
the  religious  men  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  which  drovo 
fifty  or  more  of  them  from  Quebec  to  welcome  death  in 
the  western  wilds.  It  was  during  their  distant  excur- 
sions that  a  knowledge  of  the  marvellous  lake  system 
leading  westward  was  revealed.  Thus  in  1640,  Vhyo 
Br^boeuf  came  upon  the  Falls  of  Niagara;  in  16G0, 
P^re  Allouez,  dispensing  grace  from  the  same  spot, 
learned  much  from  the  natives  concerning  the  yet  un- 
explored region.  The  Sioux  assured  him  that  their 
lands  extended  northward  to  the  end  of  the  earth, 
while  the  Great  Stinking  Water  bounded  the  nations 
on  the  west. 

Leaving  Michilimackinac,  where  since  1671  he  had 
been  teaching  the  Hurons,  P^re  Marquette,  accom- 
panied by  the  Sieur  Joliet,  in  1673  floated  silently 
down  the  Great  Water,  not  knowing  whither  it  would 
carry  him.  Straight  on  was  the  Mexican  gulf;  but 
it  might  deflect  to  the  east,  and  so  prove  to  be  one 
of  those  streams  found  by  the  English  on  the  coast  of 
Virginia;  or  it  might  turn  to  the  west  and  discharge 
into  the  gulf  of  California,  or  into  the  South  Sea. 
But  when  the  junction  of  the  Missouri  was  reached, 
it  was  then  clearly  evident  that  much  elevated  land 
must  intervene  between  them  and  the  Pacific,  to  send 
so  large  a  body  of  water  toward  them. 

More  than  this,  the  natives  assured  the  two  ex- 
plorers that  beyond  the  sources  of  the  Rivi&re  des  Mis- 
souris,  there  was  another  large  stream  which  flowed 


■i"i 


1 1  i 


1    ■ 

i 
J 

588 


EARLIEST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 


westward.  This  the  missionary  was  sure  found  its 
way  to  the  South  Sea,  and  he  said  God  helping  him 
he  would  find  and  follow  that  river.  In  his  surmise 
Marquette  was  right;  but  death  directed  his  explora- 
tions elsewhere  before  he  was  permitted  to  prove  his 
theory. 

Since  he  was  a  boy  thoughts  of  a  route  from  the 
Laurentian  gulf  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  had  filled  the  mind 
of  La  Salle.  His  factory  near  Montreal  was  called 
La  Chine,  some  said  in  derision,  because  the  proprie- 
tor fancied  it  one  step  on  the  way  to  China.  Hence 
when  M.  Joliet  returned  to  Quebec,  La  Salle  did  not 
hesitate  to  express  the  belief  that  by  ascending  this 
river  Mississippi  instead  of  descending  it,  some  means 
might  be  found  of  reaching  the  western  ocean.  It 
is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  before  undertaking  his 
memorable  journey  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico  La  Salle 
should  despatch  P5re  Hennepin  .to  trace  the  Illinois 
to  the  Mississippi,  and  to  ascend  the  latter  as  high  as 
possible. 

This  the  famous  Recollet  accomplished  in  1680, 
reaching  the  Sault  St  Antoine.''  To  the  westward  of 
Hudson  Bay  in  1682  we  find  Grosseliez  and  Radisson 
discovering  the  rivers  Nelson  and  Churchill. 

Thus  laboring  side  by  side,  piety  and  avarice  slowly 
pushed  back  the  curtain  so  long  obscuring  the  setting 
sun. 

The  temptation  to  romance  about  the  unknown 
regions  was  not  always  withstood.  The  Baron  La 
Hontan  appears  to  have  been  the  Munchausen  of  the 
day.  It  is  as  impossible,  however,  to  write  unadul- 
terated falsehood  as  unadulterated  truth;  hence  we 
may  find  shadows  of  history  in  the  baron's  mythology. 

In  the  account  of  his  pretended  journey  up  the 


"  Father  Hennepin's  piety  was  greater  than  his  veracity.  Notwithstanding 
his  vanity  andlove  of  exaggeration,  hia  Description  de  la  Louiniane,  Paris,  1688, 
contains  much  correct  information,  but  his  NouveUe  dicouverle  d'un  Ms  grand 
jiaya  aitui  dans  Vamirvjue  entre  In  Nouveau  Mexique  H  la  Mer  Olaciale,  Utrecht, 
1697,  in  which  he  professes  to  have  been  the  first  to  descend  the  Mississippi 
to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  was  unmitigated  falsehood. 


^^ 


LIES  OF  LA  HONTAN. 


580 


long  river'  in  1688,  he  speaks  of  meeting  four  slaves 
of  the  Mozeemlek  nation,  whom  lie  at  first  mistook 
for  Spaniards,  as  they  were  clothed  and  had  thick 
bushy  beards. 

Their  country,  of  which  they  gave  a  description, 
illustrated  by  a  map  drawn  on  deerskin,  was  the 
farthest  north  and  west  then  known.  It  lay  beyond 
mountains  "six  leagues  broad,  and  so  high  one  must 
cast  an  infinity  of  windings  and  turnings  before  he 
can  cross  them."  Continuing,  La  Hontan  says:  "  The 
four  slaves  of  that  country  informed  me  that  at  the 
distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  from  the 
place  where  I  then  was,  their  principal  river  empties 
itself  into  a  salt  lake  of  three  hundred  leagues  of  cir- 
cumference, the  mouth  of  which  is  about  two  leagues 
broad;  that  the  lower  part  of  that  river  is  adorned 
with  six  noble  cities,  surrounded  with  stone  cemented 
with  fat  earth;  that  the  houses  of  these  cities  have 
no  roofs,  but  are  open  like  a  platform ...  that  the 
people  of  that  country  made  stuffs,  copper,  axes,  and 
several  other  manufactures."  Again:  "AH  they  could 
say  was,  that  the  great  river  of  that  nation  runs  all 
along  westward,  and  that  the  salt  lake  into  which  it 
falls  is  three  hundred  leagues  in  circumference  and 
thirty  in  breadth,  its  mouth  stretching  a  great  way  to 
the  southward." 

The  people  on  the  lake  called  themselves  Tahug- 

*La  Hontan,  Voy.,  Let.,  xvi.  Obviously  the  story  of  Long  River  is  fiction, 
there  being  no  duch  stream  in  the  locality  named.  Nevertheless  there  is  trutli 
in  it.  The  writer  may  or  may  not  have  made  the  journey  described ;  certainly 
he  did  not  see  all  ho  professes  to  have  seen ;  but  for  all  that  he  may  have  made 
the  excursion,  may  have  ascended  a  stream  which  in  his  narration  is  larger 
and  longer  than  iii  fact.  Other  travellers  before  and  since  have  indulged  in 
exaggeration.  However  this  may  have  been,  certain  it  is  that  some  of  his 
reports  of  the  information  given  him  by  the  natives  bear  internal  evidence  of 
their  truth.  Something  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  known,  and  something 
of  the  great  river  flowing  to  the  west.  Information,  to  some  extent  correct, 
the  L^ar^n  certainly  obtamed  from  some  source,  which  could  have  been  no 
other  than  the  natives.  La  Hontan  was  a  free  tl  inker  and  a  free  writer ; 
hence  he  was  traduced  and  his  works  by  many  were  discredited.  Mr  Oi'an- 
ville  Stuart,  m  Montana,  Hint.  Sac.  Contrib.,  i.  30;i,  expresses  the  opinion  that 
•the  information  concerning  Long  River  which  he  obtained  from  the  Indiana 
referred  to  the  Missouri,  but  that  in  passing  througii  the  many  intervening 
tribes  it  became  greatly  exaggerated.'  Sie  furtlier  North  A7n.  Review,  Jan- 
uary 1839,  p.  97. 


tfi'i  ^i 


!  "f  I  il 


''I 


mo 


EARLIEST  OVERLAND  LXPLORATIONS. 


1  '111 


1  if 


i    i^^ 


ill 


lauks,  and  wore  beards  two  fingers'  breadth  in  length. 
They  were  covered  with  garments  reaching  down  to 
the  knee;  a  sharp-pointed  cap  covered  the  head;  their 
boots  reached  up  to  the  knee,  and  they  carried  a 
tipped  cane  in  their  hands.* 

Are  there  any  of  my  readers  who  desire  yet  more 
absolute  fiction,  they  may  find  it  in  the  El  Dorado  of 
Mathieu  Sdgeau,  who  had  been  with  La  Salle  and 
afterward  went  exploring,  as  he  says,  on  his  own 
account.  With  eleven  Frenchmen  and  two  natives, 
he  ascended  the  Mississippi  one  hundred  and  fifty 
leagues  from  Fort  St  Louis  to  a  cataract  round  whidb 
they  carried  their  canoes  and  proceeded  forty  leagues 
farther.  The  party  now  began  a  hunt  which  lasted  a 
month,  during  which  they  encountered  another  river 
fourteen  leagues  distant  from  the  first  and  flowing 
south-south-west.  Carrying  thither  their  canoes,  they 
descended  this  stream  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues, 
and  found  themselves  amongst  fortified  towns  governed 
by  a  king  claiming  descent  from  Montezuma.  Gold 
was  there  in  greater  abundance  than  ever  it  had  been 
found  in  Mexico  or  Peru,  the  brick  of  the  king's 
apartment  being  made  of  it,  and  the  floor  being  paved 
with  it.  They  saw  a  caravan  of  three  thousand  oxen 
laden  with  gold  depart  on  a  trading  journey  to  a 
neighboring  nation.  The  Frenchmen  were  royally 
received  and  entertained;  any  woman  who  refused 
them  was  punished  by  death.  On  their  way  ttiither 
they  encountered  lions,  tigers,  and  leopards,  which 
offered  them  no  harm.  Much  more  this  rank  impostor 
told,  the  strangest  part  of  all  which  was  that  he 
should  find  fools  to  believe  him. 

*  The  deerskin  map  gives  river,  lake,  and  cities.  The  mountains  referred 
to  were  assuredly  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  and  whether  the  narrative  be  true 
or  false,  this  is  the  first  mention  mode  of  them.  Though  we  call  them  now  a 
thousand  miles  broad  instead  of  six  leagues,  there  are  water-dividing  ridges 
of  less  width  than  that  last  named.  The  river  referred  to  may  have  been  the 
Columbia  or  the  Colorado,  and  the  salt  lake  may  have  been  the  Paciiic  Ooean, 
the  Gulf  of  California,  or  Great  Salt  Lake  of  Utah.  The  houses,  clothes,  and 
beards  of  the  natives  may  have  been  the  huts,  breech-cloths,  and  down  of  the 
Oregon  tribes  pluralized,  or  if  we  imagine  a  distant  reference  to  the  pueblo- 
towns  the  exaggeration  is  less  gi-oss. 


pOMprmSTSBwaRBsr'XWFffl?? 


THK  WESTWARD  WAY  OF  FRENCHMEN. 


091 


As  early  as  1708,  half  a  century  before  France  had 
lost  her  vast  American  domain,  which  toward  the 
north-west  was  then  of  limitless  or  unknown  extent, 
attention  was  directed  toward  explorations  westward 
across  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Some  knowledge  of 
this  had  been  brought  to  the  merchants  of  Montreal 
by  their  agents  trading  in  that  direction,  which  in- 
formation had  been  originally  obtained  from  the 
natives.  It  was  about  this  time  that  M.  Jeremie, 
first  lieutenant  and  afterward  governor  of  Fort  Bour- 
bon, or  as  the  English  called  it  Fort  Factory,  at  the 
mouth  of  Hayes  River,  and  others  made  excursions 
westward. 

Among  the  more  forward  of  the  clergy  to  denounce 
the  pretended  claims  of  La  Ilontan  to  a  journey  up 
Long  River  was  a  learned  priest  named  Babe,  who  on 
the  15th  of  March  171G  wrote  from  Versailles  to 
De  risle,  geographer  to  the  Academy  of  Science  in 
Paris:  "They  tell  me  that  among  the  Scioux  of  the 
Mississippi  ther-e  are  always  Frenchmen  trading ,  that 
the  course  of  the  Mississippi  is  from  north  to  vest, 
and  from  west  to  south;  that  it  is  known  that  toward 
the  source  there  is  in  the  higli  land  a  river  that  !eads 
to  the  Western  Ocean .  .  .  For  the  last  two  years  I  tor- 
mented exceedingly  the  governor-general,  M.  Randot, 
and  M.  Duche  to  endeavor  to  discover  this  c^cean. 
If  I  succeed  as  I  hope  we  shall  have  tidings  before 
three  .years,  and  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  and  the 
consolation  of  having  rendered  a  good  service  to  geog- 
raphy, to  religion,  and  to  the  state."  Babe's  efforts 
were  not  wholly  fruitless,  for  in  1717,  with  a  view  of 
extending  westward  French  explorations,  he  succeeded 
in  having  reestablished  by  Robertel  de  Laudue  the 
post  erected  by  Du  Luth  in  1G78  at  the  head  of  Lake 
Superior. 

When  Crozat  in  1712  obtained  from  the  French 
king  the  monopoly  of  Louisiana  for  fifteen  years,  ho 
looked  forward  not  only  to  the  discovery  of  mines  but 
to  a  lucrative  trade  with  Mexico,  in  both  of  which 


m 


EARLIEST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 


I 


!     I 


he  was  disappointed.  Sieur  Juchereau,  whom  Crozat 
sent  overland  to  Mexico  as  his  commercial  agent,  on 
hi:;  arrival  at  the  city  of  Mexico  was  seized  and  im- 
prisoned by  the  viceroy;  and  although  he  was  subse- 
quently released,  and  kindly  treated,  and  besought  to 
renounce  his  allegian  ^  to  his  country  and  become  a 
Spaniard,  and  was  given  the  fair  Marfa,  daughter  of 
Pedro  de  Velasco,  commander  of  Fort  Jeau,  to  wife, 
with  one  thousand  piastres  as  a  wedding  present,  yet 
on  taking  a  reluctant  and  affectionate  leave  the  vice- 
roy's last  words  were:  "I  can  allow  no  trade  between 
Lousiana  and  Mexico."'  So  that  in  this  direction  the 
westward  way  of  the  Frenchman  was  blocked. 

To  Arthur  Dobbs  on<  Joseph  la  France,  a  half- 
breed,  related  a  stoiy.  t  id  him  at  Fort  Factory  by 
an  old  Home  Indian,  who  about  1726  went  as  he 
affirmed  at  the  head  of  thirty  warriors  "to  make  war 
against  the  Attimospiquais,  Tdte  Plat,  or  Plascotez 
de  Chiens,  a  nation  living  northward  on  the  Western 
Ocean  of  America."  Taking  with  them  their  families, 
they  hunted  and  fished  for  two  winters,  and  the  fol- 
lowing summer  "came  to  the  sea-side  on  the  Western 
Coast,"  where  were  "a  great  many  large  black  fish 
spouting  up  water  in  the  sea."  Constructing  some 
canoes,  they  If  ft  their  families  on  a  little  island  easily 
reached  u  t*  -hei!  the  tide  was  out,  and  coasted 
thr  li  it  three  months  in  search  of  their  enemies, 
t"  iLiieads,  p;  ^ing  meanwhile  a  strait  where  the 

Be  loast  ]py  almost  east  and  west.  Upon  the  bank  of 
a  riv<  r  tb  y  found  a  large  town  of  their  enemies,  which 
with  wh<  op  and  wild  halloo  they  attacked,  routing  the 
inhabitants.  But  when  tl  >  villagers  saw  how  few 
were  their  assailants  they  i  cturned  and  killed  fifteen, 
the  remainder  being  glad  to  escape  with  their  lives. 
Of  these,  while  attempting  to  return,  all  died  save  this 
one  old  man.  Thus  we  sco  how  '•eport';  reach  eas^;ern 
settlers,  of  the  country  be  ond  the  mountains. 

^Charlevoix^a  Nouvelle  France,  iv.  170;  North  Am.  Review,  Juuaary  1839, 
p.  105-6. 


VtRENDRYK'S  KFFORTS. 


003 


Jtuiuary  1830, 


But  not  until  1731  was  any  signal  effort  made  by 
Europeans  to  reach  the  Pacific  overland  IVoni  New 
France.  In  that  year  Pierre  Gauthier  do  Varennes, 
eieur  de  la  Vdrendrye,  who  for  many  years  past  had 
held  commercial  intercourse  with  the  western  aborig- 
inal nations,  left  Lake  Nepigon,  where  since  1728  lie 
had  been  stationed,  and  visited  Quebec  to  consult  the 
government  upon  the  subject  which  had  been  much 
in  his  mind  of  late. 

There  are  some  things  which  simple  energy  will  not 
accomplish,  nor  yet  energy  united  with  ability.  En- 
thusiasm is  necessary,  both  in  the  conception  and  in 
the  achievement  of  great  deeds.  The  explorer  as  well 
as  the  missionary  must  have  in  hint  somewhat  of  the 
stuff  of  which  martyrs  are  made;  something  to  lift  him 
in  a  measure  out  of  himself,  above  the  ordinary  pleas- 
ures and  discomforts  w.hich  constitute  no  small  por- 
tion of  every  man's  life,  and  which  will  enable  him  to 
sacrifice  cheerfully  according  to  the  fervor  of  his  hope 
and  the  worthiness  of  the  object. 

In  the  matter  of  transmontane  exploration,  Vereii- 
drye  was  an  enthusiast.  He  had  thought  of  it  long, 
and  talked  of  it  long,  and  from  him  his  brother  and 
his  two  sons  had  caught  the  inspiration.  Though  a 
fur-trader  in  the  wilderness  of  America,  he  was  of 
gentle  blood  and  much  elevation  of  character.  Tem- 
perate in  forming  plans,  he  was  bold  in  their  execution ; 
of  broad  views,  penetrating  judgment,  and  intrepid 
energy,  it  required  no  small  obstacle  to  turn  him  from 
his  purpose.  And  yet  his  scheuios  were  not  wholly 
free  from  mercenary  motives.  Few  were  in  those 
days,  or  are  even  now.  Ho  was  not  a  religionist,  and 
therefore  made  no  pretensions  to  pious  zeal ;  he  was  a 
dealer  in  skins,  and  if  seized  by  intelligent  aspirations 
sufficient  to  incline  him  to  forego  a  portion  of  his 
profits,  to  take  unwarrantable  risks,  or  even  expend 
the  half  of  his  fortune,  it  did  not  follow  that  he  was 
indifferent  to  the  remainder. 

The  governor-general  of  New  France  at  that  time 

Hist.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    US 


W  II 


T^ 


594 


EARLIEST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 


11 


was  the  Marquis  de  Beauharnais,  a  commodore  in 
the  navy,  an  intelligent  man,  of  generous  and  ambi- 
tioufci  impulses,  and  one  who  had  filled  many  important 
posts,  and  gained  much  distinction  elsewhere  than 
in  America.  When  informed  by  V^rendrye  of  his 
project,  Beauharnais  was  by  no  means  indifferent  to 
the  lustre  that  such  an  expedition,  if  successful,  would 
give  his  administration,  and  as  Vdrendrye  begged 
from  him  nothing,  he  felt  in  duty  bound  to  give  him 
all  he  asked. 

Vdrendrye's  purpose  was  to  form  a  trading  copart- 
nery with  certain  Montreal  merchants  who  should 
furnish  funds  with  which  to  procure  goods  for  barter 
with  the  natives  and  equip  the  expedition.  To  avu^J 
the  territory  of  the  Sioux  he  would  ascend  the  Assini- 
boine  and  Saskatchewan  rivers  instead  of  the  Mis- 
souri, which  otherwise  would  o^er  superior  attractions ; 
thence  he  would  take  nny  stream  he  should  find  flow- 
ing westward  and  follow  it  to  the  Pacific. 

It  was  a  pleasing  plan  to  one  who  knew  nothing 
of  what  he  was  undertaking.  Were  such  a  stream 
there,  and  should  he  find  it;  were  there  no  mountains 
to  cross,  no  cold  to  endure,  no  mouths  to  feed,  no 
hostile  tribes  to  encounter,  he  might  estimate  the 
chances  of  success  more  accurately.  And  yet  Vdren- 
drye  was  experienced  in  forest  affairs,  and  thoroughly 
competent  to  accomplish  any  possibility. 

Having  formed  his  partnerships  and  equipped  his 
expedition,  with  a  small  fleet  of  canoes,  in  company 
with  a  missionary,  Pere  Messager,  he  embarked  for 
Lake  Superior.  Orders  had  been  given  him  by  the 
government  to  take  possession  in  the  king's  name  of 
such  countries  as  he  should  discover,  and  carefully 
to  examine  them  in  order  to  ascertain  the  best  route 
for  connecting  Canada  and  Louisiana  with  the  Pacific 
seaboard. 

As  Vdrendrye  had  kept  himr^olf  free  to  act  as  his 
judgment  should  dictate,  he  now  determined  to  carry 
with  him  as  far  as  possible  toward  the  west  a  line  of 


^"-r 


LINE  OF  FORTS  ERECTED. 


59a 


forts  which  should  enable  him  to  hold  permanent  pos- 
session of  any  country  he  might  discover.  From  Lake 
Superior,  therefore,  he  despatched  part  of  his  force  to 
build  a  fort,  St  Peter,  at  Lac  La  Pluie. 

Then  proceeding  to  the  Lac  des  Bois,  he  erected 
Fort  St  Charles,  but  did  not  complete  it  until  the  fol- 
lowing year.  In  1734  he  established  Fort  Maurepas 
on  the  Winnipeg  River.  Gradually  working  his  way 
westward,  he  examined  the  country  on  every  side,  never 
failing  to  take  formal  possession  whenever  he  planted 
a  fortress.    Thus  several  years  were  occupied. 

Extending  his  circuit,  Verendrye  crossed  lakes 
Dauphin  and  Des  Cignes,  and  ascended  the  Sas- 
katchewan to  its  fork.  He  then  built  Fort  Dauphin 
at  the  head  of  Manitoba  Lake,  and  Fort  do  la  Reino 
at  the  foot.  He  built  Fort  Bourbon  at  the  head  of 
Winnipeg  Lake,  and  Fort  Rouge  on  the  Assiniboine 
at  its  confluonce  with  Red  River. 

From  these  posts  Verendrye  sent  expeditions  under 
his  brother  and  his  sons  northward  and  westward. 
They  found  the  Rocky  Mountains,  found  them  far- 
ther west  than  they  had  supposed,  but  in  vain  they 
sought  there  the  South  ^ea.  Their  efforts  were  not 
unattended  by  dangers.  On  one  island  in  the  Lac 
des  Bois  in  1736  the  youngest  son  of  Vdrendrye 
with  a  Jesuit  named  Anneau  and  twenty  men  were 
massacred  by  a  company  of  Sioux." 

Striking  southward,  ah^ays  seeking  the  Pacific,  in 
1738  Verendrye  entered  the  Mandan  country,  build- 
ing in  October  of  this  year  Fort  La  Reinc  on  the  As- 
siniboine. Proceeding  slowly  up  the  Missouri,  he 
reached  the  Yellowstone  in  1742.  Ascending  the  As- 
siniboine and  taking  the  Mouse  River  trail,  on  the  1st 
of  January  1743  Vurendrye's  eldest  son  and  brother 
found  themselves  face  to  face  with  those  monstrous 
craggy  upheavals  which  sixty  years  lo.ter  unsuccess- 
fully barred  the  progress  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  in  their 
efforts  to  penetrate  the  mysteries  beyond. 

"  The  natives  have  a  tradition  of  this  tragedy,  which  may  be  found,  as 
given  by  Belcourt,  in  Minnesota  Hhst.  Soc,  Annala  1803. 


596 


EARLIEST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 


There  was  little  wisdc"  after  all,  in  thus  attempt- 
ing to  unite  exploration  with  traflfic.  Pursue  traffic, 
and  exploration  attends ;  explore,  and  traffic  follows  at 
its  heels.  There  are  laws  regulating  these  things, 
which  he  who  risks  life  and  fortune  would  do  well  to 
observe.  Yet  this  earnest  Frenchman  was  wise  and 
noble  according  to  his  day.  It  is  very  easy  for  us, 
knowing  the  beyond,  to  point  the  proper  way,  saying 
that  to  explore,  one  should  drop  fort-building  and 
trading,  and  with  a  company  of  tough  reliable  men 
press  rapidly  forward  to  the  end,  and  then  return. 
Whatever  risk  of  life  might  have  attended  such  a 
movement,  the  expense  would  have  been  less.  But 
all  was  as  a  wall  of  darkness  to  this  explorer,  one 
step  into  which  might  plunge  him  to  the  foot  of  a 
precipice. 

As  it  was,  Verendrye  spent  all  his  fortune  and  forty 
thousand  livres  besides.  Then  he  returned  to  Quebec 
and  asked  government  aid,  which  was  denied  him. 
The  truth  is,  there  were  those  who  wished  to  continue 
his  explorations,  availing  themselves  of  his  spent  for- 
tune and  twelve  years  of  effort  without  return,  hoping 
to  reap  the  reward  rightly  his  due.  This  is  the  old 
story  in  pioneering,  whether  in  art,  industry,  letters, 
or  discovery. 

Frowns  are  plentiful  enough  among  disappointed 
associates.  Maurepas  circulated  reports  unfavorable 
to  Vdrendrye's  character,  and  the  latter  was  finally 
induced  to  remit  his  commission  to  Noyelle,  who  pur- 
posed to  continue  the  exploration  in  his  own  name. 
As  a  cheap  reward  for  his  services  to  the  state  thus, 
far,  the  king^  conferred  upon  Vdrendrye  the  order  of 
St  Louis.  Beauharnais,  however,  was  faithful  to  the 
explorer,  as  was  the  governor's  successor,  Galissonibre ; 
and  Vtirendrye  was  about  to  resume  his  undertaking 
when  he  fell  sick  and  died  December  6, 1749.''   Vdren- 

'  Granville  Stuart,  in  Montana,  ffiiit.  Soc.  Contrtb.,  i.  .S16,  surmises  tiic  last 
ramblo  of  the  Vt^remlryes  to  have  been  from  Fort  La  Heine,  on  the  ^Vsaini- 
boine,  up  Mouse  River  and  across  to  the  Missouri,  which  he  touched  just  below 
where  since  was  built  Fort  IJcrthold.     Thence  they  ascended  the  Missouri  to 


■p 


RESULTS  OF  VERENDRYE'S  EFFORTS. 


em 


IS  attempt- 
sue  traffic, 
c  follows  at 
ese  things, 
do  well  to 
IS  wise  and 
asy  for  us, 
svay,  saying 
lilding  and 
eliable  men 
hen  return, 
ded  such  a 
less.     But 
tplorer,  one 
le  foot  of  a 

ne  and  forty 
d  to  Quebec 
denied  him. 
to  continue 
is  spent  for- 
iturn,  hoping 
is  is  the  oltl 
stry,  letters, 

disappointed 
unfavorable 
'  was  finally 
lie,  who  pur- 
^  own  name, 
le  state  thus- 
the  order  of 
ithful  to  the 
3ralissonibre ; 
undertaking 
'49.''   Veren- 

,  Burmises  the  last 
ne,  on  the  Aasini- 
Buched  just  below 
ed  the  Missouri  to 


drye's  son  and  brother  claimed  the  right,  and  very 
justl}'',  to  continue  the  discovery;  but  men  high  in 
office  now  stepped  forward  and  in  the  name  of  prog- 
ress prepared  to  fleece  the  state.  Forming  an  asso- 
ciation composed  of  Jonqui5ro  the  new  governor, 
Breard  the  comptroller  of  marine,  Captain  Lamarquc 
de  Marin,  Le  Gardeur  de  St  Pierre,  and  others,  the 
Intendaut  Bigot  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  it,  and 
setting  all  other  claims  aside  prepared  to  avail  him- 
self of  V^erendrye's  efforts. 

The  scheme  was  for  Marin  to  ascend  the  Missouri 
to  its  source,  cross  the  barriers  which  so  friglitfully 
presented  themselves  to  the  former  explorers,  and 
take  the  first  stream  which  should  present  itself,  and 
follow  it  to  the  Pacific.  St  Pierre  was  to  sot  out  from 
Fort  de  la  Heine,  cross  the  mountains  farther  to  the 
north,  and  join  Marin  at  a  given  latitude  on  the  shore 
of  the  Pacific.  This  project  was  entirely  feasible, 
being  practically  what  both  Mackenzie  and  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  though  at  different  dates,  and  without  acting 
conjointly,  successfully  accomplished  later. 

But  mercenary  motives  interfered  and  crushed  what 
otherwise  might  have  })roducod  tlie  grandest  results. 
Once  fairly  embarked,  with  the  puhHc  treasury  to  draw 
upon,  these  political  explorers  paused  in  their  direct 
effort  to  traverse  the  continent,  and  eniployctl  the  op- 
portunity for  their  personal  profit,  peltry -gathering  at 
the  eastern  base  of  the  llocky  jNiountains,  where  in 
1752  they  erected  Fort  Jonquiere.  To  their  ever- 
lasting disgrace  be  it  said  that  these  high  officials,  on 
the  wrecked  efforts  of  the  truly  noble  Verendrye,  by 
infamously  diverting  to  tlieir  personal  and  pecuniary 

tuc  gjites  of  the  mountains  near  Helena,  Montana,  the  latof  January  174.1, 
found  them  on  these  mountains,  whence  thoy  passed  up  Deep  or  Smith  River, 
crossed  to  tiie  head  of  the  Musselsliell,  ami  tiien  to  the  Yellowstone,  which 
they  crossed  anil  ascended  Pryor  Fork  and  passed  through  I'lyoi-  (lap  to  the 
Stinking  River,  crossiuy  which  they  continued  soutli  to  Wind  River,  M'here 
the  natives  told  them  of  (Jreen  River  over  the  mountains,  and  of  the  armed 
Iwuida  of  Sioux  waiting  at  tlie  ]iass  io  slay  any  wlio  should  come  from  the 
land  of  their  hereditary  foes  the  Siiosh<ines.  Hence  the  explorers  turned  back 
and  reached  the  Missouri  in  May  1744. 


mT" ^  ' 


«M        EARLIEST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 

profit  the  state  aid  which  they  had  obtained  pro- 
fessedly, as  public  servants,  for  the  advancement  of  a 
laudable  purpose,  divided  large  spoil,  the  governor 
receiving  as  his  share  three  hundred  thousand  francs.® 
"Thus,"  says  M.  Garneau,  "ended  ignobly  a  project 
nobly  conceived,  but  made  almost  abortive  by  injustice 
and  selfishness." 

The  first  exploring  expedition  across  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  thence  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  was 
neither  that  of  Alexander  Mackenzie  nor  yet  that  of 
Lewis  and  Clarke.  It  was  not  performed  by  an  armed 
band  under  the  auspices  of  a  powerful  corporation  or 
by  army  ofPcers  guarded  by  a  posse  of  soldiers.  We 
are  not  even  indebted  to  European  intelligence  or 
progress  for  the  first  account  of  the  Oregon  country. 
Frompted  by  curiosity,  the  stimulant  underlying  all 
advancement,  a  native  of  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
unassisted  and  unattended,  found  the  path  which 
Jefferson's  captains  sixty  years  later,  with  all  their 
government  aid,  encountered  such  laborious  difficulty 
in  following;  for  brains  work  under  red  skins  as  well 
as  under  white. 

While  engaged  in  historical  and  ethnological  in- 
vestigations west  of  the  Mississippi,  M.  Le  Page  du 
Pratz,  a  French  savant,  like  many  another  before 
and  since,  became  interested  in  the  question  of  the 
origin  of  the  Americans,  and  thought  immediately  to 
solve  it.*    To  this  end  wherever  he  went  he  inquired 

^Dobbs'  Hudson^ 8  Bay,  44;  Pierre  Margry,  in  Moniteur  Universel,  Sep- 
tember 14  and  November  1,  1857;  Journal  of  Traveln  performed  in  1742 
by  Chevalier  de  la  Vilrendrije  in  search  of  the  i\'entei'n  Sea,  addressed  to  the 
Marquis  de  lieauharnais ;  F.  X.  Oarneau,  L'llistoire  du  Canada,  tom.  i.  lib. 
vii.  cap.  2;  Smith's  I  list.  Canada;  New  York  Hist.  Mag.,  1859;  Contrih. 
Hist.  Soc.  .Montana,  i.  301-lG;  Parkman's  Old  lUgitne,  227 ;  NeilVa  Dia.  Rocky 
Mountains  in  1743. 

*  M.  Le  Pago  du  Prntz  gi^ea  the  result  of  hia  researches  in  hia  Histoire  de 
la  Louisiane,  published  in  Paris  in  1758.  An  abridged  English  translation  ap- 
poareil  in  London  in  17(>.'<  and  another  in  1 704,  the  former  being  reprinted  in  1774. 
In  these  translations  the  text  is  badly  mutilated.  The  author  resided  fifteen 
years  in  Louisiana,  and  it  is  from  him  that  later  writers  derived  their  fullest 
and  most  reliable  information  respecting  the  Natchez  and  adjacent  peoples. 
Though  somewhat  dilTuse,  like  most  writings  of  that  day,  much  practical  good 
sense  is  displayed  in  these  pages.  The  writer  was  well  acquainted  with  his 
subject,  and  the  wtirk  may  be  considered  reliable. 


1  r 


MONCACHT  APfi. 


599 


for  those  most  familiar  with  tradition,  that  they  might 
tell  him  what  he  wished  to  know.  At  lengtli  among 
the  Natchez  he  encountered  an  ancient  aboriofinal, 
wiser  than  all  the  rest,  who  himself  had  thought  much 
of  the  beginning  of  things,  and  more  particularly  of 
that  time-worn  puzzle  whence  he  and  all  other  men 
had  come.  He  belonged  to  the  nation  of  the  Yazoos, 
and  was  known  to  the  French  as  L'Interpr&te,  because 
he  spoke  many  languages,  but  by  his  own  people  he 
was  called  Moncacht  Ape,  that  is  to  say.  He  who 
Kills  Trouble  and  Fatigue. 

This  sa'^age  was  a  most  remarkable  man,  possessing 
a  most  remarkable  mind.  It  is  a  mistake  to  give 
civilization  all  the  brain-power  of  the  planet.  Not 
less  than  Europe,  America  had  her  arts,  her  letters, 
her  eloquence  and  diplomacy;  not  less  than  the  uni- 
versity, the  forest  has  its  lofty  contemplations,  its 
hungerings  after  higher  intelligence,  its  battlings  with 
black  ijjnorance  and  mental  obscurations. 

Though  struggling  in  the  darkness,  his  love  for  the 
sciences  was  not  less  than  Plato's;  his  thirst  for  the 
enlightenments  of  travel  was  not  exceeded  by  that  of 
Herodotus.^" 

How  shall  we  rate  a  redskin  who,  prompted  alone 
by  the  Avorkings  of  inward  intelligence,  seeks  from 
tradition  to  know  what  has  been,  and  from  what  has 
been  to  determine  what  shall  be?  to  this  end  asking 
first  his  neighbors  who  and  what  they  arc,  then  tribes 
beyond,  until  in  his  eager  thirst  for  knowledge  ho 
travels  from  the  Mississippi  first  to  the  Atlantic,  and 
then  across  the  mountains  to  the  verge  of  the  Pacific. 

"When  I  saw  it,"  exclaims  this  American  Marco 
Polo,  referring  to  his  first  view  of  the  ocean,  "I  was 
so  delighted  that  I  could  not  speak.  My  eyes  were 
too  small  for  my  soul's  case.  The  wind  so  disturbed 
the  great  water,  that  I  thought  the  blows  it  gave 
would  beat  the  land  in  pieces." 

'"  'Je  ne  puis  mieux  le  comparer  qu'i'i  ces  premiers  (Jrecs  qui  voyagcoient 
principalcnient  ilans  rOrient  pour  oxaniiiier  les  moeurs  ut  lew  cofttumcH  dea 
diverges  nations.'  J.c  I'aiji  ihi  Praf:,  //inf.  (!<■  Id  Loiiitium ,  iii.  88. 


600 


EAEUEST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 


The  flux  and  reflux  of  the  tide  greatly  puzzled  him. 
On  the  approach  of  the  water  toward  his  camping- 
place  upon  the  beach  he  fled  in  dismay,  thinking  the 
world  would  be  engulfed.  Reassured,  he  returned; 
and  when  he  saw  the  water  retiring,  so  long  and  so 
intently  did  he  regard  it  that  his  companion  thought 
him  crazed.  In  journeying  toward  the  north  he  ob- 
served the  days  lengthened,  while  in  going  south  they 
shortened.  Asking  the  cause,  none  could  tell  him, 
until  finally  M.  Le  Page  du  Pratz  explained  the  matter 
by  the  aid  of  his  instrument.  Returning  from  the 
east,  his  longings  unsatisfied,  and  having  all  his  life 
heard  that  beyond  the  source  of  the  Missouri  was  the 
cradle  of  his  race,  he  was  hungry,  he  said,  to  see  with 
his  own  e3'es  the  land  whence  came  his  first  fathers; 
hence  he  resolved  upon  a  journey  thither.  Not  later 
than  1745,  Moncacht  Ap(^  crossed  the  Mississippi 
and  spent  the  winter  with  the  Missouris,  who  inhab- 
ited the  banks  of  the  river  which  to-day  bears  their 
name,  near  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi.  There 
ho  learned  the  language  of  the  Kansas,  the  people 
above. 

Embarking  in  a  pirogue  the  following  spring,  he 
began  the  ascent  of  the  Missouri.  At  the  river  and 
country  of  the  Kansas  he  stopped  to  learn  something 
of  the  regions  beyond.  The  Kansas  sought  to  dis- 
courage him  from  so  difficult  and  perilous  a  journey; 
but  when  they  saw  he  was  not  to  be  turned  from  his 
purpose  they  lent  him  every  assistance.  They  di- 
rected him  to  continue  his  course  up  the  great  river 
of  the  Missouri  for  one  moon,  when  he  could  reach 
certain  mountains  exceedingly  high  and  beset  with 
dangers.  Then  he  should  turn  to  the  right  and  pro- 
ceed directly  north,  and  after  several  days'  march  he 
should  come  to  a  river  flowing  toward  the  west. 
This  was  called  the  Beautiful  River,  and  it  flowed 
into  the  great  Western  Ocean."    There  he  would  meet 

"  Under  the  name  Bdle  River,  in  latitude  45°,  north  of  the  Missouri  and 
west  of  the  IkOcky  Mountains,  the  same  stream  with  tributaries  all  flowing 


^1 


ASCENT  OF  THE  MISSOURI. 


601 


Missouri  and 
es  all  flowing 


a  people  called  the  Otters,  who  could  inform  him  how 
to  descend  the  river  in  a  boat. 


Map  of  Le  Page  ucj  Pratz,  1757. 

westward  is  placed  in  the  north-west  corner  of  the  Carte  de.da  Louiaiane 
Cotonie  Frangaue  of  M.  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  dnvwu  iu  Paris  in  ly.")",  of  which 
above  it  is  written:  'Cetto  belle  lliviere  t'st  representee  .sans  noni  dans  la 
Carte  qui  fut  doun^o  par  un  Sauvage  d  M.  de  la  Hontjw).'  I  give  herewith  a 
facsimile  of  that  section  of  the  map. 


I 


'",* 


1;- 

,i  ■ 

:l 


EARLIEST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 


"I  ascended  the  Missouri  for  one  month,"  continues 
Moncacht  Apd,  "and  although  I  had  gone  so  far  I 
did  not  turn  to  the  right  as  they  had  directed  me, 
because  for  some  days  past  I  had  seen  many  moun- 
tains which  I  dare  not  cross  for  fear  of  bhstering  my 
feet,"  While  hesitating,  not  knowing  what  to  do,  he 
presently  saw  a  smoke,  and  thinking  possibly  it  might 
arise  from  a  camp  of  the  Otters,  he  presented  himself 
and  to  his  joy  found  that  it  was  so,  the  camp  consist- 
ing of  some  thirty  men  and  women  bound  eastward 
buffalo-hunting. 

Their  language  Moncacht  Apd  did  not  understand, 
but  he  himself  understood  by  signs.  The  Otters  were 
greatly  surprised  with  him,  and  they  tarried  there 
three  days.  Fortunately  for  the  traveller  it  mean- 
while happened  that  one  of  the  women  complained  of 
illness,  and  her  husband,  in  a  most  un-Indian  manner, 
offered  to  take  her  back  to  their  village.  Moncacht 
Apd  accompanied  them,  and  thus  secured  safe  guid- 
ance over  the  worst  part  of  his  route. 

"We  ascended  the  Missouri,"  he  goes  on  to  say, 
"for  nine  short  days,  when  we  turned  directly  to  the 
north  and  marched  five  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
we  came  upon  a  river  of  beautiful  clear  water,  called 
for  this  reason  the  Beautiful  River." 

Fatigued  and  travel-stained,  the  man  and  woman 
plunged  immediately  into  the  cool  tempting  stream, 
and   signed  their  fellow-traveller   to   follow.     With 

Ehilosophic  caution  he  replied  that  he  needed  bathing 
adly  enough,  but  that  he  was  afraid  of  crocodiles. 
When  informed  that  such  monsters  did  not  infest 
these  northern  waters,  he  bathed  with  pleasure  and 
profit.  Along  the  bank  of  the  Beautiful  River  they 
marched  the  remainder  of  the  day,  when  they  came 
to  a  creek  where  the  hunting  party  had  cached  their 
canoes.  Taking  one  from  the  place  of  concealment, 
the  travellers  embarked,  and  reached  the  village  of  the 
Otters  that  same  night. 

The    fortnight  our    philosopher   spent   with    this 


ADVENTURES  ON  THE  RIVER. 


003 


friendly  couple  was  quite  sufficient  for  him  to  learn 
somewhat  of  their  language;  and  now  that  he  had 
come  among  the  old  men  who  loved  to  teach  he  soon 
knew  it  well.  After  resting  there  some  days  ho  sig- 
nified his  intention  to  depart.  His  new-found  friends 
urged  him  to  prolong  his  stay,  but  his  project  burned 
within  him  and  occupied  his  thoughts  alway. 

As  some  of  the  Otters  were  going  to  smoke  the 
calumet  with  a  kindred  tribe  directly  on  his  route, 
Moncacht  Ape  accompanied  them,  floating  delight- 
fully with  the  stream  for  eighteen  days,  stopping  now 
and  then  to  hunt.  Landing  with  the  Otters  at  the 
village  of  their  friends,  Moncacht  Ape  was  persuaded 
to  go  no  farther  that  season,  because  the  heat  was 
great,  the  grass  high,  and  snakes  to  the  hunter  dan- 
gerous. Moreover,  it  was  necessary  he  should  learn 
the  language  of  the  people  below,"  for  it  so  happened," 
he  says,  "that  with  this  knowledge  I  should  be  able 
to  understand  all  the  nations  which  I  should  find,  even 
to  the  Great  Water  which  is  to  the  west." 

From  the  counsels  of  the  old  men  of  this  nation 
Moncacht  Ape  derived  great  benefit,  and  he  loved 
them,  for  their  heart  was  as  their  mouth  spake. 
When  ready  to  depart  they  placed  him  in  a  canoe  well 
stored  with  pemican  and  everything  necessary  for  his 
comfort,  and  sent  him  happily  on  his  way.  "  I  soon 
arrived,"  continues  the  traveller,  "at  a  small  village 
whose  people  were  astonished  to  see  me  come  alone. 
This  nation  wear  the  hair  long,  and  regard  all  who 
wear  it  short  as  slaves,  cutting  it  in  order  thus  to  dis- 
tinguish them.  The  chief  of  this  nation,  who  found 
me  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  called  to  rae  brusquely, 
'Who  are  you;  whence  do  you  come;  and  what  seek 
you  here  with  your  short  hair?'  I  answered  him,  '  I 
am  Moncacht  Ape;  I  come  from  the  nation  of  the 
Otters;  I  seek  information,  and  I  come  to  you  that 
you  may  give  it  me.  ^Ty  hair  is  short  that  it  may  not 
embarrass  me,  but  nij  heart  is  good.  I  ask  no  food ; 
I  have  still  far  to  go ;  my  right  arm  and  my  bow  are 


I  1 


i  i 


,.i 


604 


EARLIEST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 


always  equal  to  my  necessities.  In  the  winter  I  am 
the  bear  and  lie  dormant ;  in  the  summer  I  am  the 
eagle,  ever  on  the  wing  to  satisfy  my  curiosity.  Should 
you  fear  one  who  comes  alone  and  in  the  day?' " 

Mumbling  that  though  he  came  from  the  nation  of 
the  Otters  ho  was  not  one  of  them,  and  wondering 
how  he  should  know  the  language  of  a  people  he  had 
never  seen,  the  cross  chief  bade  the  stranger  rest  if 
he  would;  but  our  arrant  scholar  now  rose,  slightly 
rampant,  and  would  have  no  sour  hospitality.  Turn- 
ing upon  his  heel  he  growls:  "When  bears  meet  they 
rub  noses;  but  men  speak  rudely."  Then  raising  his 
voice  as  ho  was  about  to  shove  off  he  exclaimed:  "I 
was  charged  by  Salt  Tears  to  see  the  Big  Roebuck." 

Scarcely  were  spoken  these  magic  words  when  out 
from  his  tent  hurried  an  old  man  so  blind  as  to  be  led. 
He  was  the  Big  Roebuck,  and  father  of  the  cross  chief, 
and  he  spoke  to  the  stranger  as  to  his  own  child. 
Seizing  him  by  the  hand  he  took  him  to  his  tent  and 
ordered  thither  all  his  effects  from  the  boat,  and  kept 
him  there  two  days,  telling  him  how  to  conduct  him- 
self Avith  favor  toward  the  people  below.  When 
ready  to  depart  he  pressed  upon  the  traveller  fresh 
food,  and  among  other  things  some  meal  prepared 
from  a  small  grain  smaller  than  the  French  pea,  which 
Moncacht  Apd  was  very  glad  to  get,  as  no  maize  was 
found  in  that  country,  and  he  had  had  only  pulverized 
dried  meat  to  carry  in  his  boat.  In  parting,  the  old 
man  assured  the  stranger  that  to  be  well  received  by 
all  the  nations  thence  to  the  Great  Water,  he  had  but 
to  say  that  the  Big  Roebuck  was  his  friend.  And  so 
he  found  it  to  be.^^ 

'"  M.  Le  Page  du  Pratz  here  questions  Moncacht  Ap6  closely  regarding 
his  route,  and  the  latter  went  carefully  over  the  ground  again.  The  Great 
Water  could  be  nothing  else  than  the  Western  Ocean,  but  tliis  Beautiful 
Kivcr  had  never  before  been  described  to  a  European  by  an  eye-witness. 
Again  he  was  told  that  his  course  was  northward  from  the  Missouri  nation  to 
the  Kansas,  from  the  Kansas  nation  up  the  Missouri  north-west  to  the  Beauti- 
ful River,  which  he  struck  in  going  directly  north  from  the  Missouri,  and  the 
course  of  the  Beautiful  River  was  north-west  to  the  Great  Water.  The  Big 
Roebuck  had  assured  him  that  the  Missouri  and  the  Beautiful  River  flowed 
for  some  distance  parallel  to  each  other.     This  of  course  was  an  error,  as  well 


f 


r 


AT  THE  SEA- SHORE. 


605 


At  each  of  the  nations  below,  Moncacht  Apd  tar- 
ried but  one  day,  so  that  he  shortly  came  to  the 
last,  a  people  one  day's  journey  from  the  Great 
Water,  and  about  a  league  distant  from  the  Beautiful 
River,  who  were  hiding  themselves  in  the  woods  from 
white  bearded  men*'  who  came  every  year  in  a  baric 
for  a  yellow  stinking  \v'ood,  and  to  steal  the  young 
women  for  slaves.  By  this  people  the  traveller  was 
at  once  received  as  a  chief  by  his  own  family,  "because 
they  thought  with  reason  that  one  who  had  seen 
white  men  and  many  nations  should  have  more  mind 
than  one  who  had  never  been  from  home  and  had  seen 
none  but  red  men." 

These  bearded  disturbers  of  their  peace,  the  natives 
further  informed  him,  went  always  clothed,  no  matter 
how  warm  the  weather;  their  weapons  also  made  a 
great  noise  ai  I  sent  forth  fire,  and  they  came  from 
where  the  sun  sets." 

Seeing  that  it  was  the  yellow  wood  which  seemed 
to  bringr  them  there,  folio winjx  the  counsel  of  the  old 
men,  the  people  were  fast  destroying  that  odorous 
attraction,  so  that  they  hoped  in  tinie  they  should  bo 
no  more  molested. 

Exceedingly  curious  to  see  these  white-bearded 
men  who  were  neither  English,  French,  nor  Spanish, 
Moncacht  Apd  entered  heartily  into  a  plan  to  attack 
those  who  should  next  come.     It  was  now  about  the 


as  the  direction  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Columbia,  and  the  general  course  of 
the  latter  to  the  sea.  But  in  view  of  the  riiggedness  of  the  country,  the  wind- 
ings of  mountain  passes,  and  the  twistings  of  streams,  we  can  readily  excuse 
slight  discrepancies  as  to  direction  by  one  without  chart  or  compass,  and  the 
first  to  traverse  this  region  and  return  to  loll  of  it. 

"  'On  me  dit  que  ces  hommes  (Stoieut  blancs,  qu'ils  avoient  une  liarhc 
longue  et  noire  qui  leur  tomboit  sur  la  poitrine ;  qu'ils  paroissoient  gros  ct 
courts,  la  tCte  grosse  et  couverte  d'(5tolfc ;  qu'ils  (jtoient  toujours  habilk's,  monii! 
dans  les  plus  grosses  chaleurs;  que  leurs  habits  tomboient  jusqu'au  milieu 
des  iambes,  qui  6toient  couvertes  ainsi  que  les  pieds  d'(5toffe  rouge  ou  jaunc. ' 
Le.  Page  du  Pratz,  Hist,  de  la  Luuisianc,  iii.  110. 

"  M.  Le  Page  du  Pratz  pronounces  tlie  intruders  Japanese ;  others  think  it 
quite  as  likely  they  were  Russians.  Whatever  is  said  of  them  must  of  course 
be  taken  with  allowance.  The  description  of  their  color,  beard,  and  dress, 
together  with  their  annual  visits,  might  point  toward  Kamchatka,  or  Japan. 
But  as  a  matter  of  fa«t  the  Russians  had  at  this  time  visited  the  coast  but 
once,  and  then  not  below  latitude  50^ 


I  I'M 


i' 


1  < 


606 


EARUEST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS, 


time  of  their  annual  arrival.  All  the  families  in  the 
vicinity  of  their  landing-place  had  retired  from  the 
coast  lest  thair  young  women  should  be  captured. 
Our  hero  had  smelt  gunpowder  and  was  not  afraid. 

Leaving  their  camp  near  the  Beautiful  River  the 
warriors  journeyed  five  days  to  a  point  on  the  coast 
where  were  two  great  rocks,  between  which  emptied 
into  the  sea  a  shallow  stream  on  whose  banks  grew 
the  yellow  wood.  It  was  between  the  two  rocks 
that  the  foreigners  ran  their  vessel  when  they  came 
ashore. 

Seventeen  days  the  warriors  now  waited  the  arrival 
of  their  prey.  All  had  been  arranged  in  council  for 
the  attack.  Presently  they  espied  the  vessel  in  the 
distance,  and  hiding  themselves  they  watched  an 
opportunity  four  days  more.  At  length  two  boats 
containing  thirty  men  put  off  from  the  ship  and  en- 
tered the  little  stream  between  the  rocks.  When  the 
strangers  were  well  scattered  gathering  wood  and 
taking  in  water,  the  natives  fell  upon  them  and  killed 
eleven,  the  rest  escaping. 

Having  slaughtered  the  strangers  like  a  savage, 
Moncacht  Apd  examined  their  dress  and  physique 
like  a  scientist.  The  bodies  were  thick,  short,  and 
very  white ;  the  head  was  heavy,  the  hair  short,  and 
instead  of  hats  they  wore  cloth  wound  round  the 
head.  The  dress  was  neither  of  wool  nor  bark,  but 
of  a  soft  stuff  like  the  old  cotton  shirts  of  Europeans. 
That  which  covered  the  leg  and  foot  was  of  one  piece,  ^' 
Only  two  of  the  dead  had  fire-arms,  with  powder  and 
balls. 

Joining  some  northern  nations  who  had  come  to 
assist  at  the  slaying  of  the  strangers,  Moncacht  Ape 
continued  his  journey  along  the  coast  till  he  reached 
their  village,  when  the  old  men  of  the  place  dis- 
suaded him  from  proceeding  farther,  saying  that  the 
country  beyond  was  cold,  barren,  and  tenantless. 
Therefore  he  returned  to  his  own  people  by  the  route 

''Not  unlike  the  clothing  of  the  Aleuts. 


JONATHAN  CARVER. 


607 


he  went,  having  boon  ulxscnt  on  this  western  tour  fivo 
years." 

It  was  not  long  after  the  journey  of  Moncacht  Ape 
that  Jonathan  Carver,  captain  in  the  British  provin- 
cial army,  made  his  exploration  of  the  intorior  of 
North  America."  Setting  out  from  Boston  in  Juno 
176G,  lie  proceeded  to  Fort  Michilimackinac,  whence 
he  made  excursions  round  the  headwau's  of  the 
Mississippi,  reaching  as  his  farthest  west  a  ^joint  on 
St  Pierre  or  Minnesota  River,  sixty  miles  from  the 
Falls  of  St  Antliony.  There  he  met  a  people  wJiich  he 
designates  as  the  Naudovvessie  nation,  but  who  were 
in  truth  the  Dacotahs,  with  whom  he  remained  seven 
months  studying  tlieir  language  and  learning  of  them 
something  of  tlie  country  to  the  westward.  Of  the 
surrounding  r-egiou  they  drew  for-  him  })lans  with  coal 
on  the  irmer  birch  bark,  which,  though  rude.  Carver 
found  on  verification  to  be  in  the  main  correct. 

'•After  questioning  the  narrator  closely,  M.  Lc  Pagj  du  Pratz  asserts  hi« 
belief  in  the  truth  of  the  story ;  and  indeed  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  it.  Tho 
mountains,  tlvc  river,  and  the  sea  are  there  to-day  as  Moncacht  Ap6  dfscrilKjd 
them ;  and  ht  it  be  remembered,  no  other  person,  white  or  red,  so  far  as 
known,  had  c\'er  before  perfonned  this  journey  between  the  Mississippi  au<l 
the  Pacific  Ocean  by  way  of  the  Columbia  llivcr.  'Lc  bon  sens  que  je  connu 
il  cet  homm(5,' concludes  the  author.  Hist.  >le  la  Lonisiavi',  iii.  137-8,  'cpii 
n'avoit  ni  no  pouvcit  avoir  aucun  interOt  Ix  m'eu  imposer,  me  fit  ajoflter  foi  ii 
tout  ce  qu'il  mo  dit ;  &  jo  ne  puis  me  persuader  autre  chose,  sinon  qu'il  alia  sur 
les  bords  mfimcs  de  la  Mer  du  Snd,  clont  la  partie  la  plus  Septentrionale  pent 
so  nommer,  si  I'ou  vent  mer  do  I'Ouest.  La  Belle  llivicro  qu'il  a  desccuduo 
est  un  fleuve  consid^rabiv",  que  Ton  n'aura  point  do  peine  a  ducouvTcr,  lorsqu'- 
une  fois  on  sera  parvenu  au.c  sources  du  Missouri;  &  jo  ne  doute  point  ([u'une 
semblablc  expc^-dition,  si  elle  etoit  entreprise,  no  lixat  entiu'reinent  nos  idi'^es 
sur  cettc  partie  do  I'Amerique  Septcntrioniilo  &  sur  la  fameuse  Mer  do  I'Ouest 
dont  on  parle  tant  dans  la  Louisiane,  &  dont  il  parott  que  Ton  desira  la  dOcou- 
verte  avec  ardeur. ' 

"Carver  was  bom  in  Connecticut  in  1732,  and  died  in  London  in  1780. 
Owing  to  the  interference  of  government,  the  publication  of  his  book  was 
delayed  ten  years ;  and  although  the  work  ran  through  several  editions  and 
seemed  to  throw  some  light  upon  the  (lueation  of  a  nortli-west  passage,  the 
author  derived  little  benefit  from  it,  and  died  in  poverty  after  having  rendered 
important  services  to  his  country.  The  infonnation  which  it  pretends  to 
contain  is  not  of  the  most  reliable  character.  His  journey  was  neither  dilli- 
cult  nor  important;  liis  description  of  tho  natives  was  taken  from  La  Hontan 
and  Hennepin,  and  his  dissertation  on  the  origin  of  the  Americans  from 
Charlevoix.  'It  is  probable,'  remarks  Mr  W.  F.  Sanders,  Montana,  IHk/. 
Soc.  Contrib.,  i.  301,  'that  from  the  discoveries  of  Vdrendrye  and  his  party. 
Captain  Jonathan  Carver  derived  tho  information  which  enabled  him  to  put 
forth  the  pretentious  but  inaccurate  knowledge  of  the  sources  of  the  four 
greaX  rivers.' 


m 


H'-' 


Wm 


,_  1 


;                ^ 

H 

\  m 

608 


EASLiiiST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 


With  singular  intelligence  they  pointed  to  the 
Rocky  Mountain  region  directly  to  their  west  as  the 
highest  land  upon  the  continent,  from  the  fact  that 
thence  flowed  great  rivers  in  every  direction.*^  There 
were  the  Mississippi,  Carver  .said,  the  River  Bourbon, 
which  we  should  now  call  the  Saskatchewan,  the 
Oregon,  or  River  of  the  West,  and  the  St  Lawrence. 
Substitute  for  the  latter  the  Colorado,  which  makes 
the  observation  all  the  more  striking,  and  the  atsie- 
raent  is  essentially  correct.*®    I  append  Carver's  map. 


"Sujce  which  time  explorers  and  scientists  have  called  attention  to  the 
f;ict  a  score  of  times  at  least,  each  apparently  as  a  first  obsen'er,  when  tlie 
savages  hail  said  as  much  a  hundred  ye.ars  befoi-e  them. 

'"Tills  is  the  first  mention  wo  luive  of  the  word  Oregon.  Carver  mentions 
it  first  in  his  introduction,  p.  jx.,  as  applied  to  the  Columbia,  'that  fallA  into 
the  Pacific  Ocean  at  the  straits  of  Anian. '  On  p.  70  tho  statement  and  word  are 
again  repeated,  and  on  one  of  the  maps,  in  latitude  47°  and  longitude  '.)1>^  west 
from  London  is  placed  a  lake,  shooting  from  which  are  two  short  streams,  and 
tlie  words  '  Heads  of  Origa?!.'    See  NiM.  Or.,  i.  17,  this  series. 


THE  SHININCt  mountains. 


609 


Further  than  this,  the  Dacotahs  tokl  Carver  of 
certain  Shining  Mountains,  which  were  part  of  a  range 
beginning  at  Mexico  and  continuing  northward  oast 
of  Cahfornia,  and  dividing  the  waters  which  flow  into 
the  gulf  of  Mexico  from  those  which  flow  into  the 
gulf  of  California.'"  On  one  of  Carver's  maps  we  lind 
laid  down  in  about  latitude  45"  a  mighty  stream  which 
for  five  hundred  miles  fr-om  its  mouth  is  twice  as  wide 
as  the  Mississippi  in  a  like  location,  and  with  dotted 
banks  and  concinuation,  signifying  that  its  breadth  and 
limits  were  unknown.  It  is  labelled  in  larsje  letters 
River  of  the  West,  and  at  its  moutli  is  mentioned  that 
it  was  discov<ired  by  Aguilar.  South  of  it  is  New 
Albion;  to  the  north  the  straits  of  Anian,  a  limitless 
western  sea  and  the  ]Mountain  of  ]hight  Stones,  which 
blazed  with  variegated  crystals  of  such  exceeding 
brilliancy  as  to  dazzle  beholders,  though  very  far  west 
of  the  continental  ridge  in  which  were  placed  the 
Shining  Mountains. 

Other  wonders  there  were  in  these  undiscovered 
lands  no  less  marvellous  than  the  sea-serpents,  mer- 
maids, and  monsters  on  undiscovered  ocean  throu  n  in 
by  map-makers  to  till  blank  spaces.  Round  the  head- 
waters of  the  ]\Iissouri,  if  ve  may  believe  Car\"cr, 
grew  male  and  female  mandrakes,  that  is  to  say,  a  spe- 
cies of  root  resembling  human  beings  of  both  sexes. 
But  after  America  has  been  obliged  to  make  room  Ibr 
Bacon's  Atlantis,  and  Gulliver  lias  founded  here  his 
kingdom  of  Brobdignag,  we  should  not  be  disturbed 
by  trifles. 

Doubtless  the  Shining  Mountains  of  the  Dacotahs 
were  those  white  domes  rising  from  emerald  forests 

"'  It  wonld  not  do  to  carry  tlie  Rocky  Mountains  too  far  to  the  north  so  us 
to  block  the  Anian  Strait ;  iience  wo  iind  stated,  though  the  ground  for  it  if* 
not  given,  that  'they  appear  to  end  in  about  forty-seven  or  forty-eight  dej^ees 
of  north  latitude,  where  a  numl«;r  of  rivers  arise,  and  empty  themselves,  eitiier- 
into  the  South  Sea,  into  Hudson's  Buy,  or  into  the  watt'rs  tliat  eomnuinicato 
between  these  two  seas.  Among  these  mountain'),  tiiose  that  lie  to  tiio  west 
of  the  River  St  Pierre  are  called  tlio  Shining  Mountains,  from  an  iutinito 
number  of  chrystal  stones  of  aa  amazing  size,  witii  which  they  are  covered, 
and  which,  when  tlie  sun  shines  full  u|k>u  them,  ^wrklc  ao  us  to  be  seen  at  a 
very  great  distance.'  (Vt/ue/'s-  'I'nv  ^',  I'Jl. 
UlBT.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol    I     ;:9 


m 


6W 


EARLIEvST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 


ii\ 


which  greet  the  weary  traveller's  eye  while  yet  far 
away  over  the  billowy  plain,  which  greet  the  mariner's 
earnest  gaze  while  yet  the  shore-line  is  invisible ;  for  we 
are  told  that  the  phosphorescent  waves  of  the  Pacific 
at  night  are  lustrous  under  the  reflection  of  their  glist- 
ening snows. 

To  make  the  tale  complete,  Carver  impregnated 
with  gold  the  Shming  Mountains  of  the  Dacotahs; 
and  here  again  he  was  nearer  right  than  perhaps  he 
himself  suspect  So  plentiful  was  gold  among  the 
pe*!)ple  of  the  Sh...  g  Mountains,  he  had  been  assured, 
t'  ;i!  '■  II. ,•,.!,  fjuir  (•'  ■  onest  utensils  of  it.  ^^  Gold 
•A.—,  vr^i .  ^  Li*',^^.i,  but  deep  hidden  in  the  gorges 
mm4  4ttR<.ult  to  fin<'  Befor*-  gold,  the  soft  warm  cov- 
ering of  beasts  whio;  nkipped  upon  the  surface  was 
destir»ed  to  be  the  attraction.  The  natives  in  that 
vicinity  wore  white,  an  befitted  their  celestial  sur- 
roundings.'^ 

Carver's  object  in  making  his  explorations,  besides 
studying  the  character  and  customs  of  the  natives, 
was  to  traverse  th^  '^//ntinent  and  ascertain  its  breadth 
between  the  forty  »ir.ird  and  forty- sixth  parallels, 
after  which  ho  jnten/k;d  "to  have  proposed  to  gov- 
ernment to  establish  a  post  in  some  of  those  parts 
about  the  Straits  of  Annian,  which  having  been  first 
discovered  by  Sir  Francis  Drake  of  course  l>elong  to 
the  English."  Such  a  course;  would  facilitate  truide 
and  settlement,  and  hasten  the  discovery  of  a  jxissage 
between  Hudson  Bay  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Twice 
did  he  make  the  effort  and  twice  his  plans  proved 
abortive.  In  his  first  attempt  promised  suiJplieH  did 
not  reach  hiirt;  his  second   project,  forruecl  in    1774 

■"  '  Prolmbly  in  future  ages, '  Carver  writes  of  the  Sjiiniug  Mountains, 
Tmi-c/n,  122,  'they  may  be  found  to  contain  ini)re  riches  in  their  Ixtwels  than 
those  of  Indosteu  and  Malabar,  or  that  are  produced  on  the  (Jolden  Coaat  of 
Guinea;  nor  will  I  e.xccpt  oven  the  Peruvian  Mines.'  IJrave  word-i  for  one 
who  might  as  well  have  been  speaking  of  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon  so  far 
us  actual  knowledge  or  even  probability  was  concerned ;  and  yet  this  ro^ror 
was  not  far  wrong. 

''On  the  whole  the  narrative  of  Moneacht  ApC"  is  to  my  mind  far  more 
Dobcr  an.l  consistent,  and  contains  nmch  more  ascertained  truth,  than  any- 
thing Carver  wi-oto  of  matters  bcjond  the  mouutains. 


FROBISHER,  POND,  TURSLEY. 


61 1 


in  conjunction  with  Richard  Whitworth,  a  wealthy 
member  of  parUauient,  was  frustrated  by  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  for  independence.  The  Britisli  gov- 
ernment sanctioned  the  latter  plan,  which  was  to 
ascend  the  Missouri  and  descend  the  Columbia  with 
fifty  men,  and  after  building  a  fort  to  prosecute  dis- 
covery on  the  Pacific. 

Besides  the  natives  there  were  the  fur-hunters  and 
several  French  writers  from  whom  Carver  obtained 
information,  and  whose  accounts,  in  order  to  make  his 
own  appear  more  important,  he  did  not  fail  to  dis- 
parage. On  a  immber  of  the  maps  drawn  about  1750 
we  find  the  cominjLj  Columbia  desiijnated  as  Rio 
Aguilar,  Rio  Thegayo,  and  Great  River  of  the  west, 
also  the  fictitious  Auian  Strait,  and  other  myths 
whence  Carver  derived  his  imaginings. 

For  the  first  overland  journey  by  a  European  from 
the  northern  interior  of  North  America  to  any  sea- 
shore other  than  the  eastern,  we  must  look  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  In  1745  a  reward  of  twenty 
thousand  pounds  was  offered  by  parliament  I'or  the 
discovery  by  any  British  ship  of  a  passage  between 
Hudson  Bay  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This  offer  was 
renewed  in  1776. 

After  a  century- sleep  by  the  Frozen  Sea,  fearful 
lest  others  should  be  before  them  in  the  search  for  a 
northern  passage  which  they  did  not  wish  to  find,  yet 
.satisfied  of  the  non-existence  of  a  navigable  channel, 
in  1760  the  directory  despatched  Samuel  Hearne  on 
a  tour  of  discovery.  Directing  his  course  north-west 
from  Prince  of  Wales  Fort,  on  Churchill  River,  he  made 
it  his  mission  as  well,  in  determining  the  question 
of  a  north-west  passage,  to  search  for  a  rich  deposit  of 
copper  said  by  tlie  natives  to  be  upon  tlie  bank  of  the 
far-off  Metal  River.  After  proceeding  two  hundred 
miles,  Hearne  was  deserted  by  his  guide  and  forced  to 
return.  Early  the  next  year  a  second  attcnpt  wa.s 
made,  which  was  likewise  attended  with  iii  success. 


li 


1  i 
i 


612 


EARLIEST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 


In  December  1770  Hearne  set  out  for  the  third  time, 
and  the  following  year  discovered  the  Great  Slave  and 
other  lakes,  as  well  as  the  Coppermine  River,  and 
crossed  what  he  called  the  Stony  Mountains  to  the 
Northern  Ocean.^ 

It  was  1786  before  the  first  traders  from  Canada 
stood  on  the  banks  of  Peace  River.  Then  little  forts 
sprang  up,  the  Metropolitan  Fort  being  Chipewyan, 
founded  in  1788,  which  was  the  year  in  which  was 
abandoned  the  establishment  on  Elk  or  Athabasca 
River  built  by  Frobishcr  and  Pond  ten  years  previous. 
And  it  was  yet  later  when,  in  1802,  James  Pursley 
with  two  companies  loft  St  Louis  on  a  hunting  ex- 
cursion, and  after  three  years'  wanderings  and  losses 
reached  Santa  Fe,  being  the  first  American  to  cross 
the  plains  to  New  Mexico. 

In  177G  padres  Dominguez  and  Escalante  pene- 
trated from  New  Mexico  to  Utah  Lake  in  the  Great 
Basin.^' 

After  Hearne's  journey  were  the  expeditions  of 
Alexander  Mackenzie  in  1789-03,  and  of  Lewis  and 
Clarke  in  1804-G,  of  which  I  fully  treat  hereafter. 

Some  time  before  the  journey  up  the  Missouri  of 
Lewis  and  Clarke,  Mr  Fidler  had  made  explorations 
in  that  quarter,  the  results  of  which  were  drawn  on 
Arrowsmith's  map.  The  geography  thus  laid  down 
subsequent  explorers  very  naturally  found  incorrect, 
the  knowledge  of  a  country,  like  the  knowledge  of  any- 
thing else,  being  sometliing  which  cannot  be  achieved 
at  once,  but  must  be  left  to  develoi>  itself  from  small 
beginnings.^"^    I  will  menticv,  hero  out  two  others  of 

^'  Hearne's  journal  was  not  printed  until  !lT95,  r,ha  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
oany  being  in  no  haste  to  make  known  the  naS«re  of  that  territory.  Probably 
it  would  not  have  then  a\jpeared  hatl  not  L*  Ferousc,  who  when  he  t-apturcd 
Fort  Albany  found  there  the  manuscript  of  Hawo,  ^pulated  for  its  publica- 
tion. 

''*  Dominguez  and  Esrulante,  i'mr-r  //'-timftoM^  Egsai  Pol.,  i.  316,  and 
Pacijic  J{.  li.  /?«/><..  xi.  •> 

^^Sco  Li'iris  and  (,'!a-^''s  Travels,  186.  In  Mr  Arrowsmith's  map  is  laid 
down  in  tin:  Rtickj  Mountain  nutge  one  yfii— wt  tnouatain  tuuu-  latitude 
4^"  called  Tho  Tooth.  '  Said  t«  b«  so  MMMmI  t^mu  the  d<r«oo%'«rie3  of  a  Mr 
ndler.' 


9 


riKl-:  AND  LONG. 


0^9 


/.,  i.  316,  and 


the  most  notable  early  (.expeditions  cast  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  which  wen  those  of  Zebulou  Montgomery 
Pike  in  1805-7  and  of  Stephen  H.  liong  in  1819-20. 

Pike  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  army, 
sent  by  his  government  to  explore  the  sources  of  the 
Mississippi  and  establish  friendly  relations  with  the 
nations  whose  territory  liad  lately  come  under  the 
domination  of  the  republic.  Embarking  witli  twenty 
men  from  his  encampment  near  St  Louis  on  the  9th 
of  August  1805,  in  a  keel-boat  seventy  feet  in  length, 
he  ascended  the  Mississippi  to  its  source,  hoisted  the 
United  States  flag,  and  returned  after  an  absence  of 
nearly  nine  months.  The  following  year  he  penetrated 
the  interior  of  Louisiana  on  a  similar  mission.  Arrived 
in  February  1807  at  the  Rio  (Jlrande,  which  he  sup- 
posed to  be  Red  River,  he  was  arrested  by  a  body  of 
Spanish  cavalry  and  taken  to  Chihuahua,  whence  he 
was  sent  home.  The  peak  bearing  his  name,  which 
rises  from  the  gold-fields  of  central  Colorado,  was  first 
seen  by  him  in  180G. 

The  results  of  Pike's  expeditions  were  important. 
Before  this  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  were  not  un- 
known, but  the  river  remained  undiscovered  except  at 
certain  fur-trading  points.  Its  upper  course  had  never 
been  continuously  traced.  He  first  reported  and 
mapped  the  upper  Arkansas,  the  Kansas,  and  the 
sources  of  Platte  River. 

One  can  hardly  realize,  that  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century  the  interior  of  the  North  American 
continent,  now  so  familiar  to  us,  was  less  known  to 
the  world  than  is  to-day  the  heart  of  Africa.  It  is 
true  that  French  fur-traders  had  penetrated  these 
parts,  no  one  knew  whither,  for  they  kept  their  own 
secrets  iuid  cniried  them  to  the  grave.  We  might  in- 
deed except  Du  Pratz,  who  in  his  work  on  Louisiana 
threw  more  light  upon  the  geography  of  this  region 
than  had  any  one  prior  to  the  observations  of  Pike. 
In  return  for  hi-<  important  services  Lieut?  nant  T'lkw 
was    made    general    and   appointed   to   a    commifciiaJ 


614 


EARLIEST  OVERLAND  EXPLORATIONS. 


!:    1 


against  Canada,  but  lost  his  life  in  an  explosion  which 
accidentally  blew  up  the  fort  which  he  occupied.  Full 
of  fortitude  and  humanity  in  his  several  expeditions. 
Lieutenant  Pike  won  the  hearts  of  his  men  by  regard- 
ing their  comforts  and  sharing  their  hardships.  He 
was  far  too  brave  and  high-minded  an  officer  to  treat 
with  unfairness  or  cruelty  the  natives  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact.  He  could  not  do  a  mean  or  inhuman 
act.  With  pride  the  American  historian  may  hand 
his  unblotted  record  to  posterity. 

Major  Long  of  the  United  States  army,  by  order 
of  his  government  left  Pittsburg  in  April  1819,  to 
explore  by  steamboat  the  navigable  waters  of  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Missouri,  and  to  examine  the 
region  '  etweon  the  Mississippi  and  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains for  the  purpose  of  ol^uning  a  more  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  country.  Jeft'ei^son's  instructions 
to  Captain  Lewis  were  recommi ended  to  Major  Long. 
The  expedition  fell  in  with  many  of  the  traders 
of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company,  then  an  institution  of 
that  region.  Making  their  way  up  the  Missouri  and 
camping  for  the  winter  near  Fort  Lisa,  five  miles 
below  Council  Bluffs,  the  expeditionists  there  met 
Messrs  Pilcher,  Fontenelle,  Woods,  Geroni,  and  Im- 
mel,  all  of  the  Missouri  Company.  Major  Long  was 
restricted  in  his  movements  by  straitened  national 
finances,  arid  after  wintering  his  company  at  Council 
Bluflfe,  further  progress  up  the  river  was  arrested  "by 
order  of  the  secretary  of  war.  At  the  same  time, 
however,  was  authorized  a  land  excursion  from  that 
point  to  the  source  of  the  river  Plaxte,  which  was 
made,  tkeir  steamboat,  the  Western  Engineer,  mean- 
while departing  down  the  river.  From  the  base  of  the 
Front  RajQge,  which  deterred  him  from  coming  to  the 
sources  of  the  Platte,  he  turned  back  and  proceeded 
southward  to  the  Arkansas  and  thence  to  the  Missis- 
sippi. 

Minor  expeditions  might  be  mentioned,  such  as 
that  of  Dunbar  and  Hunter  up  the  Washita  River,  a 


REFERENCES. 


G15 


report  of  which  was  ccHnniunicated  to  congress  by  tho 
president  in  1806;  J.  C.  Brown's  survey  uf  a  road 
from  Fort  Osage  to  Taos  in  1825-7;  Richardson's 
survey  between  Little  Rock  and  Fort  Gibson  in  182G, 
and  others;  but  we  must  hasten  on  to  things  wliich 
led  more  directly  toward  our  great  Northwest  beyond 
the  mountains.'"' 

"Pike's  ttccountof  liis  exj)C(litioii8  was  printed  iu  rhiliidclpliiaiii  ISIO.  Ab 
ill  most  works  of  the  kiml,  much  reading  is  necossarj'  in  order  to  olitaiii  a  small 
amount  of  not  very  vftlunl)le  infornuition.  The  account  of  Lons't  expedition 
was  compiled  by  Edwin  James  and  printed  in  two  volumes  in  i'hilad'Iphia, 
1823.  For  further  reference  to  matters  treated  in  this  chapter  may  l..;  men- 
tioned Aim.  (lea  Vol/.,  xvi.  27.1;  Kraiiii'  IHh/.  Or.,  MS.,  l(Mi  7;  liiihmd.ton'a 
Polar  Jlegioiis,  122-7;  Tyiler'x  Ui4.  Jiiicno.,  1415-70;  Kolil'.'i  J/ii^f.  DUnw.,  ii. 
87-07;  Green hmu'f  Or.  and  Cal.,  140,  14(!,  2(50,  2S9,  .'522;  Jmnn's  Astoria,  X>; 
Monette'a  Valley  Miss.,  ii.  .'544;  Tioim'  Or.  Que4.,  4;  Falrom  r'.^  .Miss,  ami  Or., 
passim;  Brit.  N.  Am.,  lt)3-218;  Wines'  E.c.  Or., 'Mo-'XH');  J'Hr/.inau'ti  DLicou. 
of  Great,  Went,  413;  Am.  UeijiMer,  v.  27i>-;iil;  Lewis  and  C/urke's  'I'raveU, 
87-146;  Allen,  in  />.  Bow's  Iml.  Res.,  in.  ,510;  Pwljic  /?.  /{.  Hepnr/.,  xi. 
23-6;  Am.  State  Pafiers,  xiii.  .'51-2,  08-9;  lit.,  Bpecially  referring  to  Carver, 
xviii.  521,  Oil;  fVisconxin  Hist.  Soc,  vi.  220-70;  Wentieurlh's  Mis.,  con- 
taining threads  that  lend  over  the  Rocky  Mountains;  Tucker's  Hist.  Or., 
30-7;  Garden  of  the  World,  17-48;  Xile.s'  Reij.,  vi.,  ix.;  .l/r,s  Victor,  in  West 
Shore,  April  1878.  In  Pacific  Ii.  R.  Reports,  xi.  17,  is  given  a  map  of  North 
America  drawn  in  1795.  In  the  United  States  general  land  otlico  was 
filed  the  2l8t  of  January  1818  a  manuscript  by  Rector  and  RoberdoiU 
showing  the  western  partof  tho  continent  between  latitudes  3.!>"  and  .52'.  The 
mountain  ranges  are  exceeilingly  erratic,  and  excepting  the  hypothetical 
rivers  of  San  Buenaventura  and  Timpanogos  or  Mongos,  all  tho  errors  of  its 
predecessors,  Carver,  Arrowsmith,  Pike,  Lewis  and  Clarke,  and  Humboldt, 
seem  to  have  Ixhui  faithfully  copied.  Piniei/'s  Map  of  North  America,  Phila- 
delphia 1828,  shows  the  Tttpotette  flowing  from  the  north-west  and  emptying 
into  the  Columbia  at  its  conlluence  with  Snake  River;  the  Multnomah  or 
Willamette  flowing  in  from  tho  south-cast,  tho  rivers  Mongos  and  Timpanogos 
both  beginning  at  Lake  Timpanogos  and  dischaiging  into  the  Pacitic,  tho 
former  juKt  below  Cape  Orford  and  tho  latter  below  Capo  Mendocino.  Tho 
Buenaventura  rises  near  the  heatiwaters  of  Snake  River,  flows  into  I^ako 
Salado,  and  thence  proceeds  to  the  bay  of  Sir  Francis  Drake,  where  stands  tho 
presidio  of  San  Francisco.  H.  A.  Homes,  Cat.  and  Norlhiuest  Coast,  traces 
the  growth  of  geographical  knowledge  and  fixes  tho  dates  when  errora  were 
introduced  and  wiped  out  from  tlie  charts.  On  tho  govomment  map  of  1830 
the  Rocky  Mountains  are  also  called  the  Oregon  Mountains.  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc., 
»6th  Cong.,  Sd  Sess.,  H.  Rept.,  No.  830,  p.  28.  In  Wheeler's  Geog.  Survey 
Progress  Report,  1872,  is  a  map  showing  United  States  exploring  routes  from 
that  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  to  date. 


pt^^ 


!     !■ 


CHAPTER  XX. 


PASSES     AND     ROUTES. 

Historical  Consequences  of  the  Position  of  the  Cordilleras — Physical 
Geooraphy  of  the  Mountain  Region  of  the  West— The  Rooky 
Mountain  Passes  between  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  the  Forty-ninth 
Parallel — Passes  through  the  Coast  Range — Through  the  Rocky 
Mountains  between  Latitudes  49°  and  32° — Paths  across  the 
Plateau— The  Sierra  Nevada— San  Bernardino  Mountains — The 
Colorado  Region— Routes  through  Mexico- The  Sierra  Madre — 
The  Eastern  Range — The  Isthmus  and  Central  American  Passes — 
Historical  and  Ethnographic  Significance  of  the  Routes  from 
THE  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific — The  Northwest  Passage- The  North 
American  Situation — Routes  to  Asia  Ethnooilvphically  Consid- 
ered—Historical Conclusions. 


The  various  paths  by  which  successive  emigrations 
overland  reached  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  were  de- 
termined, as  a  matter  of  course,  almost  altogether  by 
the  physical  features  of  the  intervening  barrier.  An 
examination  of  the  character  of  the  several  passes 
seems  therefore  appropriate. 

That  the  Spaniards  first  explored  the  western  coast, 
and  first  settled  in  the  heart  of  the  continental  chain, 
resulted  from  the  fact  that  in  the  latitudes  earliest 
occupied  by  them  the  Atlantic  approached  the  base 
of  the  highland;  while  to  the  westward,  the  Pacific, 
opposite  the  passes  by  which  they  penetrated  the 
range,  was  either  not  remote  or  else  actually  washed 
its  base. 

Nor  was  proximity  the  only  factor  in  the  emigration. 
In  the  north,  where  the  Pacific  slope  was  settled  by 
English,  French,  and  Germans,  the  trend  and  rela- 
tions of  the  river  valleys  were   no  less  significant. 

(616) 


RANOKS  AND  KIVHKS. 


(517 


The  unity  of  the  great  valley  behind  the  Laurentian 
chain,  the  St  Lawrence-Ohio-Mississippi  valley,  the 
key  of  which  was  the  Hudson  River,  cutting  the  way 
through  that  chain,  conii)elled  these  colonists  to  •\d()pt 
a  common  language. 

The  first  explorations  and  settlements  of  Canadians 
on  the  Pacific  coast  were  due  not  merely  to  the 
shorter  distance  from  Hudson  Bay,  but  to  the  fact 
that  a  great  river,  the  Nelson-Saskatchewan,  naviga- 
ble bv  canoes  and  batteaux,  and  in  more  recent  times 
by  steamer  for  the  greater  part  of  its  length,  Uowed 
in  a  direct  course  fi-om  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the 
haven  frequented  by  the,  Atlantic  vessels  at  York 
Factory  on  Hudson  Bay.  Its  headwaters  interlaced 
with  those  of  another  great  river,  the  Peace-Mac- 
kenzie, which  cleft  its  way  through  the  entire  Rocky 
Mountain  chain  by  a  navigable  pass  only  sixteen  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  sea. 

It  may  be  observed  that  the  entire  mountain  region 
of  the  west,  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific, 
is  one  general  system,  the  continuation  of  the  An- 
dean system  of  South  America.  Widening  gradually 
in  northern  Mexico,  Utah,  and  British  Columbia  in 
accordance  with  the  general  widening  of  the  continent, 
it  yet  remains  indissolubly  united  by  its  lofty  inter- 
vening plateau,  while  the  general  altitude  and  the 
complexity  of  the  individual  parallel  or  angling  ranges 
increase  in  proportion  to  the  width,  the  loftiest  snowy 
mountains  being  found  in  latitude  38"  45',  fianking  the 
highest  portion  of  the  plateau. 

When  the  Spaniards  crossed  in  1513-30  and  the 
Californians  in  1849  by  the  Chagres-Panamd  Pass, 
in  latitude  9°  10',  the  altitude  of  the  range  was  only 
two  hundred  and  sixty-two  feet,  and  it  was  a  simple 
range  made  up  of  parallel  ridges  only  forty- eight  miles 
Where  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  s  people 


across. 


crossed  in  1847  by  the  Peel  and  Porcupine  rivers,  in 
latitude  67°  30',  which  pass  leads  from  the  Mackenzie 
to  the  Yukon  Valley,  there  was  a  portage  of  but  fifty 


\'U\ 


\ 


618 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


miles  over  a  rough,  broken  table-land  of  inconsiderable 
altitude.^  Here  the  Rocky  Mountain,  or  eastern 
flanking  range,  subsided  with  the  contracted  plateau 
into  the  slope  of  the  gradual  slope  of  the  Yukon  Val- 
ley toward  the  Bering  Sea  level,  while  the  western 
flanking  range,  still  maintaining  its  individuality,  dis- 
appeared beneath  the  Aleutian  Sea.  In  latitudes  38° 
to  42°  the  width  of  this  mountain  system  is  one  thou- 
sand miles;  in  latitude  60°  it  is  less  than  five  hundred 
miles;  in  Mexico  from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred 
miles. 

The  name  cordillera  came  gradually  into  use  as 
"a  comprehensive  term  for  the  vast  complex  of  ranges 
west  of  the  104th  meridian,  which  are  so  connected 
together  as  to  demand  a  name  which  shall  include  them 
all."^  Hence  the  cordilleran  region,  or  the  cordilleran 
plateau,  embracing  as  it  does  a  territory  so  vast  in 
area,  unique  in  situation,  and  known  to  history  (tnly 
since  1848,  must  be  understood  as  describing  a  grand 
physical  feature  of  the  continent,  as  strongly  idiosyn- 
cratic and  marked  in  its  influence  upon  the  history  of 
the  Pacific  coast  as  the  mining  industries  character- 
istic of  the  latter  region. 

Passing  over  for  the  present  that  series  of  Central 
American  routes  across  the  cordillera  whose  inconsid- 
erable elevation  has  recommended  them  for  lines  of 
interoceanic  canals,  and  of  which  that  of  Tehuantepec 
in  southern  Mexico  is  the  farthest  north,  we  find  in 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  near  the  Mexican  frontier, 
the  next  great  depression,  and  the  lowest  pass  within 
the  boundaries  of  the  United  States.  Here  in  early 
times  the  Spaniards  of  New  Mexico  traversed  the 
cordillera,  locally  termed  the  Sierra  Madre,  to  the 
headwaters  of  the  Gila  in  Arizona,  and  of  the  Yaqui 
in  Mexico,  without  attaining  a  greater  altitude  than 
four  thousand  feet.    This  is  the  most  northerly  of  the 

>  See  an  account  of  the  establi'  iraent  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at 
Fort  Yukon,  by  McMurray,  in  DaU'a  Alaska. 

'Whitney,  m  Walker's  Statistical  Atlas,  1874, 1. 


--.-A.^-^^-  >'■ 


1  !:; 


GOVEUNING  CONDITIONS. 


010 


o  use  as 


J  Company  at 


passes  which  is  not  inoro  or  l(\ss  obstructed  by  winter 
snows.  To  iinil  another  as  low  wo  have  to  journey 
northward  beyond  latitude  4D°.  Mackenzie,  tlie  first 
Enghsh  exi)l()rer  to  the  Pacific,  found  and  traversed 
in  1793  the  lowest  of  them  all,  except  such  as  are 
within  one  hundred  miles  of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  namely 
that  of  the  Peace  liiver,  already  mentioned. 


Routes  Nokth  of  Latitude  49°. 

Returning  now  toward  the  south,  we  will  survey  in 
detail  the  passes  of  the  cordillera,  remarking  the  ruling 
conditions  which  affected  the  migrations  westward, 
whether  for  traffic  or  for  settlement.  Of  the  motives 
for  discovering  a  north-west  passage,  and  the  explora- 
tions of  routes  for  commercial  communication  overland 
by  canoe,  by  wagon,  or  by  railway,  mention  is  made 
in  other  parts  of  this  work.^ 

»//ts(.  Cal.;  HtKt.  Northwest  Coast,  passim;  Hist.  Oregon;  Hist.  Brit.  Co- 
•imiia. 


:\.4 


*^**^. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


11.25 


lu  1^   12.2 

S  144    "" 

u.  ,. 

U    11.6 


^ 


7 


V 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREIT 

WCBSTER.N.Y.  145S0 

(716)  872-4S03 


A 


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ik 


620 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


Porcupine,  or  Peel  River  Pass,  in  latitude  67°  30', 
within  the  Arctic  circle,  and  but  one  hundred  miles 
from  the  Arctic  Ocean,  was  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's northern  highway  to  the  Yukon,  leading  from 
Fort  McPherson,  on  the  Peel  River  branch  of  the 
Mackenzie,  to  La  Pierre  House,  on  the  Porcupine 
branch  of  the  Yukon.  Hearing  from  the  nativea  of 
this  short  and  easy  route  to  the  great  river  of  the  far 
north-west,  McMurray,  a  factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  followed  it  in  1847  and  built  Fort  Yukon. 
The  goods  designed  for  Fort  Yukon  reached  Fort 
McPherson  by  descending  the  Mackenzie  nearly  to  its 
mouth  and  then  ascending  Peel  River.  Thence  they 
were  conveyed  in  winter  a  distance  of  fifty  miles  on 
sledges  to  La  Pierre  House,  and  embarked  on  the 
Porcupine -Yukon  the  following  season.*  Liard  River, 
a  branch  of  the  Mackenzie,  penetrates  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains in  latitude  59°,  but  this  pass  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  used  by  the  fur-traders  to  any  great  extent. 

Peace  River  Pass,  in  latitude  56°,  was  visited  by 
some  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  traders  previous 
to  1792,  for  Mackenzie  remarks  that  Mr  Finlay  had 
been  making  arrangements  for  erecting  a  fort  not  far 
from  the  pass.  Horetzky  in  1872,  and  Selwyn  and 
Macoun  in  1875,  also  explored  this  pass,  Horetzky 
l)lacing  its  altitude  at  sixteen  hundred  feet. 

Pine  River  Pass,  in  latitude  55°  30',  was  examined 
for  railroad  purposes  by  Hunter  in  1877,  and  Smoky 
River  Pass,  m  latitude  54°  30',  by  Jarvis  in  1876. 

Yellowhead,  or  T6te  Jaune  Pass,  known  also  as  the 
Leather,  and  Ja'^per  Pass,  is  situated  in  latitude  53°. 
Its  first  appellation  came  from  an  old  tow -headed 
Indian  who  lived  there,  and  its  other  titles  from  the 
leather  traffic  carried  on  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany between  Jasper  House,  the  Saskatchewan  post 
of  Edmonton,  and  the  Fraser  and  Thompson  posts  of 
forts  George  and  Kamloop. 

This  traffic  began  prooably  about  the  time  the 

*  DcUTt  AUuha,  342. 


ir-n 


YELLOWHEAD  AND  ATHABASCA  PASSES. 


821 


Hudson's  Bay  Company's  head-quarters  on  the  Pa- 
cific were  transferred  from  the  Columbia  to  Van- 
couver Island,  when  their  accustomed  route  across 
the  Rocky  Mountains  via  Kootenais  Pass  was  also 
abandoned  for  one  more  direct. 

A  large  party  of  Canadians  traversed  Yellowhead 
Pass  en  route  for  Cariboo  about  18G2,  and  charactci-- 
ized  it  as  a  natural  roadway.  It  was  also  fully  ex- 
plored and  described  by  Milton  and  Chcadle,"  and 
afterward  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  surveyors. 
During  the  Cariboo  gold  excitement,  and  later,  all  the 
overland  travel  from  Canada  entered  British  Columbia 
by  this  route.  For  some  unexplained  reason,  how- 
ever, Palliser  failed  to  exauiine  this  pass  during  his 
three  years  of  (exploration  for  a  road  through  tho 
Rocky  Mountains  in  1857-D,  thougli  he  scrutinized 
all  the  passes  south  of  it  as  far  as  the  forty-ninth 
parallel,  and  reported  adversely  as  to  the  practica- 
bility of  building  a  road  through  any  pass  in  British 
territory."  Yellowhead  Pass  is  the  key  to  British  Co- 
lumbia, being  situated  at  the  apex  of  the  Columbia- 
Fraser  triangle,  and  within  easy  reach  of  both  liver 
valleys.    Its  altitude  is  tliirty-four  hundred  feet.' 

Athabasca  Pass,  in  latitude  52°  25',  was  first  ex- 
plored by  David  Thompson  in  1810,  when  he  was 
despatched  to  the  Pacific  by  tho  Northwest  Company 
with  a  view  to  anticipate  Astor  in  the  fur-trade.  It 
leads  from  the  source  of  the  Athabasca  along  Whirl- 
pool River  to  the  Big  Bend  of  the  Columbia  at  Boat 
Encampment.  This  was  the  original  route  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  the  mouth  of  the  Colum- 
bia, and  was  travelled  by  them  from  1810  to  the  time 
of  Simpson's  second  journey  in  1840.  The  old  Cana- 
dian cart  trail  from  Winnipeg,  as  laid  down  on  the 

^Northwest  Passage  by  Land.    See  also  Bromi's  Essay. 

•  Palliser  foil  in  with  tho  Bour.dary  Camp  at  Colvillo,  where  ho  was  well 
received,  and  was  led  to  believe  that  au  astronomical  boundary  lino  was  a 
great  mistake. 

'  Speaking  of  it  in  1859,  Pollisor  says :  '  It  has  never  Iwcn  used  except  as  n 
portage'  between  tho  Athabasca  and  Friiscr  rix'cis,  there  being  no  land  route 
connected  with  it. 


022 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


Pacific  Railway  general  map,"  aft«r  reaching  Edmon- 
ton, in  latitude  53°  10',  continues  south-east  toward 
Kootenai  Pass  as  far  as  the  Old  Bow  fork  on  Bow 
River,  a  branch  of  the  South  Saskatchewan,  opposite 
the  Kananaski  Pass,  and  leading  to  and  through  that 
pass  in  latitude  50°  50'. 

B3'  a  detour  the  old  trail  continued  toward  the 
south-east  along  the  base  of  the  mountains  to  the 
boundary  or  South  Kootenai  Pass,  where  another 
cart  trail  from  Winnipeg  reached  the  base  of  the 
mountains  by  a  direct  route  following  the  forty-ninth 
parallel.  Leaving  Winnipeg  by  the  cart  trail,  there 
was  but  one  road  up  the  valley  of  the  Assiniboine  till 
that  stream  turned  to  the  north.  The  boundary  or 
Wood  Mountain  trail  then  left  it,  continuing  its  course 
to  the  westward,  while  the  Edmonton  trail  deflected 
with  the  river  in  a  northerly  and  north-westerly 
direction,  and  crossing  the  water-shed,  followed  the 
valley  of  the  Saskatchewan  to  Edmonton. 

This  Saskatchewan  road,  as  it  may  be  termed, 
derives  great  importance  from  the  fact  that  it  led 
along  one  of  the  principal  water  highways  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  that  of  the  great  Nelson- 
Saskatchewan,  which  flowing  through  the  northern 
end  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  had  its  eastern  terminus  in 
Hudson  Bay,  while  from  its  western  extremity  at 
Edmonton  was  ready  communication  with  the  country 
beyond  tlie  mountains  by  several  different  passes. 

Dunn,  speaking  of  the  Athabasca  Pass  in  1844, 
says  it  was  the  most  frequented  of  all  the  passes 
through  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  was  used  by  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  as  being  comparatively  easy. 
Blakiston  remarks  in  1859:  "Until  the  last  few  years 
it  was  used  regularly  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
for  the  conveyance  of  a  few  furs,  as  well  as  despatches 
and  servants,  from  the  east  side  to  the  Pacific  by 
way  of  the  Columbia  River,  and  from  the  Boat  En- 
campment is  navigable  for  small  craft."    There  was  at 

'Fleming's  Report,  in  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  1877. 


KOOTENAIS  PASS. 


898 


that  time  no  land  route  to  the  westward  in  connection 
with  this  pass. 

The  Athabasca  and  Yellowhead  passes  are  identical 
as  far  as  Henry  House.  The  former  then  continues 
south,  between  two  of  the  highest  mountains  in  Brit- 
ish Columbia,  Mount  Brown  and  Mount  Hooker,  both 
estimated  at  about  sixteen  thousand  feet,  but  neither 
actually  measured. 

From  Henry  House  the  Yellowhead  Pass  has  a  west- 
erly direction,  following  a  branch  of  the  Athabasca  to 
the  extreme  source  of  the  Fraser  in  Cowdung  Lake. 

Howse  Pass,  in  latitude  51"  45',  leading  south  from 
the  source  of  the  North  Saskatchewan  to  the  Black- 
berry branch  of  the  Upper  Columbia,  was  explored 
by  Mr  Moberly  in  1871  for  a  railway  route,  and  at 
first  favorably  considered,  its  elevation  being  forty-five 
hundred  feet,  but  was  subsequently  abandoned  on  ac- 
count of  the  sinuosities  of  its  approaches  and  greater 
altitude  than  the  Yellowhead  Pass. 

The  Kicking  Horse'Pass,  in  latitude  51°  25',  was  so 
called  by  Mr  Hector,  who  examined  it  in  1858  in 
connection  with  Palliser's  expedition.®  He  found  that 
it  led  from  the  source  of  Bow  River  south-west  to  the 
Kicking  Horse  branch  of  the  Upper  Columbia.  The 
expedition  also  traversed  the  Vermilion,  Kananaski, 
and  the  north  and  south  Kootenai  passes.  Of  these 
Hector  explored  the  Vermilion,  which  proved  densely 
wooded  and  much  obstructed  by  fallen  timber,  but 
having  the  advantage  of  a  gra<lual  descent  c.  both 
sides  of  the  water-shed,  was  deemed  remarkably  well 
adapted  for  a  wagon  road.  This  pass  is  in  latitude 
51°  10',  and  leads  from  a  small  branch  near  the  source 
of  Bow  River  south-west,  with  many  windings,  to  the 
Vermilion  branch  of  the  Kootenai  River.  Mean- 
while Palmer  went  through  the  Kananaski  Pass  on 
his  route  to  the  westward,  and  returned  to  the  east- 
ern side  by  the  North  Kootenai  Pass. 

•  Mr  Hoctor  while  in  this  neighborhootl  waa  severely  hurt  by  the  kick  of 
a  hors-1. 


PASSF«  AND  ROUTES. 


Kananaski  Pass,  in  latitude  50°  40',  leads  from  oi\e 
of  the  branches  of  Bow  River  south-west  to  a  branch 
of  the  Kootenai.  The  Indians  informed  Palliser  that 
this  was  "the  place  where  Kananaski  was  stoned  but 
not  killed."  Simpson  and  James  Sinclair  with  a 
party  of  fifty  Red  River  emigrants  passed  througli 
it  to  Oregon  in  1841.  It  was  commonly  used  tor 
the  purpose  of  following  the  valley  of  the  Kootenai 
into  United  States  territory.  On  its  eastern  ascent 
Blakiston  came  upon  the  remains  of  Sinclair's  aban- 
doned wagons.^" 

The  North  Kootenai  Pass,  in  latitude  49°  25',  leada 
from  the  Belly  River  branch  of  the  South  Saskatch- 
ewan south-west,  past  the  sources  of  the  Flathead, 
to  the  Wigwam  branch  of  the  Elk  and  Kootenai 
rivers. 

South  Kootenai  or  Boundary  Pass  crosses  the 
continental  water-shed  a  few  miles  north  of  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel,  from  the  Waterton  branch  of  Belly 
River,  in  a  south-westerly  direction  to  the  valley  of 
Flathead  River,  and  thence  over  another  summit  to 
the  head  of  Tobacco  River,  a  branch  of  the  Kootenai. 

Among  these  passes  through  the  eastern  flanking 
ridge  or  flange  of  the  cordilleran  plateau  in  British 
territory,  that  of  Peace  River  is  the  first  in  importance, 
from  the  fact  that  the  great  river  of  the  eastern  slope 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in  this  latitude,  also  drains 
half  of  the  plateau  west  of  the  axis  of  the  range ;  the 
real  continental  water-shed  at  this  point  being  only  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  axis  of  the  western 
flanking  ridge  or  flange,  and  within  one  hundred  and 
ninety  miles  of  the  sea,  at  the  mouth  of  Skeena  River. 
By  the  Finlay  branch  of  Peace  River  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  had  an  old  travelled  route  to  the  Babine 
branch  of  Skeena  River,  passing  through  the  Omineca 

fold  re^Tfion,  and  crossing   the  water-shed  near  tho 
Julkley  House,  on  Tatla  Lake, 
Scar  jely  second  in  physical  and  strategic  importance 

*'>McDcnald'»  Brit.  Col.,  230-40. 


w 


TS  THE  ALASKAN  RANGES. 


625 


,. 


\h  tlio  YuUowhead  Pass,  on  account  of  the  peculiar 
configuration  of  the  Pacific  slope  in  British  Columbia; 
in  consequence  of  which  it  was  early  ascertained  by 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  surveys,  and  by  common 
consent  admitted  to  be  the  ruling  point  governing  the 
railway  location  to  the  strait  of  Fuca.  Chief  trader 
John  McLeod  as  early  as  1823  learned  from  the 
*  Shinpor'  Indians  of  Thompson  River,  who  sometimes 
went  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  that  in  this  re- 
gion there  was  "a  pass  leading  through  both  ranges."" 
The  following  principal  canoe  portages  and  fur- 
trading  routes  upon  the  plateau  itself,  used  by  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  may  next  be  indicated, 
namely,  the  route  connecting  the  McLeod  branch  of 
Peace  River  with  the  Eraser,  in  latitude  54°  30', 
travelled  by  Mackenzie  in  1793;  and  also  the  Giscomo 
Portage,  in  the  same  vicinity,  mentioned  by  Mackenzie, 
and  subsequently  adopted  as  the  usual  route.  Next, 
the  lake  and  river  chain,  occupying  the  centre  of  the 
plateau,  and  trending  in  the  same  general  direction 
from  the  Fraser  to  Lake  Frances  and  Fort  Pelly 
Banks,  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Yukon,  in  latitude 
62°.  And  lastly,  the  trail  and  portage  from  Deasc 
House,  on  the  Liard  branch  of  the  Mackenzie,  leading 
to  the  Stikeen  River,  not  far  from  the  Cassiar  mines. 

Once  'more,  beginning  at  the  northern  end  of  the 
western  flanking  range  or  flange  of  the  cordilleran 
plateau,  as  we  have  done  on  the  eastern,  it  is  to  be  ob- 
served that  the  passes  south  of  Mount  St  Elias  formed 
the  roads  from  the  Russian  American  sea-coast  to  the 
British  American  interior  even  as  far  south  as  the 
fifty-fifth  parallel,  a  distance  of  five  degrees  of  latitude. 

To  the  north  of  Mount  St  Elias,  or  the  sixtieth 
parallel,  there  was  but  one  broad  channel  of  travel 
and  traffic  this  side  of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  that  of  the 

^^John  McLeod's  Report  on  Indian  Tribes,  quoted  in  M.  McLeod'a  Pence 
River,  1 16.  The  Carilwo-Selkirk  and  the  Kocky  Mountain  ranges  are  hero 
referred  to. 

HiBT.  N.  W.  Co^ST,  Vol.  I.    40 


i    •-.  ■  •  i  I 


.4 


M  PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 

great  Yukon  river  and  valley,  in  latitude  65°,  first 
explored  by  Gldseuof  in  1835.  From  the  facility  of 
communication  by  water  along  this  river  to  La!;o 
Frances,  near  its  source  in  latitude  Gl"  30',  it  i.s  evi- 
dent that  the  northern  interior  plateau  has  been  in 
constant  communication  with  the  coasts  of  Berin;^ 
Sea.  By  the  pass  of  the  Yukon  through  the  Aleutian 
range,  in  latitude  G4°,  canoe  navigation  was  found  so 
little  obstructed  that  in  1849-51  Mr  Campbell,  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  factor  at  Fort  Selkirk,  in 
latitude  03°,  had  his  goods  brought  around  and  up  the 
Yukon  from  the  Mackenzie  via  Porcupine  River 
Pass.  In  this  pass  of  the  Aleutian  range  "the  river 
is  narrow  and  dark,  rurning  with  great  impetuosity, 
though  withott  rapids,  for  many  miles."^''  In  its 
course  of  two  thousand  miles  the  descent  of  the 
Yukon  from  an  altitude  of  two  thousand  feet  is  made 
with  great  regularity. 

Touching  the  features  of  the  north-western  end  of 
the  cordilleran  plateau,  as  a  means  of  communication 
with  Asia,  the  operations  of  the  Russian  American 
extension  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company 
under  Bulkley  in  18G6  are  significant,  he  having 
been  forced  on  and  confined  to  the  easy  plateau 
within  the  extremely  rugged  mountains  of  the  west- 
ern flange. 

The  western  flange  of  the  plateau  has  been  called 
by  various  names.  In  the  north  it  is  known  as  the 
Coast  or  Cascade  Range,  being  the  equivalent  of 
the  Cascade  Mountains  of  Oregon  and  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  of  California, 

In  Mexico  the  eastern  and  western  flanges  are 
both,  at  different  points,  denominated  the  .Sierra 
Madre,  without  much  regard  to  identity  or  system, 
though  that  name  is  most  commonly  applied  to  the 
western  flange. 

From  Mount  St  Elias  to  California  all  the  princi- 
pal rivers  of  the  coast  rise  east  of  the  flange,  on  the 

"Dall't  Alaaka,  501  8. 


"■^^tttu-*; 


•WTS 


THE  COAST  RANGE. 


C'27 


plateau,  cuttin<,'  tlirougli  the  Cascade  ^lountains,  aiul 
forming  passes  aloiij^Mvhich  arc  aiuiunt  ami  tiiiR'-woni 
Indian  trails  that  have  been  followed  and  gen»r:ill\' 
improved  by  the  march  of  civilization.  INiiicipal 
among  these  are  the  Stikeen,  in  latitnde  58  ;  tlio 
Nasse,  in  5G°;  the  Skeena,  in  55°;  the  Salmon,  in  54  ; 
the  Bellacoola,  in  5,'J';  the  Hornathco,  in  51°  30';  tiio 
Fraser,  in  49°  30';  the  Skagit,  in  48°  30';  the  Cohuu- 
bia,  in  4G°;  the  Klamath,  42';  and  the  I'itt,  or  ri)[Hr 
Sacramento  River,  in  latitude  41°.  In  Mexico  the 
two  typical  largo  rivers  are  the  Santiago  and  tlio 
Zacatula,  the  former  in  latitude  21°  30'  and  the  latter 
three  degrees  farthor  south.  In  the  Colorado  rcgio.i, 
though  the  western  ilango  is  broken,  the  Colorado 
itself  has  linked  the  inhabitants  of  Utah  and  Arizona 
with  the  south  and  west. 

While  the  course  of  the  smaller  streams,  including 
their  passage  through  the  flange,  is  generally  south- 
westerly and  at  right  angles  to  the  latter,  that  of  the 
rivers  of  the  first  class  differs  in  a  strange  and  uniform 
manner,  the  Yukon,  Fraser,  Columbia,  Santiago,  and 
Zacatula  persisting  in  curving  to  the  right,  due  west. 
The  four  great  rivers  of  the  west  have  besides  to 
make  long  detours  to  the  north  or  south  in  the  course 
of  their  descent  from  the  plateau. 

Proportionate  to  the  size  of  the  streams  is  the 
altitude  above  the  sea  of  their  respective  passes  or 
erosions  into  the  axis  of  the  western  flange;  varying 
from  less  than  ten  to  three  or  four  hundred  feet. 
Most  of  the  plateau-coast  rivers  have  been  navigated 
precariously  by  canoes,  with  occasional  portages,  in  a 
traffic  which  for  the  time  lacked  a  safer  or  a  better 
road.  Trading  houses  and  towns  were  called  into 
existence  on  the  imier  edge  of  the  Pacific  flange, 
whence  trails  or  roads  were  found  to  have  led  from 
time  immemorial  to  the  more  favored  valleys  of  the 
plateau,  inhabited  by  the  populous  tribes.  Since  the 
advent  of  the  white  men  they  have  led  to  the  first 
known  mining  regions.    "  It  is  useless  to  disguise," 


OM  PASSES  AND  ROUTES, 

says  Butler,  "that  the  Frascr  affords  the  sole  outlet 
from  that  portion  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  lying 
between  the  boundary  line  and  the  fifty-third  parallel 
of  latitude;  and  that  the  Fraser  River  valley  is  one 
so  peculiarly  formed  that  it  would  seem  as  though 
some  superhuman  sword  had  at  a  single  stroke  cut 
through  the  labyrinth  of  mountains  for  a  distance  of 
three  hundred  miles.  "^' 

South  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel,  on  the  eastern  or 
Rocky  Mountain  flange  of  the  plateau,  after  leaving 
Boundary  Pass  we  find  in  latitude  48°  the  Flathead 
Pass.  It  leads  from  a  branch  of  the  Marfa  River, 
a  tributary  of  the  Missouri,  westward  to  Flathead 
Lake,  which  is  merely  an  expansion  of  the  Flathead 
branch  of  Clarke  or  Bitter  Root  fork  of  the  Columbia. 
Flathead  Pass  forms  the  shortest  route  from  the  main 
Missouri  to  the  main  Columbia.  It  was  mentioned 
by  Dunn  among  several  others  as  being  well  known 
to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  servants  in  1843." 

Lewis  and  Clarke  Pass,  in  47°  5',  and  Cadotte  Pass 
are  close  together  and  virtually  the  same.  By  a 
small  branch  they  lead  from  the  main  Missouri  south- 
west, on  two  different  sides  of  a  hill,  to  the  Blackfoot 
branch  of  Clarke  fork.  It  was  first  explored  by  Clarke 
on  his  way  east  from  the  Lewis  and  Clarke  expedi- 
tion in  1806.  MuUan  Pass,  in  latitude  46"  30',  near 
Helena,  Montana,  leads  from  the  Little  Prickly 
branch  of  the  Missouri  south-west  to  the  Hellgate 
tributary  of  Clarke  fork.  Mullan  constructed  a  wagon 
road  through  it  from  the  navigable  waters  of  the 
Missouri  at  Fort  Benton  to  those  of  the  Columbia  at 
Walla  Walla  in  1858-62.  The  Hellgate  Pass  is  near 
it,  a  little  farther  south ;  while  Deer  Lodge  Pass,  also 
in  the  same  vicinity,  leads  from  the  extreme  source  of 
the  same  stream,  in  latitude  46°,  to  Divide  Creek  and 
Fish  Creek,  tributaries  of  the  JeflPerson  fork  of  the 
Missouri. 

•»  Wild  North  Land,  352. 
"jy«n«'tf  Or.,  348. 


F     fl 


mn 


IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


629 


Passes  between  Latitude  49°  and  32*. 


880 


PASSES  AXD  ROUTES. 


From  tlic  Soutli  Platte  TlivtT  at  Julcsburg,  now 
tupped  by  the  lliiittii  Pa(-itic  Railway,  theru  is  an  old 
luilitary  road  which  follows  the  Oregon  oinij^i'ant  route 
alonj^  the  North  Platte  n«)rth-we«»t  to  Fiirt  Laramie, 
viu-re  it  hrancht-,  oil*  and  continues  alcn*^  the  base  of 
the  mountains  to  forts  Fetternian,  llenw,  atid  Kearney, 
and  to  Fort  Smith,  in  the  Yellowstone  basin.  It 
ascendfc.  the  Yellowstone  and  crosses  over  to  Bozen'  »'i. 
and  the  mountain  park  of  the  Missouri,  by  the  Boze- 
man  or  Yellowstone  Pass  through  the  brok..  eastern 
llange  of  the  plateau,  in  latitude  45°  45',  connecting 
by  way  of  Gallatin,  in  the  Upper  Missouri  Valley, 
vith  MuUan  Pass,  at  Helena,  beyond  the  continental 
vater-shed. 

Big  Hole  Mountain  Pass,  in  latitude  45°  38',  leading 
from  the  Big  Hole  or  Wisdom  branch  of  the  Missouri 
north-west  to  the  extreme  source  of  the  Bitter  Root 
or  ( 'larke  fork  of  the  Columbia,  was  the  route 
tin  veiled  by  Lewis  on  his  back-track  from  Oregon  in 
]  >S'  ,  and  was  the  pass  he  may  be  said  to  have  been 
looking  for  on  his  way  west.  It  is  the  natural  route 
from  the  extreme  source  of  the  Missouri  to  the  extreme 
f(Hirce  of  the  Columbia,  though  not  the  most  direct 
nor  the  best. 

Seeking  a  direct  route,  Clarke  led  his  party  west 
across  the  water-shed  from  the  Horse  Plain  branch  of 
the  Jefferson  or  Beaver  Head  fork  of  the  Missouri, 
by  the  Lemhi  Indian  trail,  in  latitude  44°  45',  into 
the  Salmon  River  branch  of  the  valley  of  the 
Columbia.  Not  until  Idaho  and  Montana  were  ex- 
plored and  settled  by  the  prospectors  from  California 
111  18G0-2,  was  there  even  a  local  importance  at- 
tached to  a  passage  to  this  portion  of  the  water-shed, 
anil  it  remained  for  the  completion  of  the  overland 
railway  in  18G9  to  bring  into  prominence  this  and 
other  communications  between  the  parks  of  Montana 
and  the  south. 

The  road  to  the  railway,  leading  from  Helena  up 
Beaver  Head  Valley  via  Bannock,  goes  through  the 


THE  OREGON  EMIGRATIONS. 


031 


into 


i 


snmo  pass  to  Lonihi;  tlu'iicc  it  aHccnds  Raltnoti  Ivivcr 
Vallt-y  throuj,'!!  Coti's  ])ulili',  in  latitmlo  44  iM)',  and 
thenco  continues  to  Fort  Hall  and  to  Coriiinr  ri'i 
]>annock  Ilivor  u;i  '  Malado  liiver  Pass,  tlui.s  pcno- 
tratin^  the  Utah  banin. 

A  more  direct  routo  hetwocii  the  saino  iiltiinato 
points  leave  dio  lioavni  Head  at  the  junction  of 
llorso  Plain  and  lied  Kock  orooks,  and  ascends  the 
Litter  to  the  8or;h-eas»t,  roachiiiL,'  Snake  River  A'alley 
by  a  sin^jle  pass  Ihroujj^h  the  water-shed,  in  latitude 
44^  30',  leading  to  (li.^  head  of  Dry  Creek  near  Pleas- 
ant Valley,  and  thonce  to  Firt  Hall;  another  looj)  of 
t!ie  same  road  taking  in  Virginia  City,  Montjina,  and 
connecting  at  the  ])ass. 

It  was  hy  this  IMeasant  Valley  Pass  that  Montana 
received  the  larger  part  of  her  mining  population, 
mainly  from  California.  It  was  by  Hellgate  River 
that  the  Oregon  and  Idalio  miners  mostly  reerossed 
the  water-shed,  through  the  jMullan,  Hellgate,  and 
iJeer  Lodge  [)a8ses,  to  the  eastern  slope  parks  (if  the 
broken  Rocky  Mountain  ilange  at  the  head  of  the 
Missouri. 

The  Oregon  emigrations  between  1842  and  1 840  fol- 
lowed the  North  Platte  to  Port  Laramie,  anil  entered 
the  Laramie  park  or  plain  by  the  pass  of  that  stream  ' 
through  the  Black  Hills,  in  latitude  42"  30'.  The 
North  Platte  changes  its  name  to  the  Sweetwater, 
opposite  the  Sweetwater  Mountains,  the  latter  sepa- 
rating it  and  the  old  Oregon  trail  from  the  iiridgcr 
Pah>-,  Holladay  stage  road,  or  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
route  to  the  south  of  it. 

South  Pass,  in  latitude  42°  2G',  leads  from  the 
Sweetwater  branch  of  the  North  Platte  west  to  the 
Big  Sandy  branch  of  Green  River,  the  main  Colo- 
rado, attaining  an  altitude  of  7489  feet.  ]3onneville 
was  probably  the  first  to  draw  the  attention  of  the 
civilized  world  to  the  merits  of  this  pass  through 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  having  obtained  his  informa- 
tion originally  from  the  French  or  Canadian  trap- 


I 


tta 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


pera  of  St  Louis,  and  having  explored  it  personally 
m  1832." 

At  this  point  we  find  the  eastern  flange  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras bent  and  broken  to  such  a  degree  that  the  flat- 
bodded  tertiary  lake  formations,  called  parks,  within 
the  parallel  ridges  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  form  the 
most  elevated  portions  of  the  plateau,  and  along  with 
the  underlying  conformable  cretaceous  beds  furnish 
the  characteristic  scenery  of  the  old  Oregon  and  Cal- 
ifornia emigrant  road  which  unites  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  water-sheds  by  a  nearly  level  road  7000  feet 
above  the  sea. 

From  here  to  Fort  Hall  the  Oregon  emigrant  road 
crossed  the  headwaters  of  the  Colorado  over  level 
country  and  reached  the  upper  waters  of  Snake  River 
by  a  short  journey  through  the  somewhat  hilly  coun- 
try formed  by  the  northern  extension  and  breaking 
down  of  the  Wahsatch  Mountains,  of  older  rock. 
Leaving  Green  River  behind,  the  road  followed  up 
the  Piney  Creek  and  struck  westward  through  Thomp- 
son Pass,  in  the  hills  just  mentioned,  to  the  Salt  River 
branch  of  Snake  River. 

Frdmont  in  1842-3,  Stansbury  in  1849,and  Hayden, 
King,  and  Wheeler's  surveys  since  1872,  surveyed  and 
mapped  not  only  the  old  Oregon  road,  but  the  entire 
region  north  and  south  of  its  intersection  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region  over  several  degrees  of  latitude. 

The  emigrant  pass  through  the  Blue  Mountains  of 
eastern  Oregon,  in  latitude  45°  20',  was  more  formi- 
dable both  in  the  matter  of  abruptness  and  in  being 
obstructed  by  forest  growth.  It  ascended  the  Grand 
Ronde  tributary  of  Snake  River  from  Grand  Ronde 
Valley  north-west  to  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Uma- 

li  Bonneville's  adventures  from  South  Pass  as  a  centre  began  in  1832,  and 
were  publislied  by  Irving  in  1843.  Ho  was  the  iiist  to  recognize  (ireen  River 
as  identical  with  the  Colora<lo,  and  tlie  first  to  discover  the  character  of  the 
'Utah  Basin,' its  being  without  outlet  to  the  sea.  Dunn,  Or.,  348,  said  in 
1843  that  a  ^ass  '  whicli  is  very  important  lies  between  Long's  Mountains  and 
the  Wind  Rn-er  Mountains.' 


STAGE  AND  RAILWAY. 


tm 


tilla  River,  and  was  followed  and  delineated  as  far  as 
the  Dalles  by  Frdmont  in  1843. 

Bridger  Pass,  in  latitude  41°  3G',  was  south  of  the 
Sweetwater  Mountains,  and  like  the  old  Sweetwater 
road  ran  parallel  thereto  in  an  east  and  west  course, 
leading  from  the  elbow  of  the  North  Platte  north- 
west over  Laramie  plains  and  the  continental  water- 
shed to  the  Bitter  Creek  branch  of  Green  liiver.  In 
this  tertiary  region  of  the  Laramie  Plains  and  of 
Green  River,  Holladay's  overland  stages,  and  subse- 
quently the  Union  Pacific  Railway,  crossed  the  con- 
tinental water-shed  many  miles  west  of  the  axis  of  the 
eastern  flange. 

Holladay's  stage  road,  constructed  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  the  United  States  mails  at  a  rapid  rate 
by  a  continuous  night  and  day  travel  to  Calilnrnia, 
after  the  state  attained  its  full  importance  in  1850-GO, 
entered  the  Rocky  Mountains  from  St  Vrain  Fort, 
near  Denver,  through  the  Antelope  Pass  in  the  Black 
Hills,  a  defile  cut  by  the  Cache  ii  Poudre  tributary 
of  the  South  Platte,  and  then  proceeded  west  across 
the  Laramie  park,  or  plains,  to  Bridger  Pass. 

When  the  railway  army  reached  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains in  the  autumn  of  18G7,  the  rails  were  laid  along 
the  Lodge  Pole  branch,  intermediately  between  the 
North  and  South  Platte,  as  far  as  Cheyenne,  whence 
the  engineers  struck  due  west  through  the  Black  Hills 
by  a  direct  route  through  one  of  the  Cheyenne  passes. 
Emerging  on  the  Laramie  Plains,  between  the  emi- 
grant road  and  the  overland  stage  route,  the  railway 
followed  the  course  of  the  latter,  traversing  the  same 
tertiary  lake  region  over  the  continental  water-shed 
near  Bridger  Pass,  and  over  the  main  tributary  of  the 
Colorado  near  the  Green  River  ferry.  Instead  of 
crossing  the  Wahsatch  with  the  Oregon  emigrant 
road,  however,  in  a  north-westerly  direction  from  the 
Colorado  to  the  Columbia  basin,  both  the  overland 
stage  road  and  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  at  this 
point  kept  to  the  south  or  left  hand,  striking  boldly 


634 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


into  the  heart  of  the  Wahsatch  Range  toward  Weber 
Pass. 

Wober  Pass,  through  the  Wahsatch  Mountains,  in 
latitude  41°  18',  leads  from  the  muddy  fork  of  the 
Green-Colorado  River  near  Fort  Bridger  south-west 
past  the  headwaters  of  Bear  River  to  the  head  of 
Weber  River,  and  along  that  stream  into  the  Great 
Salt  Lake  basin  at  Ogden.  The  western  part  of  the 
Wahsatch  range  is  cut  by  Weber  River  very  nearly 
to  the  level  of  the  Salt  Lake  basin,  or  the  average 
level  of  the  plateau  in  this  latitude;  and  is  made  up, 
like  the  main  ridge  of  what  we  have  called  the  Rocky 
]\Iountain,  or  eastern  flange  of  the  plateau — with  its 
correlative  parallels,  the  Cariboo,  Selkirk,  and  Bitter 
Root  ranges  to  the  north,  and  the  San  Juan,  the 
Mimbres,  and  the  Sierra  Madre  of  Mexico  to  the 
south — of  older  rocks,  antedating  the  existence  of 
the  plateau  itself 

The  California  emigrant  road  of  1843-9  was 
originally  identical  with  the  Oregon  trail  to  Fort 
Hall,  whence  the  California-bound  followed  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Goose  Creek  Mountains,  and  of  the  Goose 
Creek  and  Raft  River  branches  of  Snake  River  to 
the  rim  of  the  Utah  Salt  Lake  basin,  and  by  an  easy 
though  desert  road,  to  the  source  of  the  Humboldt, 
near  Humboldt  Wells.  Jesse  Applegate  in  1846 
guided  Thornton's  party  over  this  route  to  the  Hum- 
boldt, then  known  as  the  Applegate  cut-off  to  Oregon ; 
and  Joel  Palmer  in  1849  conducted  the  newly  ap- 
pointed collector  of  the  port  of  San  Francisco  over 
the  same  route,  taking  in  Fort  Hall. 

When  the  Mormons  settled  Salt  Lake  Valley  in 
1 8 4 7, Weber  Pass  wa.'='  first  sought  out,  since  it  led  from 
South  Pass  to  Salt  Lake  by  a  more  direct  route  than 
the  old  trapper  trail  via  Fort  Hall  had  done;  and  the 
California-bound  emigrants  that  tarried  at  Salt  Lake 
next  sought  the  traverse  from  the  Malade  Valley 
along  the  rim  of  the  basin,  striking  the  old  California 
road  from  Fort  Hall  at  the  source  of  Raft  River, 


SOUTH  PASS. 


035 


anfl  continuinf^  along  it  up  that  stream  and  over  tho 
Humboldt  divide. 


n 


isco  over 


The  South  Pass  tertiary  lakes  having  levelled  the 
road-beds,  graded  the  approaches  to  the  plateau  irom 
the  east,  and  served  by  pack-trail,  by  ox-wagon,  and 
by  railroad,  from  first  to  last,  nearly  all  the  overland 
population  to  the  Pacific  States,  it  is  proper  to  con- 
sider in  this  connection  several  other  of  the  ruling 
])<)ints  that  here  governed  the  movements  of  the  great 


emigrations 


All  the  earlier  fur-t;uding  and  exploring  ex[)edi- 
tioiis  beyond  the  Rocky  jMountains  as  far  south  as 
tliis  latitude  were  governed  by  the  conditions  of  river 
na\igation  by  canoe.  Peace  Iliver  and  the  Saskatch- 
ewan as  well  as  the  Yukon  and  the  Missouri,  with 
their  peculiar  fitness  for  canoe  navigation,  deter- 
mined the  location  of  posts  from  which  the  trade  of 
great  areas  of  plateau  region  could  be  reached  and 
controlled.  Owing  to  the  difliculties  of  canoe  navi<;a- 
tion  on  the  western  slope,  however,  none  but  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  emj)Ioyed  it,  or  made  port- 
ages to  any  extent.  I'oints  of  communication  called 
into  existence  by  these  canoe  passes  or  portages 
were  forts  Edmonton,  Dunvegan,  and  McLeod  on  the 
eastern  slope;  and  forts  George,  James,  Alexander, 
Fraser,  Babine,  Connelly,  and  Shepherd  on  the 
plateau  of  British  Columbia;  with  Dease,  Frances, 
Selkirk,  and  Yukon  in  the  extreme  north.  In  Oregon 
the  Dalles,  Colville,  and  Okanagan;  all  these  with 
the  points  at  the  head  of  canoe  navigation  from  the 
Pacific  on  all  the  streams  flowing  westward,  whether 
small  or  large,  became  the  termini  of  the  land  routes 
running  in  every  direction. 

On  the  land  routes  within  the  limits  governing  their 
objective  points,  grass  and  water  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  stock  became  the  ruling  consideration  in  the 
main,  though  the  absence  or  character  of  the  forests 
had  their  weight  also  iu  determining  the  movemouts 


636  PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 

of  the  masses.  The  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  or 
southern  Pacific  route,  accordingly  failed  to  attract 
many  emigrants.  Among  those  who  went  through 
South  Pass  to  Oregon  only  a  few  could  be  induced  to 
follow  the  Applegate  cut-off  by  the  Nevada  salt  basins 
over  dreary  deserts  for  four  hundred  miles. 

South  Pass  possessed  the  important  advantage  over 
all  other  passes  through  the  Rocky  Mountains  north 
of  New  Mexico  of  being  unobstructed  by  timber.  A 
wide  belt  of  open  country  was  found  by  the  trappers 
to  extend  through  the  range  elsewhere  wooded  here- 
about. 

South  Pass  had  other  strategic  advantages  favora- 
ble to  the  emigration  that  flowed  through  it,  namely, 
the 'three  great  rivers  of  the  western  states  centred 
near  it,  in  the  Wind  River  Mountains,  the  Snake 
leading  to  Oregon,  the  Colorado  and  the  valleys  of 
Utah  leading  south,  while  the  Humboldt  had  cut  a 
road  for  the  emigrants  across  the  plateau  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Sierra  Nevada.  In  this 
respect  it  presents  features  similar  to  those  of  the 
Yellowhead  Pass,  where  the  Columbia,  the  Fraser, 
the  Saskatchewan-Nelson,  and  the  Athabasca-Mac- 
kenzie head  nearly  together. 

Stansbury's  expedition  to  Great  Salt  Lakr  ...  j  849- 
50   delineated   and   mapped  all  the  routes  and  ap- 

f)roaches  to  that  region  from  the  east.  Gore  Pass,  in 
atitude  40°,  is  on  a  more  direct  route  between  Denver, 
on  the  South  Platte,  and  Salt  Lake  City,  by  way  of 
Middle  Park,  White,  and  Uintah  rivers,  and  along  the 
south  side  of  the  Uintah  Mountains  to  Utah  Lake. 
The  pass  proper  leads  from  the  Golden  City  tributary 
of  the  South  Platte  to  the  head  of  the  Bunkara  branch 
of  the  Colorado,  in  the  Middle  Park,  thence  it  crosses 
two  western  spurs  of  the  mountains  to  the  head  of 
Bear  River,  and  thence  to  the  head  of  White  River, 
following  the  latter  down  to  Green  River.^ 


16 


"This  appears  to  have  been  the  route  followed  by  some  of  Famham's 
eompanions  on  their  way  to  Oregon  in  1839. 


T^l 


NEW  MEXICO  AND  ARIZONA. 


637 


izona,  or 
)  attract 
through 
duced  to 
dt  basins 


;age  over 
ns  north 
iber.  A 
trappers 
ed  here- 

s  favora- 

namely, 

centred 

e   Snake 

alleys  of 

ad  cut  a 

from  the 

In  this 

56  of  the 

3  Fraser, 

sca-Mac- 

...  1849- 
and  ap- 
!  Pass,  in 
I  Denver, 
y  way  of 
along  the 
ah  Lake, 
tributary 
ra  branch 
it  crosses 
head  of 
te  River, 


>f  Famham'g 


The  Sangre  de  Cristo  Pass,  in  latitude  37°  3G', 
leads  by  the  road  from  Bent  Fort,  on  the  Arkansas, 
along  the  Hudrfano  branch  of  the  Arkansas  south- 
west to  the  headwaters  of  the  Rio  Grande  at  l<\irt 
Garland,  in  San  Luis  Valley.  From  this  point  there 
are  two  different  routes  to  the  Colorado  River  basin 
by  the  passes  leading  from  the  Rio  Grande:  one  run- 
ning north-west  over  the  San  Juan  Mountains  by  the 
Coochetopa  Pass  to  Grand  River,  surveyed  by  Cox 
in  1858;  another  after  descending  San  Luis  Valley  a 
short  distance  toward  Taos  and  Santa  Fe,'''  connected 
at  Abiquiu,  near  Taos,  with  the  old  Santa  Fe  and 
Los  Angeles  trail. 

The  old  Santa  Fd  and  Los  Angeles  trail  ran  fi'om 
Santa  Fd  north-west,  following  up  the  Chama  branch 
of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  crossed  the  water-shed  near 
the  Calinas  ]\Iountains,  in  latitude  36°  30',  in  a  north- 
westerly direction  to  the  Navajo  tributary  of  the  San 
Juan  branch  of  the  Colorado;  thence  continuing  in  a 
westerly  direction  across  the  Colorado,  near  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Grand,  it  crossed  the  Wahsatch  Mountains 
at  Wahsatch  Pass,  in  latitude  38°  45',  near  Fillmore; 
thence  it  continued  south-west  to  the  Rio  Vi'rgun,  over 
the  Colorado  desert,  and  through  the  San  Bernardino 
Mountains  by  the  Cajon  Pass  to  Los  Angeles.  From 
Santa  Fd  to  the  Colorado  it  was  travelled  and  sur- 
veyed by  Macomb  in  1859;  and  from  California  to 
Utah  Frdmont  followed  and  mapped  it  in  1844. 

From  Missouri  Santa  Fd  was  approached  by  a 
wagon  road  which  left  the  Missouri  at  Independence, 
near  the  junction  of  the  Kansas,  and  striking  south- 
west crossed  the  Arkansas,  reaching  the  base  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  at  Fort  Union,  in  latitude  30°; 
thence  curving  around  the  hills,  it  crossed  the  head- 
waters of  the  Pecos  and  passed  over  the  axis  of  the 
eastern  flange,  a  sharp  little  divide,  in  latitude  33^  28', 
into  the  valley  of  the  u})per  Rio  Grande  at  Santa  Fd. 

From  Bent  Fort,  farther  up  the  Arkansas.  Fort 

"Whitman  and  Lovejoy's  route  in  1842-3.  Lovejoy'a  Portland,  MS.,  21-3. 


■JM'M 


!!! 


Hi! 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 

Union,  on  the  Santa  Fd  road,  was  reached  by  a  road 
over  Raton  Pass,  in  the  spurs  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. 

South  of  Santa  Fd  the  lowness  of  the  eastern  flange 
in  the  Pecos  Mountains  leaves  New  Mexico  all  open 
toward  the  east;  and  it  is  entered  by  numerous  trails 
and  roads  from  all  directions.  Going  west,  however, 
from  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  in  New  Mexico, 
there  are  but  two  principal  roads  in  Arizona,  leading 
respectively  into  the  valley  of  the  Little  Colorado  and 
that  of  the  Gila. 

The  Zuni,  or  Little  Colorado  Pass,  in  latitude  35°, 
is  in  the  Zuni  Mountains,  one  of  the  westerly  paral- 
lels of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  similar,  in  its  relations, 
to  the  Wahsatch  Range,  though  shorter,  lower,  and 
more  broken.  The  Zuni  road  leads  from  Santa  Fo  to 
Alburquerque,  thence  by  the  San  Josd  branch  of  the 
Rio  Grande  west  to  the  Zuiii  branch  of  the  Colorado, 
continuing  down  the  latter  past  the  Zuili  village,  till 
the  river  turns  north-west,  when  it  leaves  it  and  strikes 
south-west  to  Prescott.^^ 

The  Gila  road  by  Apache  Pass,  in  latitude  32°  30', 
crosses  the  continental  water-shed  at  the  Mimbros 
Mountains,  a  local  name  for  another  of  the  short 
broken  parallels  of  the  eastern  flange,  near  Mowry 
City.  This  was  the  old  overland  mail  route,  which 
led  from  Preston,  on  the  Red  River,  by  way  of  Fort 
Belknap,  on  the  Brazos  River,  across  the  Texan 
table-lands,  called  the  Llano  Estacado,  to  the  valley 
of  the  Pecos  i^"  thence  traversing  the  Guadalupe  Pass, 
west  of  the  Pecos,  in  latitude  32°,  and  entering  the 
valley  of  the  Rio  Grande. 

It  crossed  that  stream  at  ]\Iesilla,  and  thence  led 
west  through  barren  hills,,  passing  the  water-shed,  as 
stated,  at  a  lower  altitude  above  the  sea  than  any 
other  of  the  routes  pursued  by  the  emigrants  to  Cali- 

'"This  road  wm  followed  and  sun'eyed  by  Beckwourth  in  1849,  and  by 
Sitgreaves  in  1852. 

'•Surveyed  by  Maroy  in  1849,  and  by  Pope  in  1854. 


SPANISH  TRAILS. 


630 


fornia,  being  nearly  three  thousand  feet  hnver  tlian 
South  Pass.  Here  the  southern  emigrant  road  de- 
scended at  once  into  the  Mexican  salt  lake  basin  of  the 
Rio  Mimbres;  thence  continuing  west  over  the  Colo- 
rado plateau,  it  traversed  the  southern  affluents  of  the 
Gila,  crossed  the  Chiricagui  ]\Iountains,  on  the  })luteau, 
by  Railroad  Pass,  and  penetrating  the  other  parallel 
ranges,  reached  Tucson  near  the  western  llango;  this 
was  the  main  artery  of  travel  from  the  cast  into  this 
territory. 

It  was  connected  at  the  Mimbres  Pass  with  a 
direct  road  leading  north  from  that  point  to  Santa 
Fe,  and  was  mapped  west  of  the  pass  by  the  ^Texican 
Boundary  Commission,  and  by  Lieutenant  Parke  in 
1854. 

A  remarkable  feature  of  the  drainage  of  the  east- 
ern flange  and  its  parallels  in  New  j\Iexico  at  once 
affected  the  communications  and  settlement  of  this 
country.  The  Rio  Grande  intersects  the  broken- 
down  eastern  flange  in  the  Pecos-Coahuila  Mountains, 
in  latitude  29°  30',  and  its  valley  extends  northward 
in  the  form  of  a  narrow  basin  into  the  heart  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  half  of  the  distance  from  its  em- 
bouchure in  the  gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  forty- ninth 
parallel. 

The  Mexicans  accordingly  were  early  in  possession 
of  the  country  near  the  sources  of  the  Arkanas,  and 
were  settled  there  in  sufficient  force  to  overwhelm 
the  United  States  exploring  party  under  INIajor  Pike 
in  180G.  Pike  was  carried  a  prisoner  to  Chihuahua 
for  trespassing  on  Mexican   soil,   and   all  his  topo- 

fraphical  sketches  were  confiscated.  JSlcLeod's  Santa 
I'd  expedition,  consisting  of  six  companies  of  Ibrty 
men  each,  met  a  similar  fate  in  1841.  Father  Esca- 
lante,  the  discoverer  of  Utah  Lake,  set  out  from 
Santa  Fe  in  1776;  and  the  mythical  Rio  Buenaven- 
tura of  the  Spaniards,  flowing  into  the  Western 
Ocean,  was  perhaps  reported  to  them  by  some  In- 
dians who  had  seen  the  Columbia,  though  it  was  con- 


640 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


I     , 


rr 


".ill 


fused  with  the  Humboldt.  The  desert  and  rugged 
character  of  the  plateau  alone  prevented  the  Span- 
iards from  advancing  by  the  olcl  Santa  Fd  and  Los 
Angeles  trail  along  the  Utah  and  Salt  Lake  Valley, 
to  the  valley  of  the  Snake-Columbia.  While  the  heart 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  became  settled  as  early  as 
Ohio,  the  want  of  a  natural  road  to  the  north-west 
checked  emigration  from  this  direction  entirely. 

Having  observed  the  influence  exerted  by  the 
natural  features  of  the  eastern  flange  of  the  plateau 
on  the  emigrations  which  attained  it  from  the  north 
Atlantic,  it  is  next  in  order  to  consider  the  method 
of  their  descent  to  the  Pacific.  In  their  eight  hundred 
or  one  thousand  miles  of  travel  with  oxen  and  horses 
at  an  average  altitude  of  4000  or  5000  feet  above  the 
sea  the  guides  and  scouts  fixed  their  vision  on  points 
where  water  and  grass  were  to  be  found,  these  being 
beyond  all  other  considerations  attached  to  a  practi- 
cable route. 

On  the  road  leading  to  Oregon  there  were  well 
wooded  mountains  in  view,  at  a  distance  of  from 
fifty  to  seventy  miles,  nearly  all  the  way  from  their 
entrance  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  till  they  reached 
the  coast  valleys.  The  road  itself  was  in  open  coun- 
try, merely  skirting  the  forests  of  the  Black  Hills, 
the  Wind  River  Mountains,  the  Wahsatch,  and 
the  Goose  Creek  Mountains,  till  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains were  reached.  Grassy  meadows  were  found  in 
abundance  in  the  well  watered  basin  of  the  Snake. 
It  was  not  until  the  necessity  arose  for  a  direct  route 
to  the  isolated  valley  of  California  that  the  desert 
stretches  surrounding  the  basin  of  the  Humboldt 
were  attempted.  ,  But  experience  soon  taught  the 
emigrants  that  even  here  they  might  venture  with 
safety  as  long  as  springs  of  water  could  be  found. 
Following  the  guiding  hand  of  nature,  trappers  and 
emigrants  first  made  the  descent  in  a  north-Avest 
direction  along  with  the  natural  drainage  to  the  sea, 


1.^   1^1 


THE  UTAH  BASIN. 


C41 


rugged 
3  Span- 
md  Los 
Valley, 
le  heart 
early  as 
•th-west 

y- 

by  the 
plateau 
le  north 
method 
hundred 
d  horses 
)ove  the 
n  points 
se  being 
I  practi- 

ere  well 
of  from 
)m  their 
reached 
en  coun- 
:k  Hills, 
ich,  and 
!  Moun- 
found  in 
;  Snake. 
)ct  route 
e  desert 
umboldt 
ght  the 
are  with 
e  found, 
pers  and 
rth-west 
the  sea, 


passing  through  the  western  flange  on  rafts  bearing 
their  families  and  wagons. 

Humboldt  River  was  nevertheless  destined  to  play 
an  important  part  in  the  peopling  of  the  cordilleran 
region,  occupying  as  it  does  a  significant  position  in 
the  structure  of  the  plateau.  Flowing  west,  at  right 
angles  to  the  longitudinal  extent  of  the  plateau,  it  is 
found  where  the  plateau  is  broadest  as  well  as  highest,. 
and  midway  between  the  two  great  rivers  flowing 
respectively  north-west  and  south-west,  itself  without 
outlet  to  the  sea.  Placed  in  the  basin  of  that  river 
known  to  Spanish  geography  as  the  Rio  Buenaven- 
tura, that  river  which  so  belied  its  title,  it  formed  the 
central  feature  of  what  Bonneville,  and  after  hiui 
Fri^mont,  termed  the  Great  Utah  Basin,  though  it 
was  not  in  the  Utah  basin  proper,  and  the  major  part 
of  the  great  plateau  of  which  it  forms  part  was  not 
in  the  drainageless  region  of  the  salt  basins  at  all. 
This  was  the  place  where  destiny  had  foreshadowed 
an  outlet  to  the  sea,  a  road  from  the  strategic  pass  of 
the  eastern  flange.  That  road  was  thus  continued  by 
the  hand  of  nature  across  the  plateau,  and  it  was 
necessary  that  it  should  pass  also  through  the  western 
flange  for  the  accommodation  of  the  dwellers  in  the 
isolated  valley  by  the  Golden  Gate. 

As  if  other  than  ordinary  inducements  had  been  in- 
sufficient to  draw  the  adventurous  to  cope  with  the 
grand  obstacle  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  nature  had  en- 
dowed the  mountains  with  bonanzas  of  silver  and  gold, 
and  rewarded  the  successful  explorers,  miners,  and 
builders  of  railroads  and  cities  with  a  romantic  fame 
more  fascinating  to  posterity  than  were  the  wonderful 
seven  cities  of  Cibola  to  the  world  pridr  to  the  great 
emigration  to  the  Pacific. 

When  the  existence  of  rich  deposits  of  silver  on 
this  portion  of  the  plateau  became  a  well  ascertained 
fact,  it  also  became  clearly  demonstrated  that  the 
natural  difficulties  of  the  central  railroad  route  into 
California  would  have  to  be,  and  could  be,  overcome. 

Hist.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I. 


11 


MS 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


Humboldt  River  therefore  proved  a  curious  exception 
to  the  threat  law  concerniii};  rivers  and  the  moveiDeiita 
of  populations,  first  pointed  out  by  the  renowned 
pioneer  of  the  physical  features  of  the  plateau  after 
whom  that  river  was  named.'" 

The  Humboldt  separates  two  different  geological 
formations,  that  of  the  elevated  volcanic  plateau  of 
Mount  Shasta  and  the  Modoc  lakes,  extending  north 
over  a  large  portion  of  the  Columbia  basin  within  tlie 
western  flange,  from  the  corrugated  north  and  south 
trending  ridges  of  the  state  of  Nevada,  between  tlio 
Humboldt  and  the  Colorado  respectively,  the  volcanic 
and    the   metamorphic   sedimentary  regions   of  the 
drainless  basin  of  the  plateau.    In  the  valleys  between 
these  ridges  there  are  the  same  natural  roads  of  the 
fresh-water  tertiary  lake  basins  leading  to  the  south. 
Toward  the  north  and  north-west  the  comparatively 
level  region  of  the  Modoc  lakes  was  as  early  as  184G 
discovered  by  Jesse  Applegate  and  taken  advantage 
of  by  the  Oregon  emigrants  in  what  was  known  as  the 
Applegate  or  southern  route,  and  for  years  there  was 
more  or  less  travel  into  Oregon  by  way  of  the  Hum- 
boldt and  the  Shasta  corner  of  the  cordilleran  plateau. 
In  latitude  41°  42'  the  plateau  reaches  farthest  to  the 
west  and  nearest  to  the  sea  in  the  very  divide  that 
was  sought  out  by  Applegate's  party  of  roadmakers.^' 
This  southern  route  to  Oregon  joins  the  present  Cal- 
ifornia and  Oregon  stage  road  a  few  miles  north  of 
Pilot  Rock,  near  the  boundary  line,  on  the  hill  between 
Klamath  and  Rogue  River  valleys,  the  western  flange 
being  still  represented  by  the  ridges  continuing  north- 
west to  the  ocean  at  Cape  Blanco,  in  the  main  direc- 
tion of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  shaping  the  bends  of 
the  Klamath  and  Rogue  rivers  in  the  mining  region 
of  southern  Oregon,  though  really  leaving  the  lattor 
on  the  seaward  slope  of  the  plateau  and  continuing  in 

Tn  Co»moa;  the  matter  being  further  discussed  with  especial  reference 
to  the  Columbia  by  C.  C.  Coffin  in  Thr  Path  of  Emfiire. 

"  Mentiuued  by  Thornton  as  arriving  at  Fort  Hull  and  inducing  his  party 
to  undertake  the  southern  route.  ' 


THE  CASCADE  AND  NEVADA  RANGES. 


043 


icing  hia  party 


an  altered  course,  in  the  Cascade  ^rountaiim,  to  the 
north.  Strictly  spoakinjr,  the  Sierra  Nevada  suhsidca 
toward  the  north  at  Pitt  liiver.and  the  Cascade  Uim^^o 
subsides  toward  the  south  at  the  passes  of  tlie  U|)|K<r 
Klamath  River  into  an  anj^le  ofthe  cordilleran  phileaii 
on  which  the  great  volcanic  peak  of  Shasta  toweis,  a 
worthy  monument  of  the  grandeur  of  both.  While 
taking  advantage  of  this,  Applegate  found  at  the  same 
time  a  more  hghtly  timbered  belt  to  the  northward, 
avoiding  thereby  the  main  obstacles  of  the  Cascade 
Mountains. 

Bonneville's  expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  in 
1832  was  the  next  after  Mackenzie's,  and  Lewis  and 
Clarke's,  to  cope  with  the  difficulties  of  linding  a  road 
through  the  western  flange.  It  was  the  first  to  under- 
take it  in  the  latitude  of  California,  and  without  the 
usual  following  of  configurations.  In  1833  Walker, 
Bonneville's  assistant,  with  a  party  of  forty  men  and 
supplies  for  a  year,  left  Salt  Lake  and  followed  the 
Humboldt  down  to  its  sink,  whence  they  struck 
across  the  Sierra  Nevada,  with  twenty-three  tlays  of 
entanglement  among  the  passes  and  defiles  of  the 
sierra,  by  a  route  not  definitely  known,  but  probably 
by  Carson  Lake,  Walker  lake  and  river,  and  by  the 
Merced  to  the  San  Joaquin  Valley.  Sutter  informed 
Wilkes  eight  years  later,  when  at  his  fort,  that  a 
route  across  the  Sierra  Nevada  was  followed  by  a 
party  "directly  east  of  this  place,  but  they  were 
twenty  days  in  getting  here,  and  found  the  country 
so  thickly  wooded  that  they  were  obliged  to  cut  their 
way,"  recommending  therefore  in  preference  the  Pitt 
River  Pass." 

Johnson  Pass  took  a  position  of  historical  impor- 
tance third  in  the  order  of  exploration  and  emigra- 
tion, subordinate  to  the  Columbia  and  the  Eraser, 
from  the  north  Atlantic.  It  was  evidently  an  old 
pass  frequented  by  the  natives,  as  F'  '^mont  remarked 
while  he  was  struggling  through  .xie  snow  on  the 

"  Waixa'  Nar.,  v. 


wm 


G44 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES, 


iti 


eastern  ascent  that  a  party  of  natives  on  snow-shoes 
passed  them,  en  route  to  the  western  side  of  the 
mountains  to  fish."* 

As  the  emigrations  by  the  old  Spanish  trail  from 
Santa  Fd  to  Los  Angeles,  and  the  American  emigra- 
tion by  the  southern  overland  mail  route  were  of 
little  importance  numerically  in  comparison  with  those 
of  the  northern  routes  across  the  plateau,  the  road 
being  desert  and  difficult,  and  its  terminus  on  the 
Pacific  being  only  on  the  seaward  slope  of  southern 
California,  fenced  off  moreover  from  the  rest  of  the 
coast  by  intervening  mountains,  we  may  consider  its 
passes  through  the  western  flange  as  of  local  bearing 
onl}'-,  and  pertaining  rather  to  the  movements  of 
populations  from  the  south-east  to  the  north-west,  and 
along  or  from  the  coast  itself. 

Resuming  now  our  general  view  along  the  west- 
ern flange  from  where  we  left  off  at  the  Canadian 
boundary,  and  having  noted  the  ruling  points  which 
directea  the  movements  of  the  emigrations  to  the 
several  leading  passes  through  the  western  range  al- 
ready mentioned,  we  will  now  observe  the  relative  im- 
portance and  significance  of  the  whole  series  of  passes 
as  far  south  as  the  gulf  of  California,  and  the  part 
they  have  played  as  routes  for  emigration  eastward 
from  the  Pacific  coast,  as  well  as  the  position  and  the 
junction  of  the  passes  between  the  coast  or  coast  and 
interior  valleys,  aflfecting  the  low  coast  country  alone. 

Between  the  Fraser  and  the  Columbia  are  the 
Skagit  Pass,  in  latitude  48°  15',  the  river  of  that 
name  having  cut  through  the  range  to  the  edge  of 
the  plateau  opposite  Fuca  Strait,  and  opposite  the 
upper  Columbia  and  Bitter  Root  rivers,  the  latter 
being  on  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company's 
route  through  Mullan  P^ss,  and  the  only  available 
railroad  route  through  the  eastern  flange  north  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad;  the  Snoqualmie  Pass,  in  lati- 

^ Fremont's  Exjdoration,  1843,  234. 


ALONO  THE  COLUMBIA. 


eu 


tuck  47°  20',  Icadiiij,'  from  the  Yakima  ncrtli-wost  into 
the  Snohomish  Valley ;  the  Natchez  and  the  (^)\vlitz 
passes  to  the  north  and  south  of  Mount  Rainier;  ail 
of  which  are  old  and  constantly  travelled  routes  of  tho 
natives  between  the  plateau  of  the  Columbia  and 
Puget  Sound.  Tho  only  af^proach  to  I^us^et  Sound 
from  the  east  of  any  historical  importance,  however, 
besides  that  of  the  Eraser,  has  hevn  the  j)ass  of  tho 
Columbia,  in  connection  with  the  valley  of  the  Cowlitz, 
leading  north  from  the  Columbia  over  a  level  country. 
By  the  latter, western  Washington  received  its  pioneer 
settlers  from  Oregon,  and  tlio  Vancouver  Mediter- 
ranean itself  has  had  its  principal  connection  with  tho 
populous  coast  valleys  of  the  south 

Columbia  River  Pass,  in  latitude  45°  40',  two  and  a 
third  degrees  farther  south  than  the  Bitter  Root 
Valley's  emergence  from  the  Rocky  Mountains,  has 
furnished  a  natural  road  from  South  I 'ass  to  tho 
coast,  as  well  as  from  the  coast  to  tho  plateau  em- 
bracing the  whole  of  the  Columbia  basin;  but  it  is 
out  of  the  range  of  Fuca  Strait  as  an  outlet  for  the 
valley  of  the  main  or  upper  Colund)ia,  including  the 
transcontinental  route  by  Bitter  Root  Valley.  It 
has  been  the  road  for  emigration  from  tho  south-east 
to  the  north-west,  and  from  the  south-west  to  tho 
mining  and  plateau  region  north-east  of  it,  and  vice 
versa,  being  opposite  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains 
toward  the  east. 

South  of  the  Columbia  the  first  and  the  earliest  of 
the  passes  used  by  white  men  through  the  Cascade 
Mountains  was  the  Indian  trail  over  the  southern 
flank  of  Mount  Hood,  near  which  was  afterward 
made  the  Barlow  road,  in  latitude  45"  05'.  It  leads 
from  the  Tyich  Prairie  branch  of  Dcs  Chutes  River, 
west  to  the  north  fork  of  the  Clackamas  branch  of 
Willamette  River.  The  ascent  from  the  plateau  was 
found  comparatively  easy,  being  lightly  t  mbered;  , 
but  the  densely  timbered  summit  and  western  slope 
presented  to  Palmer,  Rector,  and  Barlow  in  1842-6 


H 


rA 


646 


PASSES  AXD  ROUTES. 


the  first  serious  obstacle  that  the  Oregon  emigrants 
had  encountered  in  road-making.  Their  trains  were 
abandoned  at  the  summit,  and  the  emigrants  them- 
selves had  to  be  rescued  by  a  relief  party  from  the 
Willamette.  This  was  but  two  years  later  than  Fre- 
mont's narrow  escape  from  starvation  in  the  Sierra 
Nevada;  but  the  Oregonians  in  the  following  spring 
completed  their  wagon  road  across  the  range,  and 
improved  it  into  a  toll  road;  and  it  remained  for  many 
years  the  principal  road  across  the  Cascade  Moun- 
tains, while  Fremont's  route  was  not  made  into  a 
passable  wagon  road  until  after  the  gold -discovery 
in  1849,  nor  into  a  good  road  until  after  the  silver- 
discovery  in  18G0. 

From  the  fact  that  the  Columbia  River  Pass  was 
essentially  a  water  highway  obstructed  by  portages, 
the  Barlow  road  became  a  necessity  for  the  move- 
ment of  herds  in  the  settlement  of  western  as  well  as 
of  eastern  Oregon  later. 

To  the  south  the  Willamette  River  Pass,  in  lati- 
tude 43°  2G',  leads  from  the  head  of  Willamette  Val- 
ley, near  Eugene,  along  the  upper  Willamette  River, 
south-west  into  the  Cascade  Mountains,  crossing  the 
southern  flank  of  Diamond  Peak  to  the  edge  of  the 
plateau  at  Klamath  Marsh 

Mackenzie  Fork  furnishes  a  similar  road  and  pas? 
in  latitude  44°  12',  leading  east  to  the  Metelius  branca 
of  the  Des  Chutes  River. 

Rogue  River  Pass,  crossing  the  western  flange  in 
latitmle  42°  30',  leads  from  the  head  of  Rogue  River 
Valley  north -cast  to  Klamath  Lake.  Through  the 
last  three  passes  emigration  has  moved  eastward. 

The  pass  through  the  western  flange  by  the  Apple- 
gate  cut-olT,  or  southern  route  into  Oregon,  in  latitude 
42°  10',  which  has  already  been  mentioned  by  reason  of 
its  historical  and  physical  significance,  leads  from  Lower 
Klamath  Lake  west  over  the  southern  end  of  thi  Cas 
cade  Mountains  to  the  head  of  Stuart  Creek,  a  branch 
of  Rogue  River,  on  the  California  and  Oregon  road. 


w^m 


OREGON  AXD  CALIFORNIA, 


67 


emigrarits 
trains  were 
•ants  them- 
y  from  the 
r  than  Fre- 
the  Sierra 
k^ing  spring 
range,  and 
id  for  many 
ade  Moun- 
ade  into  a 
i- discovery 

the  silver- 

r  Pass  was 

y  portages, 

the  move- 

n  as  well  as 

[ass,  in  lati- 
imette  Val- 
lette  Hiver, 
Tossing  the 
edge  of  the 

id  and  pass 
ilius  branoa 

■n  flange  in 
ogue  River 
brough  the 
stward. 
the  Apple- 
,  in  latitude 
)y  reason  of 
from  Lower 
of  thi  Cas  - 
;k,  a  branch 
regon  road. 


From  Oregon  to  California  and  vice  versa  the  routes 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  trappers,  guided  by 
former  Indian  trails,  appear  to  have  been  followed  in 
the  main  by  the  roadmakers  of  more  recent  date. 
Applegate  and  his  party  from  Oregon  bound  to  Fort 
Hall  in  1846  followed  the  old  California  trail  as  far 
south  as  Pilot  Rock,  in  their  flanking  movement 
around  the  Cascade  Mountains,  as  already  described. 

In  the  later  mov  ement  upon  California  with  wagons, 
General  Palmer  and  his  party  of  Oregonians  in  1848 
continued  in  Applegate's  trail  by  the  Klamath  lakes 
to  Goose  Lake,  making  a  large  portion  of  the  distance 
to  California  on  the  plateau,  and  finally  descended  to 
the  valley  by  the  Quincy  and  Oroville  route,  being 
the  first  wagons  over  that  road. 

The  Oregonians  who  accompanied  Marshall  to  Cal- 
ifornia, and  there  made  the  gold-discovery,  were  not 
governed  by  considerations  of  wagoning,  and  simply 
retraced  the  trail  of  the  California  and  Oregon  herd- 
ers with  pack  animals.  Two  old  routes  by  the  Noble 
and  Scott  Mountain  passes  went  northward  east  and 
west  of  Mount  Shasta  respectively,  and  reunited  at 
Yreka  near  the  present  boundary  line;  the  former 
followed  Pitt  River  to  the  plateau.  The  latter  vas 
probably  the  older  and  has  tjie  api)carance  of  having 
been  originally  explored  from  the  north.  Leaving  the 
extreme  head  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  near  Shasta 
City,  it  ascended  French  Gulch  and  Trinity  River; 
and  crossing  Scott  Mountain  by  its  pas.s,  in  latitude 
4 1°  20',  descended  Scott  River  to  the  Shasta  Valley 
plateau  at  Yreka.  Our  earliest  record  of  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  California  are 
identified  with  this  locality  common  to  both  routes. 

Scott  Mountain  Pass  may  be  considered  as  a  pass 
through  the  axis  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  if  not  through 
the  western  flange,  as  it  intersects  the  older  rocks 
peculiar  to  the  sierra,  and  the  altitude  of  the  i)latc!au 
is  attained  throuirh  the  Klamath  River  Pass  between 
Pilot  Rock  and  Scott  River,  in  latitude  41°  50',  where 


848 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


the  country  north  and  east  more  properly  represents 
the  position  of  the  broken  flange.  The  old  Oregon 
and  California  trail  between  Scott  Mountain  and  Pilot 
Rock  here  traverses  the  western  edge  of  the  plateau 
for  seventy-five  miles.  Ridges  are  crossed  from  the 
Klamath  at  Yreka  to  the  Rogue  L-?:ver  at  Jackson- 
ville; and  from  Rogue  River  the  Rogue  River  Moun- 
tains are  crossed  to  the  Umpqua  River,  at  Caiionville, 
above  Roseburg;  and  lastly  the  Calapooya  Mountains, 
by  the  pass  leading  from  a  branch  of  the  Umpqua  to 
the  coast  fork  of  the  Willamette  at  Eugene. 

The  Pitt  River  route  to  Oregon  ascended  the  Fall 
River  branch  of  Pitt  River  to  Fort  Crook,  and  con- 
tinued along  the  eastern  base  of  Mount  Shasta  to 
Yreka.  To  attain  Fall  River,  however,  which  is  on 
the  plateau,  it  was  necessary  to  first  cross  the  Sierra 
Nevada  by  Noble  Pass,  in  latitude  40°  30',  leading 
from  Fort  Reading  easterly  up  Battle  Creek  and 
over  the  north  flank  of  Lassen  Peak  to  the  head  of 
Hat  Creek,  and  thence  north-west  as  far  as  Yreka. 
In  later  years  a  road  was  made  from  Fort  Reading 
ascending  the  Cow  Creek  branch  of  the  Sacramento 
by  51  more  direct  route  to  Fort  Crook,  crossing  the 
Sierra  Nevada  at  a  lower  altitude,  in  latitude  40°  45', 
near  Pitt  River.  By  the  latter  route,  which  was  fi)r 
many  years  the  stage  and  mail  route  to  Yreka  and 
Jacksonville,  the  cordilleran  plateau  was  used  for  a 
distance  of  one  hundred  and  forty  miles.  Fremont 
explored  Pitt  River  from  Sacramento  Valley  to 
Klamath  Lake  in  1846. 

By  the  Lassen  road  along  the  upper  Pitt  River 
there  was  another  route  from  California  to  Oregon, 
which  followed  the  plateau  along  the  inner  side  of 
the  flange  from  Chico  and  Noble  passes,  by  Klamath 
lakes  to  the  valley  of  Des  Chutes  River,  and  along 
that  stream  to  the  Columbia,  being  a  natural  road  to 
the  north. 

All  the  passes  through  the  Sierra  Nevada  were  in 
one  respect  more  favorable  to  exploration  and  emigra- 


iili 


THE  SIERRA  NEVADA. 


649 


tion  with  wagons  than  those  of  the  Cascade  Moun- 
tains ;  they  were  more  openly,  and  on  the  whole,  com- 
paratively speaking,  more  lightly  timbered.  To  the 
north  of  Pilot  Peak,  at  the  head  of  the  North  Yuba, 
the  sierra  flange  of  the  plateau  was  easily  approached 
frcm  the  east  over  the  volcanic  table-lands;  and  it 
was  cut  through  by  the  Feather  and  Pitt  rivers  to 
the  edge  of  the  plateau,  as  old  Peter  Lassen  was  the 
first  to  find  out  for  the  benefit  of  the  trains  via 
Smoke  Creek,  in  whose  service  he  lost  his  life. 

When  Wilkes  visited  California  in  1841,  Sutter, 
though  a  new-comer  himself,  was  already  aware  of 
the  advantages  of  the  northern  and  of  the  extreme 
southern  passes  for  a  road  from  the  east.  He  in- 
formed Wilkes  that  the  best  northern  route  was 
through  the  gap  made  by  Pitt  River,  and  of  his  be- 
lief that  that  stream  extended  through  and  beyond 
the  Sierra;  declaring,  however,  that  in  his  opinion 
the  best  route  to  the  United  States  was  to  ascend  the 
San  Joaquin  and  proceed  thence  easterly  through  a 
gap  in  the  Snowy  Mountains  by  a  good  beaten  road, 
having  reference  probably  to  Walker  Pass.** 

Chico  also  had  its  pass,  known  as  Bidwell  Pass, 
the  next  south  of  that  descending  from  the  plateau 
to  Fort  Reading.  Its  connecting  roads  reached  the 
Sierra  by  way  of  Surprise  Valley,  and  also  by  way 
of  Honey  Lake  to  Eagle  Lake  Valley,  traversing 
the  axis  of  the  ^,•estern  flange  between  Lassen  and 
Spanish  peaks,  in  latitude  40°  10'.  The  road  loft 
Eagle  Lake  Valley  by  its  Pine  Creek  tributary,  and 
attained  the  spurs  on  the  north  side  of  the  north  fork 
of  Feather  River  while  yet  on  the  plateau,  descending 
along  the  backs  of  the  volcanic  ridges  south-west,  and 
reaching  the  valley  by  Chico  Creek,  at  Chico. 

From  Oroville  there  was  a  pass;  though  the  pass, 
it  is  needless  to  point  out,  first  made  the  road,  whii.li 
afterward  contributed  toward  making  the  town.  This 
road  was  the  first  by  which  wagons  entered  California 

**Wilkea' Nar.,  V, 


650 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


from  Oregon,  having  been  opened  by  Palmer  and  his 
party  in  1848.  The  Oregonians  came  from  Goose 
Lake  to  the  Meadows,  and  passing  the  site  of  Quincy, 
crossed  the  western  flange  of  the  plateau  on  the 
southerly  shoulder  of  Spanish  Peak,  in  latitude  39° 
52',  descending  along  the  divide  between  the  middle 
and  south  forks  of  Feather  River  to  Sacramento 
Valley  near  Oroville. 

Both  the  Oroville  and  the  Chico  passes  were  con- 
nected to  the  eastward  with  the  Fort  Crook  and 
Yreka  road  to  Oregon,  by  travelled  routes  along  the 
inner  side  of  the  plateau  flange ;  but  the  Shasta  route 
by  these  passes  does  not  appear  to  have  been  used  to 
any  extent  for  travel  between  California  and  Oregon, 
having  only  such  slight  significance  as  might  attach 
to  the  intercourse  between  the  extreme  northern  part 
of  California  or  southern  Oregon  and  Washoe. 

As  an  emigrant  route  the  Oroville- Quincy  Pass, 
connecting  with  Beckwourth  Pass  through  the  eastern 
member  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  in  latitude  39°  45',  was 
of  importance,  the  road  striking  north-west  from  the 
Truckce  near  Reno,  and  passing  along  the  edge  of 
Sierra  Valley.  Connecting  at  Mill  City,  on  the  Hum- 
boldt, with  the  road  by  way  of  Honey  Lake  and  Eagle 
Lake  valleys,  it  was  even  more  important,  being  one 
of  the  most  direct  and  practicable  routes  leading  into 
the  northern  part  of  Sacramento  Valley. 

In  later  times  the  Oroville  and  Chico  passes  have 
figured  as  routes  for  emigration  eastward  to  the 
(jvvyhee  and  Idaho  mines;  not  to  mention  the  more 
regulated  flow  of  herders  into  Modoc  and  the  more 
distant  grazing  lands  of  the  plateau. 

From  Marysville  a  road  followed  up  the  Honcut 
and  Yuba  divide.  Crossing  the  north  Yuba,  it  fol- 
lowed the  middle  Yuba  to  Henness  Pass,  in  latitude 
39°  28',  a  branch  of  it  continuing  to  Downieville, 
Sierra  Valley,  and  through  Beckwourth  Pass. 

Another  road  from  Marysville  to  Henness  Pass 
followed  up  the  south  side  of  the  Yuba  to  Nevada 


■«'     Tl 


I 


3r  and  his 
)m  Goose 
)f  Quincy, 
u  on  the 
titude  39° 
he  middle 
acramento 

were  con- 
>ook  and 
along  the 
lasta  route 
en  used  to 
id  Oregon, 
srht  attach 
'them  part 
hoe. 

incv  Pass, 

the  eastern 

39°  45',  was 

it  from  the 

le  edge  of 

the  Hum- 

and  Eagle 

being  one 

jading  into 

•asses  have 
,rd  to  the 
the  more 
the  more 

he  Honcut 
uba,  it  fol- 
in  latitude 

)ownieville, 
ass. 

mness  Pa^ 
to  Nevada 


ROADS  AND  RAILROADS.  eSI 

City,  crossed  the  south  Yuba,  and  continued  to  the 
sunmiit  on  the  middle  Yuba  divide,  having  joined 
the  other  road  at  Jackson.  From  Nevada  City  again 
there  was  a  branch  leading  along  the  south  side  of 
the  south  Yuba  to  Donner  and  Truckeo  Pass,  in  lati- 
tude 39°  25',  the  pass  pointed  out  by  the  Nevada  City 
people  to  the  explorers  of  the  Central  Pacilic  Railroad 
Company  at  the  commencement  of  the  silver  era. 

Johnson  Pass  first  and  the  Donner  Pass  later  were 
the  passes  leading  from  the  city  of  Sacramento,  at 
the  head  of  navigation  on  Sacramento  River,  to  the 
plateau.  It  was  by  these  passes  mainly  that  the  en- 
tire drainless  plateau  between  the  Columbia  and  the 
Colorado  was  finally  taken  possession  of  by  a  perma- 
nent population,  aided  from  the  east  by  the  Mormon 
occupation  of  Salt  Lake.  A  quarter  of  a  century  had 
elapsed  from  the  time  when  Frdmont  dispelled  the 
error  of  the  mythical  Rio  Buenaventura  crossing  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  in  latitude  39°,^^  until  the  fantastic 
romance  of  the  Spanish  geographers  was  blasted  into 
reality,  when  a  channel  was  cut  and  tunnelled  for  the 
iron  road,  the  true  Rio  Buenaventura,  the  modern 
River  of  Good  Fortune. 

When  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  was  begun  at 
Sacramento,  the  wagon  road  which  led  up  to  the 
ridge  forming  the  northern  rim  of  the  American 
River  basin  was  followed,  instead  of  that  ascending 
the  valley  of  that  river;  and  the  wagon  road  was 
completed  through  Donner  Pass  several  years  before 
the  railroad,  being  known  at  that  period  as  the  Dutch 
Flat  and  Virginia  City  Wagon  Road.  The  rough 
road  previously  existing  was  then  graded  and  made  a 
first-class  wagon  road,  over  which  the  Virginia  stage 
travelled  while  the  Dutch  Flat  Swindle  was  climbing 
the  ridges,  in  18G7-9. 

This  opprobrious  term  originated  in  part  from  the 

^Finlan'a  Map  of  North  America,  riiiladelphia,  1820,  'including  all  th< 
recent  geograpliical  discoveries,'  represents  the  Humboldt  as  flowing  into  Hixt 
Francisco  Bay. 


!' ■ 


i 


<ll 


968 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


rivalry  of  the  builders  of  the  Placerville  toll  road 
already  mentioned,  through  Johnson  Pass,  the  valley 
route,  as  opposed  to  the  ridge  route,  having  hitherto 
been  the  Sacramento  and  Washoe  road  par  excellence. 
Its  proprietors  had  spent  large  sums  of  money  on  it, 
and  had  made  it  a  magnificent  highway,  worthy  of 
^he  important  functions  it  had  to  perform.  Originally 
the  silver  pilgrinT^  from  California  descended  by  it 
into  Hope  Valley  and  followed  down  the  Carson  on 
the  emigrant  and  Mormon  road  of  1850-60;  but  the 
present  proprietors,  when  Washoe  silver  began  to  flow 
in  1860,  carried  it  by  a  direct  route  to  Lake  Tahoe, 
down  the  Kingsbury  grade  and  over  the  eastern  sum- 
mit to  the  old  Carson  road  near  Genoa. 

Silver  Mountain  Pass,  in  latitude  38°  30',  leads 
from  Murphy,  on  the  Stanislaus  and  Mokelumne  di- 
vide, along  the  dividing  ridge  to  the  head  of  the  Car- 
son, joining  the  Johnson  pass  road  at  Hope  Valley. 

The  Sonora  Pass,  in  latitude  38°  12',  leads  from  So- 
nora,  Tuolumne  County,  on  the  Stanislaus-Tuolumne 
divide,  along  the  dividing  ridge  to  the  head  of  West 
Walker  River,  at  an  altitude  of  9600  feet,  being  the 
highest  wagon  road  pass  over  the  sierra.  Its  sig- 
nificance is  connected  with  the  settlement  of  southern 
Nevada  from  California. 

Between  the  Sonora  Pass  and  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  Californian  Alps  there  is  a  distance  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  in  which  three  travelled 
trails  cross  the  mountains,  by  the  Kearsarge,  Mono, 
and  Virginia  Creek  passes.  These  passes  are  merely 
saddles  between  the  peaks,  averaging  11,000  feet  in 
height.^" 

Mono  Pass,  in  latitude  37°  52',  leads  from  the  Yo- 
semite  Valley,  at  the  head  of  the  Merced  River,  by 
way  of  the  sources  of  the  Tuolumne,  at  an  altitude  of 
10,765  feet,  to  Bloody  Canon,  a  tributary  of  Mono 
Lake.  The  Mono  Trail,  by  which  term  this  route  is 
known,  was  constructed  at  the  time  of  the  Mono  gold 

"•Muir's  Passes  in  the  Sierra,  in  Scribner'a  Monthly,  February  1879. 


11 


TOWARD  THE  SOUTH. 


653 


excitement  in  1868,  and  it  has  been  more  frequented 
by  tourists  in  search  of  the  picturesque  than  any 
other  pass  in  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

Walker  Pass,  in  hititude  35°  45',  leads  from  Keyes- 
ville,  on  Kern  River,  along  the  south  fork  of  Kern 
River  to  the  desert  plateau  at  the  eastern  base  of 
Owen  Peak.  It  is  the  last  of  the  passes  through  the 
Sierra  proper,  leading  eastward  or  northward,  and 
was  named  after  Bonneville's  assistant,  Walker,  sub- 
sequently Frdmont's  guide.  Sutter  referred  to  this 
})ass  when  he  spoke  to  Wilkes  of  it  in  1841  as  the 
best  route  to  the  United  States.  According  to  Sutter 
it  followed  the  San  Joaquin  sixty  miles,  and  thence 
struck  easterly  through  a  gap  in  the  Snowy  Moun- 
tains by  a  good  beaten  road,  and  then  north-easterly 
to  Maria  River,  which  flows  south-east  and  has  no 
outlet.^^ 

From  the  great  valleys  of  the  Sacramento  and  San 
Joaquin  southward  the  Tehachipa,  Tejon,  and  Canada 
do  las  Uvas  passes,  from  latitude  34°  30'  to  34°  35', 
lead  into  the  Mojave  salt  lake  basin  of  the  sub- 
oceanic  region  of  the  gulf  of  California;  the  first 
named  being  that  followed  by  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad.  The  railroad  then  crosses  the  several  par- 
allels which  in  southern  California  represent  both  the 
Sierra  Nevada  and  the  southern  coast  range,  sepa- 
rately known  by  many  different  names,  but  which  may 
be  referred  to  collectively  as  the  gulf  coast  range. 
Through  the  San  Gabriel  or  San  Bernardino  Moun- 
tains it  follows  the  Soledad  Pass,  in  latitude  34°  30', 
and  then  crosses  the  San  Fernando  or  western  range 
of  the  same  mountains  by  the  San  Fernando  Pass 
to  Los  Angeles,  on  their  seaward  slope. 

By  the  Canada  de  las  Uvas  Pass  tliere  is  a  more 
direct  route  from  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  to  the  San 
Fernando  Pass  in  the  western  ridge;  while  Turner 


"This  from  WiU'es'  Nar.,  v.,  shows  how  much  geography  was  at  fault  at 
that  time.  Sutter  was  supposed  to  be  well  informed,  but  he  appears  to  con- 
found Walker's  route  via  llumboldt  llivcr  with  the  Sauta  F6  tisU. 


lil 


fit 


1  i  5 


►■'fi: 


664 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


Pass,  ill  latitude  34°  40',  and  the  Cajon  Pass,  in 
latitude  34°  22',  afford  roads  like  that  of  the  Soledad 
Pass,  from  the  Mojave  Desert  west  through  the  gulf 
coast  range.  These  passes,  excepting  the  Cajon  in 
part,  wore  of  importance  mainly  as  leading  from  the 
southern  coast  valleys  to  the  great  valley  of  the  Sau 
Joaquin;  and  the  San  Fernando  Pass,  near  Los  An- 
geles, was  the  ruling  one.  The  old  travelled  road 
reached  the  Mojave  Desert  from  it  through  Turner 
Pass  instead  of  the  Soledad. 

From  the  seaward  slope  at  Los  Angeles  to  the  east 
and  south-east  the  principal  pass  of  historical  note  is 
that  followed  by  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  being 
rather  a  succession  of  passes  made  by  the  San  Gabriel 
and  Santa  Ana  rivers,  the  San  Gorgonio,  in  latitude 
34°,  being  the  ruling  one.  It  leads  from  the  head  of 
Santa  Ana  River  south-easterly  to  Coahuila  creek 
and  valley,  below  sea-level,  near  Yuma.  This  was  the 
direct  line  of  approach  to  California  from  Mexico 
overland. 

Cajon  Pass,  branching  off  from  this  route  at  San 
Bernardino,  might  be  regarded  as  the  continuation  of 
the  Coahuila  and  San  Gorgonio  road  from  the  gulf 
of  California  into  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  occupy- 
ing the  eastern  side  of  the  gulf  coast  range  without 
touching  on  its  seaward  slope.  Its  principal  signiii- 
cance  consisted  in  its  being  the  ruling  point  of  the  old 
southern  trans-continental  route,  the  Los  Angeles  and 
Santa  F«^  trail  of  the  Spaniards,  and  the  route  of  the 
annual  caravan  from  New  Mexico  to  California.''^  Its 
direction  wa^  from  the  bend  of  the  Colorado,  at  Col- 
ville,  by  the  trend  of  the  Mojave  Valley  to  the  same 
point  in  the  gulf  coast  range  that  was  indicated  by 
the  Coahuila  Valley  and  the  San  Gorgonio  Pass,  the 
two  routes  connecting  at  San  Bernardino,  in  the  heart 
of  the  mountains,  and  leading  thence  to  Los  Angeles. 

If  any  further  explanation  be  needed  as  to  the 
position  occupied  by  Los  Angeles  in  connection  with 

**  See  Du  Mofras'  map  of  the  coast.     Paris,  1S44. 


wryi 


THE  GULF  COAST  RANGE. 


605 


Pass,  in 

lie  Soledad 
h  the  gulf 
)  Cajon  ill 
from  the 
af  the  Sail 
r  Los  All- 
el  led  road 
gh  Tumor 

to  the  east 
ical  note  is 
road,  being 
Ian  Gabriel 
in  latitude 
lie  head  of 
luila  creek 
lis  was  the 
)m  Mexico 

(ute  at  San 
inuation  of 
m  the  gulf 
ey,  occupv- 
ge  without 
ipal  signiii- 
t  of  the  old 
LUgcles  and 
oute  of  tlie 
jrnia.^  Its 
ido,  at  Col- 
;o  the  same 
idicated  by 
o  Pass,  the 
n  the  heart 
OS  Angeles. 
as  to  the 
cction  with 


the  movements  of  the  earlier  Spanish  populations,  it 
may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  from  that  place  the  roail 
of  the  seaward  slope  leads  not  only  to  the  south,  l)ut 
that  northward  it  attains  the  Salinas  Valley  by  the 
(laviota  Pass  through  the  Santa  Incs  Mountains,  in 
latitude  34°  28',  traversing,  however,  the  rugged  j)ar- 
allels  of  the  California  Coast  Range  before  reaching 
tlie  Salinas  Valley  at  Paso  Robles. 

The  road  from  San  Diego  to  Yuma  appears  to  have 
had  a  less  general  importance.  It  ascends  the  San 
Juan  River  and  keeps  close  along  the  boundary  line, 
as  though  intended  to  mark  it  out,  following  a  direct 
course  to  Yuma,  and  crossing  the  gulf  coast  range  at 
an  inconsiderable  altitude. 

It  will  be  observed  that  what  we  have  termed  the 
western  flange  of  the  cordilleran  plateau  has  no  woJl 
defined  existence  between  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  the 
Sierra  Madre  of  Mexico,  the  space  between  them 
being  occupied  by  the  Colorado  Desert.  Still  tlie 
plateau  itself  is  well  enough  defined  in  the  valley  of 
the  Colorado,  as  distinguished  from  the  low  country 
at  the  head  of  the  gulf  of  California,  in  south-eastern 
California,  and  in  western  Arizona.  Climatic  causes 
attributable  to  the  latitudes  where  the  variable  trade- 
winds  begin  and  the  influence  of  the  steady  north-east 
trade-winds  ceases,  more  than  the  contiguratit)n  of 
the  land,  perhaps,  made  this  country  a  waste;  so  that 
the  Coahuila  and  Yuina  road,  continuing  up  the  Gila 
to  Tucson,  and  to  the  populated  country  of  Sonora  in 
Mexico,  failed  to  become  a  channel  of  emigration  to 
California,  though  every  other  consideration  was  favor- 
able thereto. 

The  significance  of  the  routes  and  passes  in  this 
direction  is  in  connection  with  emigration  southward 
and  eastward  from  California,  dating  especially  from 
the  completion  over  the  desert  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  in  1878. 

To  avoid  the  Colorado  Desert  as  far  as  possible,  tho 
military  and  missionary  expeditions  from  Mexico  to 


ess 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


California,  with  the  single  notable  exception  of  that  of 
Anza  in  1776,  crossed  the  gulf  to  Loreto,  and  passed 
through  the  gulf  coast  range  to  the  seaward  slope  at 
Santa  Gertrudis  Pass,  in  latitude  28°  32';  or  they 
sailed  from  San  Bias  direct  to  Monterey,  the  ancient 
capital. 

In  the  peopling  of  California  from  the  Atlantic 
states,  neither  the  southern  overland  mail  route,  the 
southern  emigrant  route  by  the  Gila  or  Mimbres  Pass, 
nor  the  Zuui  Pass  road  leading  through  Tucson  and 
Prescott  resp'jitively,  were  of  any  appreciable  im- 
portance, for  the  reasons  already  stated.  The  sig- 
nificance of  those  passes  was  limited  to  Arizona;  and 
so  far  as  the  American  population  was  concerned,  was 
limited  in  the  main  to  recent  times. 

By  the  Mormon  approach  to  San  Bernardino, 
following  the  valleys  of  Utah  southward  to  the  old 
Santa  Fd  and  Los  Angeles  trail,  a  comparatively  easy 
though  desert  road  was  found  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Colorado  and  Mojave  rivers,  emerging  from  the  Mo- 
jave  Desert  through  the  Tejon  and  Cajon  passes. 
Walker  was  the  first  to  discover  its  northern  con- 
nections, having  passed  over  it  on  his  return  from 
California  in  charge  of  Bonneville's  California  de- 
tachment in  1834,  being  guided  over  the  Spanish  trail 
portion  fairly  into  the  valleys  of  Utah  by  a  Mexican 
from  California.  Fremont  went  over  it  and  mapped 
it  in  1844. 

This  was  not  only  a  natural  route  following  the 
valley  of  the  Colorado  to  the  south-west  from  the 
American  strategic  point  at  South  Pass,  but  it  con- 
tributed its  share  to  the  permanent  occupation  of  the 
coast  by  the  Americans,  in  the  early  Mormon  settle- 
ments that  were  made  on  the  "seaward  slope  of  south- 
ern California. 


Following  the  plateau  into  Mexico  we  find  it  nar- 
rower, yet  well  defined,  and  of  influence  upon  the 
American  Pacific  states  chiefly  in  connection  with  the 


THE  SIERRA  MADRE. 


411 


jf  that  of 
nd  passed 
I  slope  at 
;  or  they 
lg  ancient 

Atlantic 
route,  the 
jres  Pass, 
iicson  and 
liable   im- 

The  sig- 
zona;  and 
jrned,  was 

ernardino, 
to  the  old 
;ively  easy 
eys  of  the 
a  the  Mo- 
pn  passes, 
hern  con- 
turn  from 
fornia  de- 
anish  trail 
I  Mexican 
d  mapped 

owing  the 
from  the 
)ut  it  con- 
;ion  of  the 
Lion  settle- 
of  south- 


ind  it  nar- 

upon  the 

m  with  the 


physical  features  of  its  western  flange.  Tlie  latter, 
though  broken  in  the  Colorado  Valley,  is  represented 
in  the  Pinal  Mountains  near  Tucson,  the  northerly 
continuations  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  and  in  the  various 
lofty  ranges  continuing  from  them  to  the  north-west- 
ward into  the  great  bend  of  the  Colorado  between 
Colville  and  Fort  Mojave,  giving  origin  to  that  fea- 
ture of  the  river  in  its  pass  through  the  mountain- 
ous region  in  latitude  35°  to  36°.  Toward  the  north, 
as  the  })lateau  widens,  the  range  has  the  appearance 
of  distributing  itself  to  a  degree  in  the  northern  and 
southern  corrugations  of  Nevada.  But  by  a  curious 
coincidence  the  south-eastern  boundary  of  California 
draws  a  line  from  the  bend  of  the  Colorado  to  the 
White  Mountains,  near  which  are  the  loftiest  peaks 
of  the  sierra,  marking  the  culminating  portion  of  the 
western  flange  as  well  as  the  deflection  to  the  south- 
west of  the  Californian  sierra,  where  it  speedily  sub- 
sides; marking  a  general  line  of  separation  between 
the  highlands  and  lowlands,  yet  including  among  the 
highlands  of  the  plateau,  by  way  of  contrast  to  the 
culminating  range,  the  dried -up  lake  bottom  of 
the  Amargosa,  below  the  sea-level.  The  Gila  and 
the  Santiago,  in  Mexico,  are  the  only  streams  on  the 
Spanish  Pacific  side  that  cut  through  the  flange  under 
conditions  furnishing  material  advantages  for  commu- 
nication; the  Zacatula  Pass  above  Acapulco  being, 
like  that  of  the  Colorado,  in  a  rugged  mountainous 
region.  By  the  valleys  of  the  Gila  and  of  the  San- 
tiago natural  roadways  were  found,  practicable  for 
wagons,  along  which  flowed  the  principal  currents  of 
population  and  trade  eastward  and  westward  between 
the  region  or  valley  of  the  gulf  and  the  plateau  in 
Arizona  and  Mexico;  Tucson  and  Yuma,  San  Bias 
and  Mazatlan  being  the  historical  consequences. 

In  Mexico  there  are,  of  course,  many  other  p<i  ^ses 
or  trails  through  the  western  flange  which  were  more 
or  less  travelled.  The  most  northerly  of  these  was  of 
importance  to  New  Mexico.     A  branch  of  the  Gila 


HiBT.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    *3 


i 


ii 


i'M 


3 
Ml 


s 


;i!:« 


at 


«» 


PASSES  /ND  ROUTES. 


Passes  of  Mexico  and  Central  Amebica. 


ACROSS  MEXICO 


650 


^^ 


y'l 


overland  mail  and  emigrant  road  1>  ads  south  from  the 
Gila  or  Mimbres  Pass,  near  Mowrv  City,  throngh  the 
plateau  Salt  Lake  basins,  by  Cook's  route  in  18r)4,  to 
the  Mexican  boundary  at  the  Guadalupe  Mountains  of 
the  Pinal  Range  or  Sierra  Madre  and  to  the  sources 
of  the  Yaqui  River,  crossing  the  mountains  near  the 
boundary  line,  in  latitude  31°  30',  and  descending  the 
Yaqui  to  the  towns  of  Arispe,  Ures,  and  Ilermosillo, 
thence  continuing  in  tlie  same  southerly  cou'se  to 
Guaymas.  It  would  appear  tliat  the  importance  of 
these  towns  was  due  very  largely  to  their  position  on 
the  route  from  the  plateau  in  New  Mexico  to  the 
Pacific  sea-coast,  being  situated  on  the  shortest  route 
from  the  upper  Rio  Grande  Valley  to  either  sea. 

Pertaining  to  the  western  slope  of  the  flange  in  So- 
nera, the  Altar  and  Sonora  Rivers  within  the  Coast 
Range  at  the  head  of  the  gulf  of  California  afforded 
valleys  not  unlike  the  coast  valleys  of  California,  by 
which  north-western  Sonora  and  Arizona  were  peopled 
from  the  south ;  Hermosillo,  Altar,  Tubac,  and  Tucson 
being  the  historical  consequences  of  the  lowland  coast 
trail  along  them. 

The  earliest  main  artery  of  travel  in  Mexico,  cross- 
ing the  entire  plateau  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
led  from  Vera  Cruz  over  the  eastern  flange  by  the 
Puebla  Pass,  in  latitude  19°  30',  into  the  plateau 
lake  basin  of  Mexico  proper,  draining  at  different 
points  both  into  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific.  From 
the  city  of  Mexico  it  attains  the  valley  of  the  Santiago, 
already  referred  to,  by  several  different  routes  through 
the  plateau  ridges,  the  principal  one  following  the 
basin  of  that  stream  by  way  of  Querdtaro,  Leon, 
Lagos,  Guadalajara,  and  Tepic,  to  San  Bias,  and  con- 
tinuing along  the  lowlands  of  Mazatlan. 

By  the  trend  of  the  plateau  the  roads  and  towns 
marking  the  locations  of  industries  and  populations  at 
Zacatecas  and  Durango,  within  the  flange  opposite 
Mazatlan,  created  the  necessity  for  a  connection  of 
these  places  with  Mazatlan.    Its  pass,  in  latitude  23° 


i'li 


r^l 


I  ); 
i   I' 

i     li 


I   .  Ml 


;t^ 


,1  ( I 


660 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


30',  doGio  not  appear  to  have  been  an  import  nt  route 
of  travel  from  the  east  nor  for  any  other  than  local 
intercourse  between  the  Pacific  and  the  plateau  in  this 
latitude. 

A  similar  pass  of  local  import,  that  of  Tamazula, 
in  latitude  25°,  connects  the  gulf  and  river  town  of 
Culiacan  with  the  mining  region  of  the  state  of  Du- 
rango.  Aside  from  these  passes  the  western  flange 
of  Mexico  for  nine  degrees  of  latitude,  a  distance  of 
six  hundred  miles  between  Santiago  River  and  the 
American  boundary,  has  presented  a  barrier  to  inter- 
course between  the  gulf  of  California  and  the  plateau, 
with  its  approaches  by  tlie  Rio  Grande  on  the  cast, 

Quite  as  important  ast  the  east  and  west  artery  by 
the  valley  of  Santiago  River  is  the  northerly  and 
southerly  system  of  roads  located  between  the  moun- 
tain ranges  of  the  plateau,  and  along  the  river  valleys 
which  drain  it  through  the  eastern  flange.  The 
second  principal  highway  across  Mexico  was  shaped 
by  the  northerly  and  southerly  trend  of  the  cordillera 
into  a  north  and  south  course. 

Beginning  at  Tampico,  on  the  Atlantic  gulf  side,  it 
followed  up  the  Pdnuco  River  and  attained  the  plateau 
by  its  pass,  in  latitude  21°  30',  through  the  eastern 
flange,  and  thence  continued  in  the  same  southerly 
course  through  the  city  of  Mexico  to  Acapulco.  It 
crossed  the  Santiago  trans-continental  road,  as  well  as 
the  remnants  of  the  western  flange,  at  right  angles  to 
the  latter  by  the  Cliilapa  Pass  of  the  Sierra  Madre 
del  Sur,  in  latitude  18°  30',  thence  descendl^^  .apidly 
to  Acapulco. 

Approached  from  Texas,  the  main  plateau  artery 
of  Mexico,  shaped  by  the  plateau  ridges  in  the  same 
northerly  and  southerly  course,  was  leached  by  way 
of  Monterey,  on  the  San  Josd  branch  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  through  the  Saltillo  Pass,  in  the  east<;rn 
flange,  in  latitude  26°  20',  and  passed  through  San 
Luis  Potosl  and  Queretaro  to  the  city  of  Mexico. 
This  was  the  route  of  the  American  armies  in  1 847. 


CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


6G1 


The  Mexican  plateau  itself  extending  into  Now 
Mexico,  there  were  natural  roads  which  led  Mexican 
emigration  in  that  direction  at  a  very  early  date. 
The  plateau  valley  of  Chihuahua,  between  the  Sierra 
Madre  and  the  Sierra  de  los  Frailes,  the  latter  beinsr 
one  of  the  parallels  of  the  eastern  tlange,  had  its  road 
leading  north-westerly  to  El  Paso  and  Santa  F6,  the 
route  by  which  New  Mexico  was  populated,  as  well 
as  to  the  north-east  by  the  valley  of  the  Conchos.  a 
branch  of  the  Rio  Grande,  connecting  with  the 
southern  overland  mail  and  emigrant  route  at  the 
crossing  of  the  Pecos.  Although  mining  has  been 
carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent  for  a  century  past 
on  the  inner  side  of  the  western  flange  in  the  state 
of  Chihuahua,  the  roads  of  that  state  terminate  toward 
the  west  with  the  plateau  and  lead  the  tribute  of  the 
mines  to  the  south  and  east. 

In  southern  Mexico  the  isthmus  of  Tehuantepec 
furnishes  the  first  low  pass  through  the  continent 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  the  altitude  of  the 
pass,  in  16°  45',  being  only  855  feet.  The  attention 
of  the  early  di  .scovercrs  was  drawn  to  this  remarkable 
depression  of  the  Mexican,  plateau;  and  the  idea  of 
constructing  a  canal  through  if,  though  jpreviously 
entertained,  received  a  sudden  impulse  in  1871,  when 
it  was  ascertained  in  the  port  of  San  Juan  do  Ulloa  that 
some  cannon  that  were  cast  at  Manila  had  crossed  the 
isthmus  by  the  rivers  Chimalapa  and  Goazacoaloo.'^'' 

From  Minatitlan,  on  the  Atlantic,  the  road  loada 
south  up  Goazcoalco  River  and  terminates  at  Te- 
huantepec on  the  Pacific. 

On  a  parallel  with  the  Tampico  and  Acapulco  road 
across  Mexico  we  now  see  the  cordilleran  plateau 
itself  brolien  through  and  differently  shaped;  near 
which  the  Laurentian  axis  of  the  Atlantic  side  of  the 
continriit  fiuds  a  repetition  in  the  peninsula  of  Yuca- 
tan. Canal  surveys  were  made  through  this  pass  by 
the  Spaniards. 

**IIumboldt,  Es»a\  Pol;  'Davit'  Interoceaitic  CanaU,  6, 


m 


603  PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 

The  remaining  passes  in  Central  America  most 
notably  connected  with  the  dissemination  of  settlers 
on  the  Pacific  slope  have  nearly  all  been  brought  into 
prominence  as  routes  for  railroads  or  canals. 

The  Nicaragua  route  to  Cal^fo  nj ",  in  its  pass 
through  the  western  range,  jr  lutiti'  li°  15',  and 
the  Panamd,  route,  in  latitude  '-f  10  V  «tre  the  only 
ones  of  historical  note,  however;  am  they,  as  port- 
ages connecting  great  sea  routes  on  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  oceans,  have  an  extensive  history  of  their 
own.  In  addition  to  these,  where  the  distance  from 
sea  to  sea  is  so  short,  and  the  mountains  are  so  fre- 
quently interrupted  and  low  as  they  are  in  Central 
America,  the  number  of  passes  of  more  or  less  local 
importance  is  too  large  for  mention  in  this  connection. 

Those  actually  surveyed  for  interoceanic  canals  or 
railroads  were,  continuing  southward  from  the  isthmus 
of  Tehuantepec,  the  Honduras  Pass,  leading  fcouth 
from  Honduras  Bay  along  Ulua  River  to  th  •  biy  of 
Fonseca,  crossing  the  water-shed  in  latitude'  I'S  15'; 
the  Nicaragua  Pass,  leading  west  from  C :;;ytown 
along  the  navigable  waters  of  San  Juan  Riv  r  and 
Lake  Nicaragua,  and  crossing  the  wator-sLeti  t  8"  u 
Juan  del  Sor,  in  latitude  11°  15'. 

The  Costa  Rica  Railroad  line  leads  west  from  Port 
Limon,  at  the  mouth  of  Macho  River,  to  the  head  of 
Grand  River,  flowing  into  the  gulf  of  Nicoya.  It 
passes  the  dividing  ridge  in  latitude  10°.  Along  this 
route  a  fine  macadamized  wagon  road  wa"^'  completed 
in  1866.*° 

The  Chiriqul  Railroad  route  leads  wc.-Jt  :>  uth-west 
from  Chiriqui  Bay,  on  the  Atlantic,  to  i.  .  gulf  of 
Dulce  on  the  Pacific,  following  small  river  valleys  on 
either  side,  and  cro'^-'ng  rLc  water-shed  in  latitude  9°. 

At  the  isthmu'i  ot  Da  'i/^o  three  different  routes 
have  been  survey' 3d,  a']  at  them  approximately  in 
latitude  9°;  the  tanamil  Rj'ilroad  route  from  Limon 
Bay  up  Chagres  River  having  only  a  distance  of 

'"Kootz' Interoceanic  Railroad  liept.,  quoted  ia  Davia' Interoceanic  Canals,  9. 


ca  most 
settlers 
ght  into 

its  pass 
15',  and 
he  only 
as  port- 
ntic  and 
of  their 
ice  from 
•e  so  fro- 
Central 
ess  local 
mection. 
canals  or 
!  isthmus 

•,pr    fcOUth 

bay  of 
13°  15'; 

i\-(:r  and 

•om  Port 
!  head  of 
oya.  It 
long  this 
srapleted 

uth-west 
guif  of 
ilieys  on 
iitudo  9°. 
it  routes 
lately  in 
a  Limon 
tance  of 

lie  Canals,  9. 


THIi;  PANAMA  ISTHMUS.  663 

forty-seven  and  a  half  miles  and  an  altitude  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty-four  feet  to  overcome.  Since  1832 
this  route  has  been  the  most  prominent  line  of  travel 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  becoming  second  to 
the  Central -Union  Pacific  Railroad  in  the  amount  of 
its  travel  after  1869.  That  leading  from  Caledonia 
Bay,  on  the  Atlantic  side,  the  site  of  the  old  Scotch 
colony  of  Darien,  following  Chucumaque  River  to  the 
gulf  of  San  Miguel  on  the  Pacific,  and  was  the  route 
most  favorably  reported  on  of  all  those  advocated 
for  an  interoceanic  canal  by  the  oflScer  deputed  to 
make  the  comparison  by  the  United  States  congress 
of  1866."^ 

By  the  trend  of  the  coast  at  Panamd,  as  well  as  by 
the  Atrato  route  to  the  Pacific,  the  Spaniards  were 
naturally  led  first  to  explore  and  to  take  possession  of 
what  appeared  to  them  to  be  the  more  valuable  con- 
tinent; and  the  discoveries  of  placer  gold-mines  in 
South  America  had  the  eflfect  of  leading  across  the 
isthmus  and  to  the  south  a  much  larger  emigration 
of  Spaniards  than  went  to  the  western  coast  of  North 
America.  To  the  south  Panamd  has  contributed  a 
steady  flow  of  emigration  for  as  many  centuries  as 
there  are  decades  in  its  existence  as  a  route  to  the 
Northwest  Coast.  Yet  Panamd  has  done  more  and 
won  more  by  the  latter  since  1849  than  in  all  her  pre- 
vious history. 

With  the  discovery  of  America,  which  was  also 
approximately  that  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  by  Balboa's 
journey  from  the  Darien  settlement  over  the  isthmus 
of  Panamd,  in  1513,  began  the  commercial  movemente, 
and  emigrations  from  the  north  Atlantic,  which  in 
less  than  four  centuries  have  assumed  the  character 
of  a  general  invasion  of  the  western  world  by  the 
Indo-European  race,  foremost  of  all  races  in  phvHicul 
perfection  and  mental  development.  Having  fairly 
possessed  themselves  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  there' 
immediately  arose  a  rivalry  among  themselves  for  the 

'^Admiral  Davui'  Rept.  on  Interoceanic  Railroads  and  Canals,  11-16. 


I. 


^1 


6d4 


PASSES  AND  ROUTES. 


possession  of  the  road  to  the  Indies.  A  passage,  in 
short,  from  the  north  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  giving 
its  possessor  absolute  control  of  European  trade  with 
the  Orient,  was  deemed  necessary  by  England  to  offset 
the  fortune  of  the  Spaniards  in  dominating  the  Central 
American  region. 

Thus  the  north-west  passage  became  the  grand  de- 
sideratum of  the  English;  its  history  is  told  else- 
where. But  the  problem  had  to  await  its  solution 
until  the  Anglo-American  emigration  to  Oregon 
through  South  Pass  had  developed  the  fabulous 
wealth  of  the  Pacific  flange  of  the  cordillera  in  both 
silver  and  gold,  as  has  now  been  shown. 

Their  superior  mechanical  and  engineering  capabil- 
ities in  time  gave  the  English  and  the  Anglo-Ameri- 
cans possession  of  every  road  to  the  far  east  by  land 
and  sea.  When  the  pass  by  the  Laramie  plains 
through  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  finally  perfected 
by  railroad,  not  only  was  the  north-west  passage 
realized,  the  north  Atlantic  being  brought  into  com- 
mercial proximity  to  the  Pacific,  but  the  destinies  of 
the  world  for  a  thousand  years  hence  instantly  un- 
ravelled themselves.  The  extensive  admixture,  after 
the  discovery  of  America,  of  the  Indo-European  races 
now  gathered  under  one  language  and  a  northern 
civilization,  rather  than  that  of  a  Latin  race,  placed 
the  emigration  to  the  north  Pacific  in  historical  relu- 
tions  of  the  widest  scope,  and,  as  affecting  race  mix- 
tures, of  the  utmost  human  interest.  By  reason  of 
their  geographical  position  the  North  Americans  were 
now  enabled  to  lay  one  hand  upon  the  Atlantic  and 
the  other  upon  the  Pacific,  midway  between  the 
Occident  and  the  Orient,  and  within  easy  reach  of  the 
great  populations  of  both, and  thus  permanently  placed 
in  possession  of  the  central  and  commanding  situation 
of  the  civilized  world  as  it  is  to  be. 

We  have  traced  out  the  broad  road  made  by  nature 
in  the  valley  of  the  Yuko:.,  forming  the  north- wtestern 
extremity  of  the  cordilleran  plateau,  and  along  which 


i 


EFFECT  ON  POPULATIONS. 


m 


issage,  m 
ic,  giving 
*ade  with 
to  offset 
e  Central 

*rand  de- 
o\d   else- 
solution 
Oregon 
fabulous 
a  in  both 


y  capabii- 
o-Ameri- 
t  by  land 
lie  plains 
perfected 
passage 
into  com- 
jstinies  of 
antly  un- 
;ure,  after 
jean  races 
northern 
ce,  placed 
rical  relu- 
race  mix- 
reason  of 
cans  were 
antic  and 
ween  the 
ich  of  the 
tly  placed 
situation. 


it  is  believed  by  the  foremost  students  of  ethnological 
science  that  the  native  Americans  probably  emigrated 
to  the  New  World  from  Asia;  their  affinities  both  of 
race  and  language  being  those  of  the  Asiatic  sub- 
division of  mankind. 

The  races  of  the  west  and  those  of  the  cast,  brought 
face  to  face,  though  separated  by  the  extent  of  the 
broad  Pacific,  have  nevertheless  had  established  be- 
tween them  a  line  of  communication  physically  in- 
dicated by  the  trend  of  the  cordillera,  and  the  islands 
of  the  ocean  extending  in  a  genial  climate  between 
Asia  and  America,  formed  the  commercial  highway 
of  the  Russians  from  their  Asiatic  coast  to  the  north- 
west coast  of  America. 

Briefly  as  we  have  glanced  at  the  physical  condi- 
tions under  which  the  emigrations  from  oast  and  west 
have  hei  n  influenced  and  directed,  until  finally  they 
have  come  together,  it  is  noteworthy  that  they  still 
exert,  and  must  continue  to  exert,  a  like  influence,  in 
a  greater  degree  as  the  progress  of  settlement,  of  in- 
dustry, and  of  wealth  shall  enhance  the  importance 
of  communications :  a  permanent  guide  to  the  student 
,of  history  who  would  attempt  to  read  the  future. 


by  nature 
h-wfestern 
)ng  which 


^ 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

MACKENZIE'S     VOYAQE. 
1789-1793. 

Obioik,  Ocottpation,  and  Chabaotxb  or  Alexander  Mackenzie — Hn 

JOCBNET    TO    THE    ABOTIO    OOEAN    AND    ReTUKN  —  EmBARKS    AT    FORT 

Chepewyan  fob  the  Pacific— Proceeds  up  Peace  Rrv^n— Winters 
AT  Fork  Fort — CJontinues  his  Journey  the  Following  May — Ar- 
rives AT  the  Finlay  Branch — Turns  Southward  into  Paesnip 
River— Ascends  a  Branch  of  this  Stream  to  its  Source — Portage 

AT  THE  QrEAT  DiVIDE — DESCENDS  BaD  RiVER  TO  THE  FrASER,  WHICH  . 

THE  Party  Follow  as  far  as  Quesnelle— Return  to  a  Trail  above 
West  Road  River— Strike  Out  Overland  for  the  Western  Ocean — 
Route — Abbive  at  Fbiendly  Village — Gbeat  Village — Rascals' 
Village— Reach  the  Sea  at  Bentinck  Nobth  Abm — Observations- 
Traces  OF  Vancouver — Retubn — Teoubles  with  the  Natives — Nar- 
row Escapes — Reach  Fraseb  River — Arrive  at  Fort  Fork — Tub 
Journey  Completed. 

We  come  now  to  the  first  passage  by  a  European 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  north  of  CaUfornia.  This 
honor  belongs  to  Alexander  Mackenzie,  a  native  of 
Inverness,  knighted  by  George  III.  for  his  distin- 
guished services.  Emigrating  to  Canada  while  yet  a 
young  man,  in  1779  he  entered  the  service,  as  clerk, 
of  Mr  Gregory  of  Montreal,  a  prominent  fur-trader 
of  that  day,  and  subsequently  a  partner  in  the  North- 
west Company.  After  remaining  with  Gregory  for 
five  years,  he  engaged  in  business  on  his  own  account, 
becoming  partner,  first  with  Pangman  and  Gregory, 
and  later  in  the  Northwest  Company. 

Mr  Mackenzie  possessed  a  vigorous  mind  and  a  fine 
physique.  In  form  he  was  of  medium  stature  and  of 
spare  muscular  build,  symmetrical,  very  strong,  hthe 

(6M) 


PREPARATIONS. 


667 


5NZIE — His 

:s   AT   FOBT 

. — Winters 

Mat — Ar- 

ro  Parsnip 

C — PORTAOB 
SER,  WHICH 

"rail  ABOVB 
RN  Ocean— 
: — Rascals' 
ibvations— 
'IVES — Nab- 
FoBK— Tub 


juropean 
1.  This 
ative  of 
3  distin- 
ile  yet  a 
as  clerk, 
ir-trader 
!  North- 
^ory  for 
account, 
Gregory, 

nd  a  fine 
3  and  of 
tig,  lithe 


and  active,  and  capable  of  enduring  great  fatigue. 
His  features  were  regular,  eyes  bright  and  searching, 
nose  and  mouth  Grecian,  and  his  forehead  high, 
intellectual,  and  crowned  with  dark  wavy  hair.  Firm- 
ness and  weight  marked  the  man  in  every  attitude 
and  expression.  Lips,  chin,  and  facial  illumination, 
all  implied  the  possession  of  a  will  which  would  never 
rest  satisfied  until  its  purposes  were  accomplished.  In 
thought  he  was  as  refined  and  noble  as  in  outward 
expression  he  was  dignified.  His  energy  was  mild, 
not  of  the  impatient,  fretful  order,  and  therefore  well 
suited  to  his  self-imposed  task.  His  large  gentle 
eyes  imparted  to  his  decisive  features  a  suavity  of 
expression  of  the  utmost  importance  to  him  in  deal- 
ing with  his  own  men,  who  were  sometimes  inclined 
to  be  mutinous,  no  less  than  with  affriglited  savages, 
who  in  him  beheld  the  first  white  man  they  had  ever 


seen. 


It  was  an  enterprising  spirit  and  an  inquisitive  com- 
mercial mind  which  prompted  Mackenzie  to  attempt 
explorations;  and  when  these  ardent  desires  wore 
seconded  by  his  associates,  who  were  willing  to  bear 
their  portion  of  the  expense,  the  field  of  his  ambition 
lay  before  him  unobstructed.  More  immediately  it 
was  the  old  endeavor  oo  find  a  practicable  route  from 
ocean  to  ocean,  in  this  instance  united  with  commer- 
cial zeal,  that  stimulated  a  journey  to  the  Pacific. 
•  Nor  was  the  hazardous  enterprise  to  be  entered 
upon  with  precipitation.  Success,  so  far  as  careful 
preparation  could  go,  must  be  secured  in  advance. 
Hence  before  undertaking  his  journey  we  find  Mr 
Mackenzie  studying  astronomy  and  navigation  in 
London  so  that  he  might  properly  record  his  obser- 
vations wherever  he  should  go.  Being  neither  geolo- 
gist nor  naturalist,  he  would  not  trouble  himself  with 
what  he  knew  nothing  about.  Patience  he  knew  the 
value  of,  as  well  as  the  capability  to  endure  and  the 
tact  to  make  others  endure.  Herein  were  all  the 
elements  of  success:  common -sense,  enthusiasm,  and 


668  MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 

strength,  which  accident  or  incalculable  events  alone 
3ould  circumvent.^ 

The  journey  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  though  of  the 
highest  consequence  in  its  results  to  science,  need  not 
long  occupy  our  attention. 

It  dates  from  Fort  Chipewyan,  a  post  of  the  North- 
west Company,  situated  at  the  western  end  of  Atha- 
basca Lake,  near  where  Peace  River,  which  opens  a 
passage  from  the  Pacific  slope,  discharges  its  waters, 
ind  the  channels  which  carry  them  to  the  Northern 
Ocean  take  them  up,  and  where  the  distinguished 
ixplorer  was  sometimes  in  charge.  The  site  of  this 
post  was  at  this  time,  of  all  places  on  the  continent,  a 
point  of  inquiry,  the  great  rivers  on  either  hand  being 
to  the  intelligent,  thoughtful  mind  two  mighty  marks 
of  interrogation. 

Mr  Mackenzie  set  out  on  the  3d  of  June  1789,  in 
a  birch-bark  canoe,  having  on  board  a  German,  and  a 
crew  of  four  Canadians,  two  of  them  with  their  wives. 
In  two  other  smaller  canoes,  with  his  family  and  fol- 
lowers, was  an  Indian  called  English  Chief,  who  laid 
claim  to  the  honor  of  having  attended  Heame  in  his 
Coppermine  River  exploration,  and  who  now  purposed 
adding  to  his  laurels  by  following  a  still  more  famous 
discoverer.  These  natives  were  to  act  as  hunters  and 
interpreters.  One  of  the  company's  clerks,  M.  Le 
Roux,  accompanied  the  expedition  a  portion  of  the 
way  in  another  boat  laden  with  goods  for  purposes  of 
traffic  with  the  natives.  Trapping  beaver,  shooting 
wild-fowl  and  reindeer,  and  catching  fish  as  they  went, 
the  party  proceeded  by  way  of  Slave  River  to  Slave 
Lake,  and  thence  down  the  Mackenzie  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  where  they  gave  chase  to  whales  and  paddled 

'  The  journal  of  his  expedition,  entitled  Voyages  from  Montrral  on  the  River 
St  Lnurence  through  Uie  Continent  of  North  America  to  the  Frozen  and  Pa^^ific 
Oceans  in  the  Years  1739  ami  1793,  was  published  in  London  in  1801.  It  ia 
far  more  elegantly  written  th  i-  are  the  journals  of  fur-traders  usually.  The 
reader  feels  that  he  is  penis;  .,;  die  work  not  only  of  a  shrewd  and  intrepid 
commander,  but  of  a  humane  r.nd  intelligent  gentleman. 


TO  THE  ARCTIC  OCEiiN. 


669 


mts  alone 


gh  of  the 
need  not 

he  North- 
of  Atha- 
h  opens  a 
ts  waters, 
Northern 
;inguished 
te  of  this 
)ntinent,  a 
and  being 
bty  marks 

e  1789,  in 
lan,  and  a 
leir  wives. 
ly  and  fol- 
,  who  laid 
me  in  his 
T  purposed 
're  famous 
inters  and 
8,  M.  Le 
on  of  the 
arposes  of 
,  shooting 
hey  went, 
'  to  Slave 
he  Arctic 
d  paddled 


al  on  the  River 
en  and  PiKtfic 
n  1801.  It  is- 
usually.  The 
and  intrepid 


among  the  icebergs,  all  the  while,  however,  loolcing 
for  a  in^r  d!oue<^t,  as  the  Canadians  called  it,  and  being 
in  no  wise  desirous  of  visiting  a  northern  sea.  When 
the  explorer  entered  the  river  which  bears  his  name, 
the  position  of  its  mouth  was  wholly  unknown  to  him, 
and  along  its  entire  way,  both  in  going  and  returning, 
he  sought  some  stream  which  should  conduct  him 
westward.  He  was  not  a  little  surprised,  therefore, 
to  find  himself  in  July  in  the  icy  regions  of  the 
farthest  north  and  under  the  starless  summer  sky 
and  never  setting  summer  sun  of  the  hyperborean  sea 
instead  of  on  the  shore  of  the  more  genial  Pacific. 

The  journey  was  unattended  by  the  usual  hardships 
and  hair-breadth  escapes.  The  natives  were  not  trou- 
blesome, food  was  plenty,  and  navigation  easy.  Loaded 
with  fine  peltries,  Le  Roux  returned  homeward  from 
Slave  Lake.  At  Bear  Lake  iron  ore  and  coal  were 
found.  The  natives  indulged  in  a  variety  of  tales 
more  or  less  absurd  concerning  lakes  and  rivers  toward 
the  setting  sun,  relating  what  they  supposed  would 
most  accrue  to  their  advantage.  The  Eskimos  affirmed 
that  eight  or  ten  winters  previous  they  had  seen  to 
the  westward,  at  a  place  they  called  Belhoullay  Couin, 
or  White  Man  Fort,  large  canoes  full  of  v/hite  men, 
who  gave  them  iron  in  exchange  for  leather.  He  en- 
deavored to  persuade  the  natives  to  guide  him  across 
the  country,  but  was  unsuccessful.  On  another  occa- 
sion the  explorer  gave  a  native  some  beads  to  make  a 
drawing  of  the  adjacent  country.'^ 

After  an  absence  of  one  hundred  and  two  days 
Mackenzie  returned  to  Fort  Chepewyan  the  12th  of 
September,  regarding  as  somewhat  of  a  failure  what 
was  indeed  a  success,  none  the  less  brilliant  because 
easily  achieved. 

'  'This  singular  map  he  immediately  undertook  to  delineate,  and  accord- 
ingly traced  out  a  very  long  point  of  land  between  the  rivers,  though  without 
paying  the  least  attention  to  their  courses,  which  ho  represented  as  running 
into  the  great  lake,  at  the  extremity  of  which,  as  he  had  been  told  by  Indians 
of  other  nations,  there  was  a  Belhaullay  Couin,  or  Wliite  Man's  Fort.  This  I 
took  to  be  Unalascha  Fort,  and  consequently  tlie  river  to  the  west  to  be  Cook's 
River,  and  tliat  the  body  of  water  or  sea  into  which  this  river  discharges  itself 
at  Whale  Island  communicates  with  Norton  Sound.'  Mackenzie' »  Voy.,  85. 


m 


■t! 


87b 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


Three  years  after  his  northern  tour  Mackenzie 
again  made  preparations  to  set  out  in  search  of  a 
route  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  His  preient  plan  was  to 
ascend  the  current  that  flowed  near  his  door  instead 
of  descending  it. 

Embarking  at  Fort  Chepewyan  the  10th  of  October 
1792,  he  proceeded  up  Peace  River  with  the  intention 
of  reaching  that  autumn  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, where  stood  the  most  distant  western  settle- 
ment' of  the  Northwest  Company,  This  would  give 
him  a  fine  start  for  the  ensuing  spring.  The  first 
station  on  the  river  at  that  time  was  called  Old 
Establishment,*  which  the  party  reached  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  19th,  just  in  time  to  prevent  its  total 
destruction  by  fire,  arising  from  the  carelessness  of  a 
party  who  had  camped  there  the  previous  night. 

Next  day  they  reached  New  Establishment,"  that 
winter  in  charge  of  James  Finlay.  The  exploring 
party  landed  amidst  the  firing  of  guns  and  the  re- 
joicing of  the  people,  who  were  now  especially  happy 
over  the  prospect  of  rum,  for  not  a  drop  had  these 
martyrs  had  since  the  previous  May,  it  being  then 
the  rule  that  the  summer  traflSc  of  this  locality  should 
not  be  stimulated  by  fiery  potations;  wherefore,  if 
the  savage  was  forced  to  abstain,  it  were  unseemly 
for  the  civilized  man  to  denaturalize  himself. 

But  neither  civilized  nor  savage  on  this  occasion 
were  in  the  least  backward  in  confessing  the  general 
aridity  of  their  constitutions,  whereupon  Mackenzie 
produced  a  nine-gallon  keg  of  rum  ana  some  tobacco, 
and  calling  together  the  redskin  hunters,  to  the  num- 
ber of  forty-two,  embraced  the  occasion  to  preach 

'Fort  Chepewyan  waa  the  westernmost  depflt  of  supplies  at  tliis  time, 
but  there  were  several  trading  establishments  along  Peace  Kiver,  the  farthest 
being  about  200  miles  distant.  While  on  his  first  journey  Macken?:ie  left 
McLeoil  in  charge  of  Fort  Chepewyan;  during  his  second  expedition  Roderick 
Mackenzie  ruled. 

*  This  station  was  only  relatively  ancient,  and  was  so  called  because  thero 
was  one  later  built  a  short  distance  up  the  river  called  New  Establishment. 
Both  of  them  had  been  erected  within  two  or  three  years. 

*  Fort  Vermilion  and  Fort  du  Tremble  were  subsequently  erected  on  sites 
passed  before  reaching  this  point. 


Mackenzie 
iarch  of  a 
Ian  was  to 
)or  instead 

of  October 

intention 
cky  Moun- 
ern  settle- 
would  give 

The  first 
called  Old 
irly  on  the 
nt  its  total 
ssness  of  a 
night. 
QQent,"  that 

exploring 
nd  the  re- 
ally happy 

had  these 
being  then 
ility  should 
lerefore,  if 
}  unseemly 
If. 

is  occasion 
ihe  general 
Mackenzie 
ne  tobacco, 
o  the  num- 

to  preach 

;s  at  this  time, 

rer,  the  farthest 

Mackenzie  left 

sdition  Roderick 

!d  because  there 
Establishment. 

erected  on  sites 


UP  PEACE  RIVER. 


671 


them  a  sermon,  telling  them  how  to  conduct  them- 
selves to  their  own  and  the  white  man's  best  inter- 
ests—particularly the  white  man's.  All  listened 
attentively  and  promised  unreservedly.  With  such  a 
pa,lpable  heaven  of  happiness  in  immediate  view,  what 
missionary  could  not  perform  miracles  of  conversion? 

Out  of  the  three  hundred  natives  congregated  here, 
about  sixty  were  hunters.  Warned  by  the  forming 
of  ice  on  the  river,  and  with  an  apology  for  his  un- 
wonted liberality  in  the  distribution  of  drink  and 
tobacco,  on  the  third  day  after  his  arrival  Mackenzie 
continued  his  journey,  after  giving  some  instructions 
to  Mr  Finlay.  The  volleys  of  musketry  attending  his 
departure  expressed  the  thanks  and  good  wishes  of 
the  people. 

His  loaded  canoes  had  been  despatched  two  days 
before,  so  that  now  his  progress  was  rapid.  Passing 
the  spot  where  afterward  was  placed  McLeod  Fort, 
he  arrived  at  a  small  branch  of  the  river  coming  in 
from  the  south,  six  miles  beyond  which  was  his  win- 
tering place,  called  Fort  Fork,  where  he  landed  on 
the  1st  of  November. 

Thither  the  previous  spring  two  men  had  been  sent 
to  clear  the  ground  and  square  logs  for  buildings. 
Right  well  had  they  imp  .v  d  the  time;  for  besides 
having  prepared  the  timbei  a.ii  J  planks  for  the  erection 
of  a  house,  they  had  cut  enough  palisades  seven  inches 
in  diameter  and  eighteen  feet  long  to  enclose  a  spot 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  square,  and  had  dug  a 
ditch  three  feet  deep  in  which  to  plant  them. 

Pitching  his  tent  until  the  buildings  should  be  com- 
pleted, Mackenzie  called  the  neighboring  savages  to- 
gether, and  giving  to  each  some  rum  and  tobacco 
began  to  preach  to  them  according  to  his  custom.  He 
told  them  he  had  heard  bad  reports  of  them  and  he 
had  come  to  learn  the  truth.  If  they  did  well,  they 
should  be  treated  with  kindness ;  if  ill,  they  should  be 
punished.  Immediately  the  whole  assemblage  were 
his  devout  followers,  ready  to  believe  and  do  as  the 


672 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


g  as  the  rum  and  tobacco 


master  might  say,  as  Ion 
should  last. 

As  the  winter  deepened  the  cold  became  intense. 
The  23d  of  December  a  house  was  finished  for  Mac- 
kenzie, of  which  he  took  possession,  and  a  block  of  five 
houses  more,  each  twelve  by  seventeen  feet,  was  soon 
completed  for  the  men.  Many  sick  and  maimed  among 
the  natives,  and  some  among  his  own  men,  came  to 
Mackenzie  to  be  treated,  and  although  he  was  not  a 
surgeon  he  did  not  dechne  the  T(  nonsibility,  but  gath- 
ered such  remedies  as  he  hapf  !  to  be  familiar  with 
and  ajiplied  them :  for  fur-hur  ^n  those  days  must 
know  something  about  everything  or  suffer  severely 
sometimes  through  ignorance  or  lack  of  wit.  This 
explorer  saw  in  the  healing  art  no  great  mystery 
locked  in  the  Latin  terms  of  ancient  mvsticism,  but  a 
simple  practical  matter  which  every  man  possessing 
common-sense  might  learn  and  apply. 

Quantities  of  furs  were  brought  in;  for  the  deep 
snow  having  not  yet  come,  the  beaver  could  be  easily 
tracked.  Food  was  abundant,  and  Mackenzie  took 
care  to  keep  himself  and  men  in  good  condition  for 
the  arduous  efforts  of  the  coming  summer. 

Thus  not  unpleasantly  wore  the  winter  away.  The 
new  year  was  welcomed  with  the  discharge  of  fire- 
arms, and  spirits  and  flour  distributed  among  the  men. 
Frigid-featured  nature  was  subdued  by  smiling  spring. 
April  bade  the  snow  adieu,  though  the  river  was  yet 
covered  with  ice;  and  with  the  pink  and  purple  May 
flowers,  and  the  yellow-buttons,  came  the  voyageur's 
most  exasperating  summer  pests,  the  gnats  and  mos- 
quitoes. No  sooner  was  the  river  free  from  ice  than 
Mackenzie  closed  the  year's  business  by  writing  up  his 
accounts,  and  having  despatched  six  fur-laden  canoes 
to  Fort  Chepewyan,  he  prepared  to  embark  at  once 
on  his  journey  of  discovery. 

Nine  men,  two  of  whom  were  native  hunters  and 
interpreters,  had  been  selected  for  the  expedition, 
and  every  one  of  them  promised  to  stand  by  his  com- 


d  tobacco 

intense. 
I  for  Mac- 
ock  of  five 

was  soon 
led  amoiior 
came  to 
was  not  a 

but  gath- 
iiiliar  with 
days  must 
r  severely 
wit.  This 
t  mystery 
ism,  but  a 
possessing 

the  deep 
1  be  easily 
Bnzie  took 
ndition  for 

way.  The 
je  of  fire- 
g  the  men. 
ing  spring. 
3r  was  yet 
irple  May 
i^oyageur's 
and  mos- 
n  ice  than 
:ing  up  his 
ien  canoes 
k  at  once 

inters  and 
xpedition, 
f  his  com- 


DEPARTURE  FROM  FORT  FORK. 


6lf" 


mander  to  the  last.'  One  canoe,  twenty-five  feet  long, 
with  four  and  three  quarters  feet  beam  and  twenty - 
six  inches  hold,  was  launched  for  the  service.  This 
slender  craft,  destined  to  carry  ten  persons  with  all 
their  equipage,  arms,  ammunition,  provisions,  goods 
for  presents,  and  baggage,  in  weight  not  less  than 
three  thousand  pounds,  was  yet  so  sligUL  that  two 
men  could  easil}-  carry  it  three  or  four  miles  without 
stopping. 

On  the  9th  of  May  1793  the  party  left  Fork  Fort 
and  pointed  their  little  vessel  up  the  stream.  Belbro 
them  spread  primeval  nature  in  redundant  gayety.  On 
the  west  were  decorated  terraces  formed  of  alternate 
precipice  and  plain;  high  hills  covered  with  white 
spruce  and  birch  rolled  off  toward  the  east;  alder  and 
willow  fringed  the  stream.  Vast  herds  of  elk  fed 
quiietly  upon  the  uplands,  and  myriads  of  buffalo  with 
their  frisking  young  enlivened  the  plains.  The  fierce 
grizzly  was  passed  by  at  a  respectful  distance.  Ground- 
hogs and  cormorants  were  likewise  let  alone.  Game 
for  food  was  easilj^  secured  without  detention,  tlio 
hunters  going  before. 

At  first  navigation  was  easy;  though  the  current 
was  swift,  strong  arms  sent  the  quivering  bark  rapidly 
up  the  stream.  In  propelling,  poles  were  used  more 
freely  than  paddles.  But  by  and  by  obstacles  were  on- 
countered  in  finding  a  passage  through  these  unknown 
waters.  It  soon  became  apparent  that  this  was  to  be 
a  journey  different  in  kind  from  the  last,  one  which 
would  try  men's  strength,  temper,  and  fidelity. 

Cascades  became  frequent,  driving  the  travellers 
from  the  water  into  the  woods.  Sharp  rocks  cut  into 
the  sides  of  the  boat;  sunken  trees  pierced  the  bottom, 
and  rapids  and  whirlpools  opened  seams,  the  heavy 
cargo  increasing  the  strain. 

On  the  21st  of  May  they  encountered  a  torrent 

•  The  names  of  the  white  men  were  Alexander  Mackay,  Franyoia  Beaudieiix, 
Baptist  Bisson,  Francois  Courtois,  Jacques  Beauchamp,  Joseph  Landry,  and 
Charles  Ducette,  the  two  last  mentioned  having  been  with  Mackenzie  on  liis 
former  journey. 

Hiar.  N.  W.  Coast,  Vol.  I.    43 


i 


674 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


walled  on  either  side  by  almost  perpendicular  moun- 
tains. For  three  leagues  the  river  was  white  with 
rage  as  it  rushed  onward  betweer  two  mighty  walls  of 
rock.  Already  the  men  began  to  complain,  and  talked 
of  returning.  The  place,  they  said,  was  simply  im- 
passable.'' Mackenzie  paid  not  the  slightest  attention 
to  their  remarks,  but  prepared  to  go  forward.  With 
exceeding  difficulty  the  ascent  was  made  by  cutting 
trees  and  warping  the  canoe  up  the  side.  The  summit 
reached,  it  was  let  down  on  the  other  side  in  like  man- 
ner with  the  aid  of  ropes.  The  cargo  was  carried  over 
the  portage  on  men's  backs.  Three  or  four  miles  a  day,, 
and  that  with  excessive  fatigue,  was  the  most  that 
could  be  made.  A  written  account  of  the  journey 
was  sent  down  the  river  from  time  to  tire  ^,  enclosed  in 
a  tight  keg. 

Arrived  on  the  31st  at  the  fork,  where  one  branch, 
subsequently  called  Finlay  River,  from  James  Finlay, 
who  made  a  tour  in  this  region  shortly  after  Mac- 
kenzie, came  in  from  the  north-west,  and  another, 
afterward  known  as  Parsnip  River,  from  the  quan- 
tities of  wild  parsnips  that  grew  upon  its  banks, 
flowed  in  from  the  south-east,  the  explorer  took  the 
southern  stream,  although  his  instincts  pointed  toward 
the  northern  one,  which  was  larger,  less  raging,  and 
came  from  seemingly  nearer  the  course  he  wished  to 
follow.^ 

But  before  starting,  an  old  Indian  had  cautioned 
him  by  no  means  to  be  led  away  in  that  direction,  as 
in   divers   branches  it  scattered  and   was  soon   lost 

'  Fraser,  who  in  1806  followed  the  track  of  Mackenzie,  says  of  him  at  this 
point:  '  I  can  aiKrm  that  f~oui  the  portage  to  Fenlay's  branch,  and  which  I  con- 
tend to  bo  the  main  brunch  of  the  Peace  River,  we  had  few  of  the  difficulties 
he  mentions  to  have  encountered,  'luo  aavication  is  not  only  safe  but  as 
easy  as  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Peace  River. '  Franer^s  First  Journal,  MS.,  V'O. 
It  may  be  that  the  water  was  higher  during  Mackenzie's  ascent  than  during 
Eraser's ;  at  all  events  I  would  sooner  suspect  the  latter  of  churlishness  than 
the  former  of  exaggeration. 

*  Malcolm  McLcod,  son  of  chief-tradei-  .John  McLeod,  in  his  notes  to  Archi- 
bald McDonald's  journal  of  Governor  Simpson's  canoe  voyage  up  Peace  River 
and  down  the  Columbia  in  1828,  makes  frequent  reference  to  Mackenzie's  eay- 
Ings  and  doings;  see  also  McLeod' s  Map  Peace  River;  Mayne's  Brit.  Col., 84; 
i£axfie'»  Vancouver  Island,  208. 


i 


EARLY  DISAFFECTION. 


675 


liar  moun- 
rhite  with 
by  walls  of 
md  talked 
iimply  im- 
:  attention 
rd.  With 
by  cutting 
he  summit 
1  like  man- 
arried  over 
nilesaday,, 
most  that 
le  journey 
enclosed  in 

>ne  branch, 
nes  Finlay, 
after  Mac- 
id  another, 
the  quan- 
its  banks, 
3r  took  the 
ited  toward 
raging,  and 
3  wished  to 

1  cautioned 
lirection,  as 
3  soon   lost 

ys  of  him  at  this 
and  which  I  con- 
of  the  diflSculties 
only  safe  but  as 
lournal,  MS. ,  70. 
icent  than  during 
3hurli8hnes8  than 

lis  notes  to  Archi- 
;e  up  Peace  River 
Mackenzie's  eay- 
ne'8  Brit.  Vol.,  M; 


among  the  mountains.  Therefore  he  took  the  south- 
ern branch,  which  was  the  proper  one. 

So  rapid  now  was  the  current  and  so  severe  the  toil, 
that  the  men  threw  off  restraint,  and  openly  cursed 
the  expedition  and  all  engaged  in  it.  Calmly  Mac- 
kenzie bore  with  them,  for  they  had  suffered  much; 
nevertheless  he  firmly  expressed  his  determination  to 
proceed. 

The  beaver  in  this  vicinity  were  given  an  excellent 
character  for  industry,  acres  of  large  poplars  having 
been  cut  by  them  at  various  places  along  the  stream. 
Rain  and  thunder  were  frequent  and  severe.  Thus 
the  explorers  continued  their  way,  passing  three 
streams  which  flowed  in  from  their  left,  and  leaving 
Nation  River  and  the  branch  which  leads  to  McLeod 
Lake  on  the  right.** 

One  day  Mackenzie  ascended  a  hill  and  climbed  a 
high  tree  in  order  to  obtain  a  view  of  the  country. 
It  was  so  thickly  wooded  that  he  could  distinguish 
but  little,  but  toward  the  north-west  he  saw  a  level 
country  with  snow- clad  mountains  beyond;  another 
ridge,  snowless,  stretched  southward,  and  between 
the  two  he  fancied  his  route  lay.  Descending  again 
to  the  river  he  was  at  a  loss  to  know  whether  his 
boat  was  above  or  below  him.  Discharging  liis  gun, 
there  was  no  reply;  then  he  broke  branches  and 
threw  them  into  the  river,  that,  carried  downward  by 
the  current,  they  might  notify  his  party,  if  they  were 
below,  of  his  whereabouts.  Another  discharge  failed 
to  produce  any  reply.  Mackenzie  then  ascended  the 
stream  for  some  distance,  and  turning  retraced  his 
steps,  his  anxiety  increasing  every  moment.  At  last 
wet  and  weary  he  reached  his  party  and  learned  that 

"  From  the  namtive  alone  it  is  almost  impossible  to  follow  the  expediti  m 
up  this  river,  but  wit)i  the  aid  of  Mr  Fraser's  manuscript  Mackenzie's  course 
is  made  plain.     "The  most  direct  route,  and  the  one  hitherto  believed  to  liave 


fsrtage,  after  which  was  another  small  stream  to  be  desceudcd  before  reaching 
raser  River. 


676 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


the  canoe  had  been  b^rlly  broken,  that  the  men  wero 
more  than  ever  exh  ^ed  and  discouraged,  and  that 
in  his  absence  they  had  been  laying  plans  to  build  a 
raft  and  return. 

Still  the  journey  was  continued,  Mackay  walking 
much  of  the  time  with  the  hunters,  that  their  minds 
might  be  diverted  from  returning,  as  well  as  to  lighten 
the  canoe.  The  shooting  of  a  porcupine  is  recorded ; 
they  also  found  patches  of  wild  parsnips,  the  tops  of 
which  they  gathered  and  boiled  with  pemican  for 
their  supper.  On  the  9th  of  June  the  party  came 
upon  a  tribe  of  Rocky  Mountain  Indians,  who  mani- 
fested both  fear  and  courage  at  their  appearance, 
though  some  fled  to  the  forest.  Assured  at  length, 
they  permitted  the  strangers  to  approach.  They  had 
heard  of  white  men,  they  informed  the  interpreters, 
but  they  had  never  before  seen  such  a  sight.  They 
obtained  iron  from  a  people  living  on  a  river  to  the 
westward,  which  was  only  a  branch  of  this  river,  and 
between  which  and  Peace  River  there  was  a  carrying- 
place  of  eleven  days'  march.  For  this  iron  they  gave 
beaver  and  dressed  moose  skins,  and  the  tribe  with 
whom  they  traded  travelled  a  whole  moon  to  reach 
the  country  of  other  natives,  who  lived  in  houses,  and 
from  whom  they  traded  for  this  same  iron.  The  last 
named  people  likewise  must  make  a  journey  for  it 
from  their  country  to  the  sea-coast,  where  they  found 
white  men  like  those  present,  who  came  in  ships  as 
big  as  an  island.  Thus  we  see  the  poor  savages  in 
the  heart  of  this  immense  wilderness  beset  by  civil- 
ization behind  and  before,  and  even  then  the  pale 
strangers,  harbingers  of  death,  at  their  door. 

Here  was  a  dilemma.  Mackenzie  wished  to  strike 
some  stream  which  would  carry  him  to  the  Pacific, 
To  find  the  spot  of  Carver's  speculations  where  the 
four  great  rivers  of  the  North  American  continent,  a 
northward  flowing  stream,  an  eastward,  a  southward, 
and  a  westward,  all  took  their  rise  within  an  area  of 
thirty  miles,  did  not  seem  at  all  likely  at  this  moment. 


w^. 


len  wero 

and  that 

build  a 

walking 

ir  minds 
lighten 

ecorded ; 
tops  of 
ncan  for 
rtj  camo 
ho  mani- 
pearance, 
length. 
They  had 
irpreters, 
b.  They 
er  to  the 
river,  and 
earrying- 
they  gave 
iribe  with 

to  reach 
ouses,  and 

The  last 
ley  for  it 
bey  found 
1  ships  as 
avages  in 
■j  by  civil- 

the  pale 

[  to  strike 
le  Pacific. 
«rhere  the 
intinent,  a 
outhward, 
m  area  of 
3  moment. 


ABORIGINAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

To  ascend  Peace  River  much  farther  was  impossible. 
For  a  moment  he  was  tempted  to  abandon  the  canoe 
and  strike  out  along  the  line  of  the  iron  trade  before 
mentioned,  but  a  little  reflection  satisfied  him  that 
such  a  course  would  be  suicidal,  as  he  could  not  carry 
a  tenth  part  of  the  necessary  food,  ammunition,  and 
presents  to  secure  him  good  treatment  among  these 
savage  tribes  in  the  heart  of  the  wilderness. 

Meanwhile  the  most  generous  hospitality  was  af- 
forded the  strangers  by  these  savages,  for  not  only  did 
they  bring  them  fish  for  food,  and  beaver- skins  as 
presents,  but  at  night,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  civil- 
ized Christians,  the  men  of  the  forest  not  only  re- 
signed to  them  their  beds,  but  the  partners  of  them. 

Next  morning  mention  was  made  by  one  of  the 
natives,  while  standing  by  the  camp  fire,  of  a  great 
river  in  the  direction  the  white  men  were  going,  and 
between  which  and  them  were  three  lakes  and  three 
carrying -places.  From  these  lakes,  which  were  ail 
near  the  source  of  the  river  they  were  now  on,  a 
small  stream  flowed  into  a  large  river  which  ran 
toward  the  mid-day  sun  though  it  did  not  empty 
into  the  ocean. ^^  They  were  many  and  brave  who 
inhabited  that  country,  so  said  the  informant,  and 
they  buiit  houses  and  lived  on  islands.  This  coin- 
ciding with  what  filled  the  ardent  mind  of  the  explorer, 
and  being  what  he  wished  to  believe,  he  straightway 
embraced  the  tale  as  true.  Then  taking  from  the 
fire  a  black  coal,  and  stripping  from  a  log  a  piece  of 
bark,  he  directed  the  native  geographer  to  draw  him  a 
map  of  that  country,  which  was  satisfactorily  done. 
Moreover,  one  of  the  savages  was  induced  to  act  as 
guide  to  the  border  of  the  neighboring  nation. 

And  now  once  more  all  was   activity  and  hope 
The  10th  of  June  the  company,  refreshed,  embarked 

'"A  remarkably  exact  description  of  tlie  Fraser,  wliich  could  not  be  as 
cribod  to  the  imagination  of  the  writer,  for  he  thought  the  natives  mistakcu. 
'The  opinion  that  th^  river  <li(l  not  disciiar^o  itself  into  the  sea,  I  very 
confidv.atIy  impu'  '  t^  liia  ignorance  of  the  country.'  Mwkenzk'»  Vuy.,  204; 
and  yet  the  Fraser  does  not  discharge  directly  into  the  main  ocean. 


■ 


«M 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


As  usual  on  such  occasions,  for  the  safety  of  the  guide 
the  old  men  of  the  tribe  expressed  the  greatest  so- 
licitude," though  the  guide  himself  did  not  appear 
greatly  troubled.  Five  beaver-skins  presented  Mac- 
kenzie the  night  before,  were  returned,  with  the  as- 
surance that  he  would  be  back  that  way  in  two  moons 
and  purchase  them — which  conduct  on  the  part  of  a 
European  must  have  astonished  even  an  unsophisti- 
cated savage. 

Proceeding  up  the  river,  the  first  night  from  the 
friendly  camp,  fearing  that  the  guide  might  repent  his 
bargain  and  desert,  Mackenzie  sought  fresh  assurances. 
"How  is  it  possible  for  me  to  leave  the  lodge  of  the 
Great  Spirit?"  the  young  man  replied;  "when  he  tells 
me  he  has  no  further  use  for  me,  I  will  then  return 
to  my  people." 

They  passed,  the  11th,  a  river  on  the  left,  winding 
round  a  conical  elevation  called  by  the  Indian  guide 
Beaver  Lodge  Mountain.  Another  small  stream  was 
seen  coming  in  on  the  same  side,  two  or  three  miles 
above  which  they  left  the  main  channel,  which  was 
here  not  more  than  ten  yards  wide,  and  entered  a 
sluggish  meandering  stream,^^  still  narrower,  which 
soon  brought  them  to  a  lake  two  miles  in  length  and 
from  three  to  five  hundred  yards  in  width,  fed  by 
mountain  snow.  Here  was  spruce  for  the  principal 
wood,  with  white  birch,  willow,  and  alder.  There 
were  swans  in  great  number,  geese  and  ducks ;  like- 
wise moose,  deer,  and  many  beaver;  and  of  birds,  blue- 

"  On  a  former  occasion  when  Mackenzie  carried  away  a  guide,  an  ancient 
of  the  natives  exclaimed:  'My  nepliew,  your  going  pains  my  heart.  Tlie 
white  men  rob  us  of  you.  They  take  you  among  your  enemies ;  you  may 
never  return.  Were  you  no*'  with  the  chief  I  should  be  disconsolate;  but  he 
calls  and  you  must  go ! ' 

■'■' Strangely  enough  Mackenzie  does  not  say,  when  he  quits  the  main 
channel,  whether  he  turns  to  the  right  or  to  the  left.  But  turning  to  Fraser's 
manuscript  wo  find  the  same  place  thus  described:  'Monday,  30th  June 
1806.  Bad  rainy  weather ;  notwithstanding  we  set  off  early  and  soon  passed 
a  considerable  river  that  flows  in  from  tlie  left  close  to  the  place  called  Toy  Sir 
Alexander  Mackenzie  the  Beaver  Lodge.  About  half  a  mile  farther  on  we 
passed  another  river  on  the  right,  and  then  put  ashore  to  cook  for  La  M.ilide. 
Soon  after  we  left  the  main  branch  on  the  left  and  entered  another  sma'  I  river 
on  the  right,  the  waters  of  which  are  very  clear  and  deep. '  Franer «  First 
Journal,  MS.,  112. 


m 


A  SMALL  GREAT  SPIRIT. 


679 


le  guide 
itest  so- 
;  appear 
jd  Mac- 
the  as- 

0  moons 
art  of  a 
3ophisti- 

rom  the 
pent  his 
urances, 
e  of  the 

1  he  tells 
a  return 

winding 
in  guide 
earn  was 
•ee  miles 
lich  was 
ntered  a 
r,  which 
igth  and 
,  fed  by 
principal 
There 
ks;  like- 
'ds,  blue- 

,  an  ancient 
heart.  The 
8 ;  you  may 
late ;  but  he 

ts  the  main 
J  to  Fraser's 
30th  June 
soon  possied 
ialled  Dy  Sir 
rther  on  we 
:  La  Malide. 
r  ama'  I  river 
raner  8  First 


jays  and  humming-birds.  Wild  parsnips  lined  the 
banks  in  grateful  profusion. 

Proceeding  to  the  upper  end  of  the  lake,  they 
landed  and  unloaded.  Here  w^as  the  Height  of  Land, 
the  apex  of  the  great  shed  which  parted  the  falling 
waters,  sending  those  on  one  side  to  the  east  and 
those  on  the  other  to  the  west." 

This  was  on  the  Pith  of  June  1793.  Following  a 
beaten  path  leading  over  a  low  ridge  eight  hundred 
and  seventeen  paces  ^*  to  another  small  lake  of  about 
the  same  size  as  the  one  just  left,  they  again  embarked 
and  found  themselves  now  movinij  a]on<x  with  the  cur- 
rent.  At  the  end  of  the  lake  they  discovered  a  small 
river,  shallow  at  first,  but  soon  increased  by  other 
small  streams,  through  which  with  diflSculty  they 
forced  their  way,  unloading  to  carry  at  four  o'clock, 
and  at  five  entering  another  lake  nearly  round,  and  iu 
diameter  about  one  third  of  a  mile."  Thence  they 
entered  another  river  called  by  Fraser  subsequently 
Bad  River,  which  rushed  impetuously  over  flat  stones, 
so  that  soon  they  were  obliged  to  land,  unload,  and 
encamp.  It  is  far  more  frightful  in  canoe  navigation 
descending  than  ascending  unknown  streams  with 
frequent  cascades  and  falls.  This  shooting  of  rapids 
which  the  Great  Spirit  indulged  in.  the  new  guide 
did  not  relish.  A  great  spirit  that  required  guiding 
in  mountains  which  he  had  made,  was  rather  a  tame 
affair  after  all,  and  might  possibly  be  mortal  enough 
to  be  dashed  in  pieces  on  the  rocks.  At  all  events 
his  heavenly  canoe  might  split  and  let  the  poor  Indian 

"'This  I  consider  as  the  highest  and  soutliemmost  source  of  the  Unjiguli 
or  Peace  River,  latitude  54°  24'  north,  longitude  r21°  west  from  Greenwicli, 
•which  after  a  winding  course  tlirough  a  vast  extent  of  couutry,  receiving 
many  large  rivers  iu  its  progress,  and  passing  through  tiie  Slave  l^ike, 
empties  itself  into  the  Frozen  Ocean,  in  70"  north  latitude,  and  aliout  VMi' 


yards  long,' 
miles  long. ' 

"" '  The  distance  is  one  hundred  and  sixty  yards  to  another  lake  not  quite 
OB  large  as  the  last.'  Fraser's  Firat  Journal,  MS.,  115. 


660 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


drown,  hence  he  would  fain  return.  But  the  spirit- 
water  of  the  white  men  was  sufficient  to  fortify  his 
courage,  so  that  he  promised  to  go  on. 

Early  next  morning,  the  13th  of  June,  a  road  was 
cut  and  the  canoe  carried,  as  they  thought,  below  the 
rapid.  The  water  here  was  anything  but  placid,  and 
on  embarking  the  men  insisted  that  Mackenzie,  who 
had  started  to  walk  with  some  others  in  order  to 
lighten  the  canoe,  should  enter  the  boat  and  die  with 
them  if  they  were  doomed  to  die. 

The  evil  they  feared  came  upon  them  quicker  even 
than  they  had  anticipated.  Scarcely  had  they  shoved 
off  from  the  bank  when  the  canoe  struck.  The  swift 
current  then  catching  the  boat  drove  it  sideways  upon 
a  bar.  All  hands  jumped  into  the  stream,  which  so 
lightened  the  boat  as  to  enable  the  water  to  carry  it 
over  the  bar  into  deep  water.  Clinging  to  their  craft, 
the  men  climbed  in  as  best  they  could,  leaving  one  of 
their  number  behind.  Before  they  were  fairly  seated 
they  were  again  driven  against  a  rock,  which  shattered 
the  stern  and  threw  the  boat  to  the  opposite  side, 
there  breaking  the  bow  in  pieces.  The  foreman  caught 
some  overhanging  limbs,  but  was  dragged  from  the 
boat  in  his  attempt  to  arrest  its  progress.  An  instant 
more  and  they  were  in  the  midst  of  a  cascade,  and  the 
bottom  breaking  on  the  stones.  The  boat  now  filled, 
all  jumped  into  the  water,  and  the  steersman  called 
out  for  the  men  to  save  themselves.  In  a  peremp- 
tory tone  Mackenzie  ordered  them  not  to  quit  their 
hold  on  the  boat,  which  command  they  fortunately 
obeyed,  thereby  not  only  saving  the  cargo  but  their 
own  lives;  for  carried  out  of  the  breakers,  where  they 
would  have  begn  dashed  in  pieces  or  carried  over 
other  yet  more  fatal  falls,  an  eddy  caught  and  threw 
them  into  shallow  water,  where  'f/hey  made  a  stand  for 
their  lives,  the  wreck  meanwhile  resting  on  a  rock. 

It  came  upon  them  like  a  flash,  the  embarkation, 
the  dangers,  the  destruction  of  the  boat,  the  miracu- 
lous escape  of  the  men — not  more  than  five  minutes 


NARROW  ESCAPES. 


681 


;he  spirit- 
fortify  his 

road  was 

below  the 

lacid,  and 

!nzie,  who 

order  to 

die  with 

cker  even 
By  shoved 
the  swift 
vays  upon 

which  so 
;o  carry  it 
beir  craft, 
ng  one  of 
rly  seated 
shattered 
)site  side, 
an  caught 

from  the 
^n  instant 
e,  and  the 
low  filled, 
lan  called 
I  peremp- 
quit  their 
)rtunately 
but  their 
here  they 
ried  over 
nd  threw 

stabd  for 
a  rock. 
)arkation, 
e  miracu- 
e  minutes 


were  required  to  strip  these  explorers  of  their  boat 
and  the  greater  part  of  their  equipment.  Their  first 
thoughts  w^^re  of  the  two  men  who  were  left  in  peril- 
ous predicaments  in  the  water;  and  when,  fortunately, 
these  came  up  unhurt,  they  began  to  save  what  they 
could  from  the  wreck.  Strange  to  say,  the  powder 
had  escaped  damage,  but  the  balls  were  all  lost. 
There  were  shot,  however,  of  which  balls  could  be 
made. 

Such  efiects  as  were  not  swept  away  were  now 
landed  and  spread  out  to  dry.  When  the  Indian  at- 
tendants of  the  expedition  who  were  walking  and 
hunting  on  the  shore  saw  the  danger  and  misfortune 
which  had  befallen  those  in  the  boat,  they  seated 
themselves  upon  the  bank  and  lifted  up  their  voices 
and  wept,  without  making  any  move  to  render  assist- 
ance. Mackenzie's  companions  were  at  heart  worse 
than  the  savages;  for  when  they  saw  the  sad  plight 
to  which  they  were  reduced,  they  rejoiced  inwardly, 
for  now  they  were  sure  that  the  hated  expedition  must 
be  abandoned. 

But  not  so  the  commander.  Reaching  shore  bat- 
tered and  beniTTi-.ed,  so  cold  and  exhausted  that  he 
could  hardly  keep  his  feet,  having  stood  in  the  water 
hokling  the  shattered  canoe  until  the  wet  remnant  of 
cargo  was  landed,  he  said  little  but  listened  to  the 
reiuiarks  of  others,  and  congratulated  them  on  their 
escape. 

Not  a  word  was  spoken  of  continuing  the  journey 
until  the  men  had  been  made  warm  and  comfortable 
by  a  good  fire  and  a  hearty  supper;  not  until  liquor 
enough  had  been  administered  to  raise  their  spirits 
and  throw  a  halo  of  romance  round  their  misfortunes. 
Then  very  gently  Mackenzie  recalled  to  their  minds 
that  before  starting  he  had  notified  them  that  hard- 
ships and  dangers  were  before  them;  that  they  then 
promised  to  stand  by  him;  and  that  he  did  not  believe* 
to  be  men  those  who  would  forfeit  their  word  through 
fear.    He  was  going  forward,  he  said,  if  he  went  alone, 


''m 


682 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE, 


and  if  there  was  a  man  of  Montreal  present  who  was 
afraid  to  accompany  him,  he  had  greatly  mistaken 
their  character. 

It  was  enough.  Not  a  word  more  was  said  about 
turning  back — as  long  as  the  effect  of  the  liquor  lasted. 
Although  it  had  been  regarded  as  a  hopeless  case,  the 
canoe  was  repaired  with  gum  and  bark  so  as  to  do 
service  after  a  fashion.  Meanwhile  the  guide  had 
given  the  Great  Spirit  the  slip  when  he  saw  him  thus 
come  to  grief  Cutting  their  way  through  thickets, 
they  carried  the  now  soaked  canoe  through  dangerous 
swamps,  midst  swarms  of  gnats  and  mosquitoes,  under 
a  burning  summer  sun,  making  only  two  or  three 
miles  a  day.^" 

After  another  succession  of  rapids  and  falls,  on  the 
17th  of  June,  at  the  end  of  a  carrying -place  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  in  length,  through  which  they  had 
to  cut  their  way,  they  put  their  boat  again  in  the 
water,  but  were  soon  stopped  by  drift-wood.  Thus 
they  alternated  between  the  water  and  the  land  until 
noon,  when  they  found  themselves  within  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  of  the  great  river.  Here  the 
stream  which  they  had  just  descended  broke  into 
small  channels,  none  of  which  were  navigable,  so  that 
they  were  obliged  to  cut  a  passage  through  the  under- 
brush and  drift-wood,  and  then  drag  the  canoe  and 
carry  the  cargo  through  a  swamp  to  the  bank  of  the 
great  river,  which  they  reached  at  eight  o'clock.^^ 

WFraaer  complained  greatly  of  this  Bad  River,  as  he  called  it,  affirming  it 
was  the  worst  pieco  of  canoe  navigation  he  had  ever  encountered.  Notwith- 
standing he  had  Mackenzie's  experience  to  guide  him,  he  did  not  make  much 
better  work  of  it.  At  the  long  bad  rapid  he  says  '  the  canoes  were  continued 
one  after  another  by  six  men  and  one  of  ourselves ;  and  though  they  were  but 
lightly  loaded  it  was  with  much  difficulty  they  were  run  down ;  and  through 
the  awkwardness  of  the  men  mine  was  run  against  a  large  emharas  in  the 
middle  of  the  river  which  broke  the  bow  and  smashed  all  the  pieces  to  the 
second  bar.  Fortunately  there  was  not  much  water  in  the  river,  and  the 
channel  was  narrow.  All  hands  jumped  out  and  pulled  the  wreck  on  shore 
before  it  had  time  to  fill  and  sinlr.'  Fraser's  First  Journal,  MS.,  122-3. 

" '  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  fuems  to  have  examined  the  Bad  River  with 
attention ;  for,  as  far  as  he  went  lown  in  peace,  he  describes  it  with  great  ex- 
actness. It  is  certainly  well  named,  and  a  most  dangerous  place,  being  much 
intersected  with  large  stones,  fallen  trees,  and  embaras,  and  the  current  runs 
with  such  velocity  that  a  canoe   thougli  light,  cannot  be  stopped  with  poles; 


,  who  was 
mistaken 

aid  about 

lor  lasted. 

i  case,  the 

>  as  to  do 

fuide  had 

him  thus 

thickets, 

dangerous 

oes,  under 

or  three 

Us,  on  the 
ace  three 
they  had 
lin  in  the 
ad.  Thus 
land  until 
hin  three 
Here  the 
3roke  into 
lie,  so  that 
the  under- 
canoe  and 
mk  of  the 
lock.^^ 

it,  affirming  ifc 
red.  Notwith- 
lot  make  much 
were  continued 
I  they  were  but 
1 ;  and  through 
emharas  in  the 
e  pieces  to  the 

river,  and  the 
wreck  on  shore 
I.,  122-3. 
Jad  River  with 
S  with  great  ex- 
ce,  being  much 
he  current  runs 
ped  with  poles; 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


683 


The  Exploueu's  Course. 


084 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


Great  was  the  satisfaction  of  Mackenzie  in  reaching 
this  river,  the  first  white  man  to  stand  upon  the  bank 
of  a  large  navigable  stream  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  whose  waters  flowed,  as  he  was  sure  they 
did,  into  the  Pacific.  He  imagined  it  the  majestic 
Columbia  thus  flowing  serenely  at  his  feet;  and  so 
Eraser  thought  when  he  first  saw  it  thirteen  years 
afterward,  and  so  continued  to  think  until  in  1808  he 
followed  it  to  its  mouth  and  gave  it  his  name.^* 

It  has  been  supposed  that  this  was  the  first  known 
of  this  river,  but  its  mouth  had  been  discovered  in 
1791-2  by  the  Spaniards;  and  in  Gray's  journal 
Kelley  claims  to  have  found  mentioned  a  large  river 
flowing  into  the  sea,  along  whose  shores  he  sailed,  in 
latitude  49°,  called  by  the  natives  Tacootche,  which 
was  in  truth  the  Fraser,  but  which  Mackenzie  sup- 
posed to  be  the  Columbia.  Gray,  of  course,  knew 
better,  he  having  found  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
himself. 


nnd  it  is  with  great  difSculty  it  can  be  done  by  laying  hold  of  the  branches ; 
and  even  that  way  we  often  drifted  one  hundred  and  sometimes  two  hmidred 
yards  from  the  time  we  began  to  hold  the  branches  before  we  could  bring  to. 
Near  its  confluence  it  divides  into  three  branches,  all  of  which  I  suppose  to 
be  navigable,  but  the  one  to  the  right  is  the  best  route. '  Fraaer'e  First  Jour- 
7uit,  MS.,  135. 

'^  It  was  the  north  branch  of  the  Fraser,  called  by  the  natives  Tacootche- 
Tesse.  Lewis  and  Clarke  supposed  it  to  have  been  the  upper  Columbia  that 
Mackenzie  had  found.  Says  Gass,  in  his  Journal,  216,  note :  'The  size,  course, 
and  appearance  of  this  great  river  seem  to  confirm  beyond  a  doubt  the  opinion 
of  Mackenzie,  who  supposed  that  the  large  river,  into  which  the  branch  ne  de- 
scended on  the  west  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  having  its  source  in  these 
mountains  near  that  of  the  Unjigah  or  Peacfe  River,  discharges  its  waters  into 
the  large  river  in  latitude  about  54°  nurth  and  longitude  122°  west  from  London, 
or  47°  west  from  Philadelphia,  was  the  Columbia.'  In  1791  an  expedition  of 
discovery  was  fitted  out  by  the  Mexican  government  under  Sefior  Malaspina, 
who  visited  the  Northwest  Coast,  and  during  his  excursions  in  the  seas  about 
Nootka,  not  then  known  as  Vancouver  Island,  discovered  a  river  coming  into 
the  Fuca  Sea,  not  then  known  as  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  which  he  named  the  Bi  > 
Blanche,  in  honor  of  the  prime  minister  of  Spain.  Vancouver's  Voy.,  i,  31*?-)'^. 
Kelley  says,  in  hiaNorthtvest  Coast,  2,  that  Gray  mentions  in  his  journal  'a  river 
callecl  by  the  Indians  Tacootche,  flowing  into  the  eastern  part  of  this  sea,  in 
latitude  49°. '  As  Gray  left  the  coast  in  1792,  this  establishes  the  discovery  of 
the  mouth  of  Fraser  River  by  the  Spaniards,  if  not  by  the  Americana.  See 
also  Eeans'  Hist.  Or.,  MS.,  79-80;  Franchere'sNar.,  19;  Butler's  Wild  North 
Land,  191 ;  Kellcy's  Northwest  Coast,  2 ;  Irvirig's  Astoria,  36 ;  Ihoiss'  Or.  Quest. 
2d  map;  Fleming's  Map  to  Rept.  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  No.  8;  Oreen- 
how's  Or.  and  Gal. ,  288 ;  Tytkr's  Hist.  Discov.  ,123-148;  Palmer's  Report,  nmp ; 
Richardson's  Polar  Regions,  128-9. 


ON  THE  FRASER. 


685 


1  reaching 
I  the  hank 
ky  Moun- 
8u;'6  they 
}  majestic 
t;  and  no 
eea  years 
a  1808  he 
ie.^« 

•st  known 
overed  in 
's  journal 
arge  river 
sailed,  in 
!he,  which 
enzie  sup- 
rse,  knew 
Columbia 


the  branches; 
!s  two  hundred 
;ould  bring  to. 
h  I  suppose  to 
er's  First  Jour- 

ves  Tacootche- 
Columbia  that 
he  size,  course, 
ibt  the  opinion 
9  branch  ue  de- 
source  in  these 
its  waters  into 
t  from  London, 
I  expedition  of 
Hor  Malaspina, 
the  seas  about 
er  coming  into 
named  the  Bi  > 
Foy.,i.3:''-)'x. 
journal  'a  river 
of  this  sea,  in 
he  discovery  of 
jnericons.  See 
r'8  IVild  North 
koiaa'  Or.  Queat. 
No.  8;  Oreen- 
'a  Report,  ma,]^; 


Next  day  Mackenzie  embarked  on  the  great  river 
and  passed  rapidly  down  the  stream.  On  the  banks 
gr^w  wild  onions,  and  white  ducks  rose  from  the  sur- 
face at  his  approach.  Marks  of  the  presence  of  na- 
tives were  seen,  but  as  there  was  now  no  one  in  the 
party  who  could  converse  with  them  they  were  passed 
by  unsought.  Rapids  were  reached  at  interval,  and 
tributary  streams  broadened  the  flow  of  waters  as  the 
explorers  descended. 

Dov/n  past  the  great  forks  they  rapidly  swept,  past 
Stuart  and  West  Road  Rivers  to  the  Quesnelle  mouth 
and  beyond,  then  turned  and  came  back  to  West 
Road  River,  and  thence  presently  struck  out  overland 
in  a  straight  line  for  the  sea." 


10 


••  The  distance  made  the  first  day  on  the  great  river  was  79  miles,  43 
miles  being  above  the  point  where  the  north  branch,  which  they  first  reached, 
unites  with  the  main  channel  of  Fraser  Hiver.  Before  -caching  this  first  largo 
fork  a  small  stream  flowing  in  from  the  south-east  was  passed,  another  from 
the  nort.h,  a  rivulet,  and  then  the  great  fork.  Six  miles  below  this  'a  small 
river  falling  in  from  the  north-east  was  passed;'  seventeen  and  a  half  miles 
below  the  last  there  was  '  a  small  river  running  in  from  the  left. '  Eight  inilca 
farther,  half  of  which  was  a  rapid,  'a  small  river  flowed  in  on  the  right,'  and 
iif  two  and  a  half  miles  more  'another  small  river  appeared  from  the  samo 
quarter.'  The  second  day  on  the  great  river,  which  was  the  lOtli,  47  miles 
were  made,  with  'a  small  river  flowing  in  from  the  right'  v.'ithin  one  mile  of 
the  starting-point,  and  at  the  end  of  the  day  the  explorers  encamped  'where 
a  small  river  flowed  in  from  the  right.'  An  observation  taken  at  an  exceed- 
ingly bad  carrying-place  in  the  middle  of  the  day  gave  53°  4'2'  20".  Distance, 
the  20th,  4,5  miles.  Twenty  miles  from  the  starting-point  'a  small  river 
flowed  in  on  the  left.'  Five  miles  farther  down  'a  river  also  flowed  from  tho 
right;' an  observation  at  noon  gave  53°  17'  28".  Nine  miles  before  encamping 
'a  small  river  appeared  on  the  left.'  I  thus  give  distances  and  rivers,  con- 
densing in  a  few  lines  what  Mackenzie  mystifies  into  pages,  not  for  their  in- 
trinsic interest,  but  that  the  reader  may  measure  for  himself  on  any  map  and 
make  his  own  calculations.  Of  course  allowance  must  be  made  for  all  tho 
crooks  and  turns ;  nor  can  the  altitudes  be  relied  upon  as  exact.  The  ques- 
tion to  be  determined  is  how  far  Mackenzie  descended  Fraser  River  and  where 
he  left  it.  If  my  reckoning  is  right  the  last-mentioned  stream  but  one  is  tho 
Blockwater,  or  as  Mackenzie  called  it,  tho  West  Road  River,  whence  he  took 
his  departure  for  tho  sea.  Before  leaving  the  Fraser,  however,  ho  descended 
it  28  miles  farther,  but  returned  immediately  to  this  point.  On  tho  21st,  four- 
teen miles  were  made,  during  which  distance  'a  large  river  flowed  in  from 
the  left,  and  a  smaller  one  from  the  right.'  The  former  I  infer  to  bo  tho 
Quesnelle,  and  the  latter  the  Puntataencut.  The  latitude  given  to-day  is  52° 
47'  51".  After  descending  fourteen  miles  farther  on  the  22d,  the  explorers 
next  day  turned  back.  It  is  noticeable  that  Mackenzie  makes  no  distinct! vo 
mention  of  several  of  the  large  branches  at  the  Fraser  forks.  In  fact  Fraser 
complains  that  of  the  Nechaco  or  y  tuart  River  ho  makes  no  mention  whatever. 
'This  river  is  not  mentioned  by  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  which  surprises  mo 
not  a  little,  it  being  full  in  sight  and  a  fine  large  river.'  Fraser's  First  Journal, 
MS.,  138.     This  may  or  may  not  be  so.    Mackenzie  may  have  called  Stuart 


686  MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  2l8t  that  West  Road 
River  was  passed  on  the  way  down.  It  was  a  cloudy 
morning,  and  the  blue  and  yellow  clay  cli'^'^  assumed 
all  manner  of  grotesque  shapes  in  the  misty  morning. 
At  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream  they  suddenly  came 
upon  a  canoe  in  which  was  a  single  native.  A  shrill 
whistle  notified  his  friends  on  shore  of  impending 
donger,  and  instantly  the  bank  was  alive  with  armed 
and  whooping  savages,  who  by  their  furiouB  warlike 
antics,  accompanied  by  a  shower  of  arrows,  sought  to 
frigliten  awav  the  apparition. 

By  this  tine  the  current  had  carried  ^^hem  by  the 
place,  and  being  desirous  of  opening  friendly  relations 
with  all  the  people  he  met,  he  ordered  the  boatman 
to  turn  and  take  a  position  near  the  bank  opposite. 
Mackenzie  then  undertook  to  gain  their  confidence, 
very  much  as  one  would  try  to  catch  a  horse.  It  was 
a  daring  thing  to  lo,  but  these  men  were  so  inured  to 
danger  they  scarcely  knew  what  fear  was.  Directing 
one  of  his  Indian  hunters  to  slip  unperceived  into  the 
woods  with  two  guns  and  cover  him  in  case  of  attack, 
Mackenzie  stepped  ashore  and  walked  along  the  bank 
unarmed  and  alone,  at  the  ■.  i;  ^ime  displaying 
trinkets  and  beckoning  '  hos*  on  tiie  opposite  side  to 
come  over  for  them,  Vom  the  canoe  the  inter- 

preter cried  to  them  i  o  he  alann  The  hunter 
who  was  concealed  beh.  i  the  ees,  and  kept  as  close 
to  Mackenzie  as  possible,  had  oeen  instructed  to  ap- 
proach only  upon  a  given  signal,  but  to  be  ready  on 
th<j  instant  to  rush  to  his  rescue  if  attacked. 

Presently  two  natives  came  from  the  opposite 
bank  in  a  canoe,  but  stopped  when  within  a  hundred 
yards  of  the  stranger.  Slackenzie  then  with  every 
art  at  his  command — and  his  knowledge  of  vidian 
character  was  as    perfect   as  his  knowledge  uf  the 

Eivcr  a  small  stream ;  if  so,  it  was  the  one  passed  on  the  evening  of  the  1 8th 
or  the  one  passed  on  the  momins  of  the  l&th.  But  the  morning  of  the  19th 
was  foggy  and  the  party  were  afloat  at  three  o'clock,  so  that  possibly  they 
may  have  passed  it  without  observing  it.  My  opinion,  however,  is  that  be 
mentions  it,  but  that  it  appeared  to  him  smaller  than  it  really  was. 


MORE  NATIVE  DRAWINGS. 


687 


''est  Road 
J  a  cloudy 
I  assumed 
morning. 
3nly  came 
A  shrill 
mpending 
th  armed 
la  warlike 
sought  to 

sm  by  the 

relations 
I  boatman 

opposite, 
onfidence, 
e.  It  was 
inured  to 
Directing 
d  into  the 
of  attack, 

the  bank 
lisplaying 
te  side  to 
the  inter- 
he  hunter 
)t  as  close 
;ed  to  ap- 

ready  on 

opposite 
L  hundred 
ith  every 
of  "udian 
re  of  the 

Dg  of  the  18th 
ng  of  the  19th 
possibly  they 
rer,  ia  that  be 
was. 


otter,  the  antelope,  or  th('  gri/.zly  bear — .sought  to 
quiet  their  apprehension  by  holding  out  to  them  bcad.s 
and  looking-glasses  and  beckoning  them  to  approach. 
Slowly  and  timidly  the  wild  men  shoved  their  can<.)0 
stern  foremost  toward  the  bank  until  within  reach  of 
the  alluring  trinkets;  and  finally  they  gathered  cour- 
age to  land  and  seat  themselves  beside  the  white  man, 
at  whom  they  gazed  with  awe  and  admiration. 

Mackenzie's  hunter  now  joined  him,  which  startled 
the  two  savages  somewhat.  Nevertheless  their  fears 
were  soon  quieted,  and  to  the  groat  joy  of  the  ex- 
plorer he  found  that  his  hunter  could  converse  with 
them.  After  a  short  stay,  during  which  the  hunter 
did  all  in  his  power  to  win  their  confidence,  and  de- 
clining an  invitation  to  visit  the  white  man's  canoe, 
the  savages  signified  their  desire  to  depart,  which  was 
cordially  permitted  by  their  entertainer.  Shooting 
their  boat  across  the  stream,  the  two  daring  natives 
were  received  by  their  brethren  as  from  the  jaws  of 
death. 

After  consulting  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  tlie 
natives  invited  the  white  men  to  visit  them,  which 
invitation  was  promptly  accepted.  Presents  were  dis- 
tributed; and  then  Mackenzie  set  about  gathering  in- 
formation of  the  ( ountry. 

The  natives  told  him  that  the  river  was  long,  the 
current  rapid  and  dangerous,  in  places  indeed  impas- 
sable, rushing  furiously  between  rugged  rocks;  it  ran 
toward  the  mid-day  sun,  and  at  its  mouth,  so  they 
had  been  told,  were  white  men  building  houses.  The 
people  below  were  a  malignant  race,  and  lived  in  sub- 
terranean dens.  The}'^  had  iron  and  arras,  and  to  go 
among  them  was  certain  death.  Thus  they  attempted 
to  dissuade  the  strangers  from  their  purpose.  But 
although  this  alarming  intelligence  was  by  no  means 
to  be  disregarded  wholly  as  fiction,  yet  it  did  not 
materially  change  the  explorer's  plans. 

Remaining  there  that  night,  so  as  not  to  alarm  the 
people   below   by  coming  upon   them  too  suddenly, 


638 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


Mackenzie  requested  an  intelligent  native  to  draw 
him  a  plan  of  the  river,  ;;vhich  was  done  with  readiness 
and  skill. 

With  two  of  these  natives  as  ushers  to  introduce 
them  to  their  neighbors,  the  explorer  embarked  next 
morning,  the  22d,  and  dropped  down  the  river  fourteen 
miles.  On  their  way  they  landed  near  a  house,  only 
the  roof  of  which  was  above  the  ground.  The  in- 
habitants fled  at  the  approach  of  the  strangers,  but 
were  soon  pacified  when  they  saw  no  harm  was  in- 
tended. 

The  next  people  encountered  were  wilder  and  more 
ferocious  than  any  yet  seen;  yet  they  were  soon 
made  friendly.  Among  them  were  four  strangers  be- 
longing to  the  nation  adjoining,  one  of  whom  was  an 
elderly  man  of  prepossessing  appearance.  To  him 
Mackenzie,  as  was  his  custom,  applied  for  information 
respecting  the  country.  Taking  a  large  piece  of  bark, 
the  old  man  drew  a  map  of  the  country,  with  the 
river  running  to  the  east  of  south,  with  many  tribu- 
taries, and  every  six  leagues  or  so  dangerous  rapids 
and  impracticable  carrying-places.  It  was  a  long  way 
to  the  sea,  before  reaching  which  there  was  a  lake  of 
whose  waters  men  could  not  drink.  Their  iron,  brass, 
and  copper  came  from  their  neighbors  to  the  west.  In 
that  direction  the  distance  was  not  far  from  the  sea.^ 
Keep  to  the  lowlands  batween  the  mountains,  con- 
tinued the  natives,  and  the  route  is  not  diflScult,  there 
being  a  well  beaten  path  which  they  had  often 
travelled,  with  assisting  links  of  lakes  and  rivers. 
Theie  were  three  points  of  departure  from  the  river: 
one  where  tinij  then  were,  that  is  near  the  Quesnelle 
River,  one  at  West  Road  River,  and  one  beyond  that 
point. 

Mackenzie  was  now  obliged  to  face  his  situation. 
The  concurring  accounts  of  the  natives,  unwelcome  as 

'"'According  to  »ny  own  idea,'  remarks  Mackenzie,    Voy.,  254,  at  this 
"unciure,  'it  cannot  be  above  five  or  six  degrees.     If  the  aciaertions  of  Mr 
•ieares  be  correct,  it  cannot  be  so  far,  as  the  inland  sea  which  he  mentions 
within  Nootka,  moat  come  as  far  east  aa  12G°  west  longitude.' 


i  to  draw 
readiness 

introduce 
rked  next 
r  fourteen 
ouse,  only 
The  in- 
igers,  but 
n  was  in- 


SHOW  OF  HOSTILITIES. 


m 


more 


and 
s^ere  soon 
mgers  be- 
m  was  an 
To  him 
formation 
:c  of  bark, 
with  the 
any  tribu- 
i)us  rapids 
i  long  way 
1  a  lake  of 
ron,  brass, 
west.  In 
the  sea.^ 
;ains,  con- 
sult, there 
lad  often 
id  rivers, 
the  river: 
Quesnelle 
yond  that 

situation, 
elcome  as 

,  254,  at  this 

irtions  of  Mr 

he  mentions 


they  were,  must  be  accepted,  with  due  allowance  for 
exaggeration,  as  true.  Provisions  and  ammunition 
were  both  becoming  low,  and  the  men  were  on  the 
point  of  mutiny.''^ 

At  length  his  mind  was  made  up.  Though  he 
should  be  unable  to  return  to  Athabasca  that  season ; 
though  he  should  never  return;  though  he  should  be 
deserted  by  his  men  and  left  to  find  the  western  sea 
alone,  yet  would  he  find  it.  So  he  resolved,  and  so 
he  notified  his  men.  Their  former  action  under  diffi- 
culties he  praises;  and  next  to  rum  nothing  so  cheers 
the  desponding  heart  as  praise.  We  all  like  it,  the 
^.Jy  difference  being  in  the  method  of  its  adminis- 
tering. Their  better  natures  aroused  by  his  enthu- 
siasm, again  they  promise  perpetual  fidelity,  only  again 
to  lay  plans  to  abandon  the  adventure  before  another 
week  is  gone. 

Obviously  the  short  beaten  path  to  the  west  was 
better  and  less  hazardous  than  the  perilous  river  of 
unknown  limits  to  the  south.  It  was  from  a  point 
above  that  this  overland  route  lay,  and  to  that  point 
they  must  now  return.  One  of  the  natives  at  this 
last  encampment  promised  to  be  their  guide.  Hence 
next  day,  the  23d,  they  turned  their  little  craft  up 
the  current;  but  before  embarking,  Mackay,  at  Mac- 
kenzie's request,  engraved  the  commander's  name  and 
the  date  on  a  tree. 

The  people  above  could  not  understand  why  the 
strangers  who  said  they  were  going  down  the  river  to 
the  sea  should  so  suddenly  return,  and  they  imagined 
some  sinister  design.  Instead  of  listening  to  an  ex- 
planation they  fied  as  the  explorers  reappeared,  and 
beat  the  forest  into  a  hostile  field.  Mackenzie  pre- 
pared for  defense,  and  the  men  swore  they  woukl  be 
gone  from  that  region  the  moment  they  could  make 
their  escape. 

'■"  'The  more  I  heard  of  the  river,  the  more  I  was  convinced  it  could  not 
empty  itself  into  the  ocean  to  the  nortli  of  what  is  called  tho  River  of  tho 
West ;  so  that  with  its  windings  the  distance  must  be  vory  great. '  Mackenzic't 
Foy,,  'J5(!. 

Hist.  N.  W.  Coait,  Vot.  I.    44 


•'.5  *1 


800 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


Their  boat  being  incapable  of  further  repairs,  on 
the  28th  they  set  about  building  a  new  one,  which 
was  completed  the  1st  of  July.  It  now  became 
necessary  to  put  the  men  on  short  allowance,  which 
with  the  desertion  of  their  guide  in  no  wise  tended 
to  assuage  their  ill-humor.  Rum  and  praise  are  both 
comforting,  but  a  whole  skin  is  better  than  either. 
The  commander's  position  was  an  exceedingly  critical 
one,  for  at  every  accident  fresh  dissatisfaction  broke 
out;  yet  he  relaxed  not  one  iota  of  his  determination 
to  proceed,  and  issued  his  orders  accordingly.  Ar- 
rived at  West  Road  River,  so  called  by  Mackenzie 
because  his  road  to  the  west  appeared  to  lead  from 
this  branch  of  Fraser  River,  the  explorer  determined 
to  come  to  a  full  understanding  with  his  men.  Since 
leaving  the  lower  encampment  they  had  not  only 
openly  talked  of  returning  to  Athabasca,  but  had 
once  gone  so  far  as  to  load  the  canoe  preparatory  to 
embarking,  without  instructions  from  their  officer. 

To  his  no  small  satisfaction  Mackenzie  learns  that 
no  definite  plan  of  return  has  been  fixed  upon.  He 
then  reminds  them  of  their  promise  so  lately  made. 
Pointing  to  the  western  path,  he  tells  them  he  is 
going  to  try  it.  His  calm  persistency  wins.  Though 
beset  by  hardships  and  dangers,  habit  is  too  much  for 
them;  their  master  is  before  them.  Once  more  they 
promise  their  support.  And  thus  it  always  is :  place 
things  in  the  right  way  before  men  and  they  will  die 
for  you,  when  if  you  bungle,  peradventure  they  will 
make  you  die  for  them.  Herein  consists  the  diflPer- 
ence  between  born  commanders  and  men  fit  only  to 
govern  cattle. 

Before  leaving  the  great  river,  however,  the  men 
proposed  that  they  should  ascend  it  a  little  farther 
and  seek  their  guide  or  find  another.  To  this  Mac- 
kenzie promptly  assented.  Shortly  after  they  had 
started  they  met  their  guide  coming  toward  them 
with  a  number  of  his  relatives  in  two  canoes.  He 
never  thought  of  leaving  them,  he  said,  and  for  his 


■epairs,  on 
)ne,  which 
w  became 
lice,  which 
ise  tended 
e  are  both 
lan  either, 
^ly  critical 
tion  broke 
ermination 
ngly.  Ar- 
Mackenzie 

lead  from 
ietermined 
en.     Since 
1  not  only 
1,  but  had 
paratory  to 
r  officer, 
learns  that 
upon.     He 
ately  made, 
bhem  he  is 
s.    Though 
)o  much  for 

more  they 
ys  is :  place 
hey  will  die 
re  they  will 
3  the  differ- 
i  fit  only  to 

-^er,  the  men 
[ttle  farther 
o  this  Mac- 
jr  they  had 
oward  them 
3anoes.  He 
and  for  his 


THE  MARCH  WESTWARD.    .  691 

fidelity  he  was  given  a  jacket,  pantaloons,  and  hand- 
kerchief These  people  informed  the  explorers  that 
the  road  which  left  the  river  a  short  distance  above 
was  the  best,  and  it  was  decided  to  take  it. 

Next  morning,  which  was  the  4th  of  July,  wishing 
to  hide  some  of  their  articles,  Mackenzie  sent  the 
natives  on  before  in  charge  of  Mackay,  and  when  his 
secret  task  was  accomplished  he  continued  up  Fraser 
River  to  a  rivulet  some  twenty  miles  above  West 
Hoad  River,  where  he  found  Mackay  and  the  guide 
awaiting  him. 

Here  the  canoe  and  everything  they  could  not 
carry  must  be  left  until  their  return.  Making  their 
effects  as  secure  as  possible,'^  they  shouldered  about 
ninety  pounds  each  and  set  out  on  their  long  march. 
The  lordly  aboriginals  who  attended  as  hunters  and 
interpreters  felt  exceedingly  ill-used  at  having  to 
carry  half  the  weight  the  white  men  bore,  or  barely 
sufficient  to  feed  themselves,  and  under  no  circum- 
stances would  the  local  guides  carry  a  pound.  Mac- 
kenzie and  Mackay  each  shouldered  a  pack  of  seventy 
pounds,  which  with  their  arms  and  instruments  made 
their  burdens  nearly  equal  to  those  of  the  Canadians. 

Twelve  miles  due  west  were  made  the  first  day,  and 
about  twice  that  distance  south-west  the  next.  A 
well  beaten  path  over  wooded  ridges  conducted  them 
past  lakes  Punchaw  and  Cleswuncut,  where  they 
camped,  wet  and  weary,  the  night  of  the  5th.  But 
few  natives  were  met,  and  those,  having  been  notified 
of  the  white  man's  presence  in  those  parts,  manifested 
neither  surprise  nor  fear.  Articles  of  Europe;ui  man- 
ufacture had  already  found  their  way  hither,  having 
been  obtained  from  the  trading- vessels  along  tlfo  coast 
and  passed  from  tribe  to  tribe  by  way  of  barter  back 
to  the  far  interior.     Fearful  lest   his  guide   might 

'■' '  We  prepared  a  stage,  on  wliicli  the  canoo  was  placed  bottom  upwards, 
and  flhadca  by  a  covering  of  small  trees  and  branches,  to  keep  lior  from  the 
iun.  Wo  then  built  an  oblong  hollow  square,  ten  feet  by  live,  of  green  logs, 
wherein  we  placed  every  article  it  was  necessary  for  us  to  leave  here,  and  cov- 
«red  the  whole  with  large  pieces  of  timber.'  Mackenzie's  Voy.,  285. 


802  MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGK 

desert,  Mackenzie  made  him  sleep  with  him,  and  as 
his  lordship's  beaver  robe  was  full  of  vermin,  his  head 
well  greased  with  fish-oil,  and  his  body  smeared  with 
red  earth,  he  was  not  the  pleasantest  of  bedfellows. 

Before  mid-day  of  the  6th  they  came  to  the  junc- 
tion of  the  three  roads  from  the  great  river,  namely, 
that  from  Quesnelle,  or  the  I^untataencut  River,  which 
they  first  intended  to  have  taken,  the  West  Road 
River  route,  and  the  trail  they  were  on,  and  which 
now  led  along  the  terraces  near  Blackwater  bridge, 
with  the  river  in  sight  but  beyond  reach>^  The  march 
for  the  day  was  south-west  ten  miles,  then  west  about 
twelve  miles. 

The  route  next  day  was  through  an  elevated  and 
partly  open  country,  up  West  Road  River  fourteen 
miles  to  Upper  Canon,  where  were  two  small  lakes, 
then  along  the  Iscultaesli  branch  twelve  miles,  a  por- 
tion of  which  was  through  a  swamp,  to  where  the 
river  widens  into  a  lake. 

The  march  was  attended  with  frequent  showers  of 
rain,  the  bushes  continuing  to  shed  moisture  for  some 
time  after  the  clouds  had  ceased.  On  one  occasion  the 
commander  requested  one  of  the  Indians  to  go  forward 
and  beat  the  bushes  so  that  the  rest  with  their  heavy 
burdens  need  not  bo  always  drenched.  The  free 
American  declined,  whereupon  Mackenzie  himself 
performed  the  task. 

As  the  region  was  destitute  of  game,  and  food 
would  be  required  on  their  return,  on  two  or  tliree 
occasions  pemican  was  buried  under  the  fireplace  when 
the  natives  were  not  present. 

Crossing  south-westerly  to  the  main  channel  of  the 
Blackwater  on  the  8th,  they  passed  several  basins,  in 
some  of  which  was  water,  while  others  were  empty. 
Ten  miles  brought  them  to  an  expansion  of  the  river 
called  Kluscoil  Lake,  after  which  they  continued  west 

M  Near  the  Blackwater  depdt,  built  by  the  railroad  surveying  party  as  a 
station  for  supplies.  An  illustrated  description  of  this  place  may  be  found  la 
George  M.  Dawson's  Report,  in  Selteyn's  Geological  Survey  of  Canada,  1875-6, 
262. 


M 


TOWARD  THE  SEA. 


and  as 

is  head 

3d  with 

ows. 

le  junc- 

lamely, 

,  which 

;  Road 

which 

bridge, 

e  march 

it  about 

ted  and 
fourteen 
11  lakes, 
s,  a  por- 
lere  the 

owers  of 
for  some 
ision  the 
)  forward 
sir  heavy 
rhe  free 
himself 

and  food 

or  tliree 

iace  when 

[lel  of  the 
basins,  in 
e  empty, 
the  river 
lued  west 

ag  party  as  a 
ly  l>e  found  in 
nada,  1875-6, 


by  south  ten  miles  and  encamped,  having  been  in  the 
i-ain  three  fourths  of  the  day.  Twenty-one  miles  were 
travelled  on  the  9th,  the  latter  part  of  the  march 
being  along  Euchiniko  Lake,  another  expansion  of  the 
river,  which  was  crossed  early  next  morning  on  a  raft. 
A  small  stream  flowing  into  the  Blackwater  at  this 
crossing,  from  the  south,  soon  expanded  as  they  as- 
cended it,  into  the  Cluscus  Lakes.^*  This  day,  the 
10th,  the  distance  was  nineteen  miles,  and  the  en- 
campment for  the  night  a  little  beyond  Tsacha  Lake.^'' 

The  11th  brought  them  past  Tsilbekuz  Lake,  the 
distance  being  fifteen  miles,  in  which  were  crossed 
seven  rivulets.  On  the  12th  thirty-six  miles  were 
made  in  a  more  southerly  direction,  round  swamps 
and  over  stony  ridges,  rising  toward  the  last  into  a 
clear  cold  altitude  with  snowy  mountains  on  every 
side.  Coming  upon  a  house  next  day,  the  inhabitants 
were  surprised  and  captured;  but  their  fears  were 
instantly  allayed  and  presents  given  them.  On  the 
15th  they  joined  a  party  journeying  the  same  way, 
with  whom  they  were  soon  on  intimate  terms. 

The  wind  rose  to  a  tempest  on  the  17th,  and  part 
of  the  way  was  over  snow.  Descending  from  the 
mountains  the  climate  was  quite  different,  INIackenzie 
now  found  himself  on  a  tributary  of  the  Bellacoola,"" 
following  which  he  came  late  at  night  to  a  fork  of 
the  river  where  was  a  large  village.  Reckless  from 
fatigue,  Mackenzie  preceded  his  company,  and  entering 
without  ceremony  one  of  the  houses,  he  shook  hands 
with  the  inmates,  threw  down  his  burden,  and  sat  u[)on 
it.  The  peo[)le  manifested  not  the  least  surprise,  but 
yoon  directed  him  to  the  town-house.^'' 

The   men  arriving  soon  after,  entered   the  large 

'*  Here  lived  in  luier  days  a  big  cliicf  called  Fa\vnie,  who  conducted  parties 
in  any  direction,  and  for  wiiom  a  mouutaiu  was  named. 

"An  altitude  obtained  at  noon  gave  S.T  4'  32",  which  was  rcmarkaljly 
conect. 

'"^  In  his  map  Mackenzie  pnts  down  this  stream  as  Salmon  River.  What  is 
MOW  Salmon  Itiver  flows  into  the  ocean  a  little  north  of  the  Bcllacoola. 

'■"  For  full  description  of  these  people,  their  dress,  houses,  and  customs,  sec 
Native  Races,  i.  chap.  iii. 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


house,  where  were  several  fires,  and  seating  them- 
selves were  regaled  with  roasted  salmon.  Signs  seem- 
ingly denoting  permission  to  sleep  in  the  house  were 
made,  yet  not  being  sure,  and  fearful  of  offending  his 
entertainers,  Mackenzie  ordered  a  fire  built  outside 
at  which  all  slept  soundly.  This  place  Mackenzie 
called  Friendly  Village.  Berries,  dried  roe,  and 
roasted  salmon  were  given  the  strangers  for  break- 
fast, after  which  Mackenzie  asked  and  obtained  two 
canoes  in  which  to  descend  the  river. 

In  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  which  was  the  1 8th, 
with  seven  of  the  friendly  natives  and  the  little 
baggage  now  left,  the  party  embarked.  Mackenzie 
thought  his  Canadians  expert  canoemen,  but  they 
themselves  were  forced  to  admit  that  these  savajjes 
were  in  this  respect  their  superiors.  Arriving  at  a 
weir,  consisting  of  an  embankment  with  a  water-fall 
of  some  ten  feet,  and  having  their  fishing  appliances 
both  above  and  below  it,  the  natives  landed  the  white 
men,  and  shot  their  canoes  over  the  fall  without 
taking  in  a  drop  of  water. 

In  less  than  three  hours  the  natives  informed  the 
explorers  that  they  were  approaching  another  village, 
and  that  before  rei^ching  it  they  must  land  and  notify 
the  inhabitants.  Although  this  was  done,  and  couriers 
were  sent  forward  to  notify  them,  yet  so  seemingly  sud- 
den was  the  appearance  of  the  strangers  that  the  town 
was  thrown  into  confusion.  As  the  party  entered,  they 
saw  the  people  running  from  house  to  house  with  loud 
and  vociferous  speech,  and  the  usual  antics,  feints, 
and  warlike  demonstrations  which  savages  employ  to 
cover  fear. 

But  when  the  leader  stepped  boldly  forward  alone 
and  shook  hands  with  them,  they  immediately  calmed, 
and  laid  down  their  bows  and  arrows,  spears  and  axes, 
pacified.  Then  they  pressed  round,  hugging  and  heap- 
ing him  with  compliments  until  he  scarcely  knew 
which  he  enjoyed  least,  their  enmity  or  their  friend- 
ship.    After  the  ancients  of  the  nation  had  finished 


^ 


them- 
s  seem- 
se  were 
ling  his 
outside 
ickenzie 
3e,  and 
break- 
led  two 

le  18th, 
le  httle 
ickenzio 
ut  they 
savages 
ing  at  a 
^ater-fall 
)phances 
he  white 
without 

med  the 
r  village, 
id  notify 
I  couriers 
igly  sud- 
the  town 
red,  they 
nth.  loud 
3,  feints, 
mploy  to 

,rd  alone 
r  calmed, 
bnd  axes, 
nd  heap- 
ly  knew 
r  friend- 
finished 


ENTERTAINMENT  AND  TRAVEL. 


C95 


their  embracings,  the  chief's  eldest  son  appeared,  the 
crowd  making  way  for  him,  and  snapping  the  string 
which  fastened  a  valuable  sea-otter  robe  he  threw  it 
over  the  white  chief's  shoulders.  This  was  the  highest 
honor  the  savage  could  pay  the  stranger.  Mackenzie 
gave  him  a  blanket  in  return.  Presents  were  also 
given  to  the  chiefs. 

The  party  now  took  a  stroll  about  the  town.  The 
houses  were  larger  and  finer  than  any  aboriginal  struct- 
ures they  had  hitherto  seen.  Entering  the  chief's 
house,  mats  were  spread,  and  the  strangers  having 
seated  themselves,  roasted  salmon  and  other  food  was 
placed  before  them.  But  despite  every  endeavor  they 
could  not  get  raw  fish  cooked  after  their  own  fashion, 
notwithstanding  the  stream  was  full  of  them  and  their 
rude  entertainers  v/ere  ready  to  show  their  guests 
every  attention.  The  fish  did  not  like  strangers;  they 
were  averse  to  iron;  the  white  chief  must  not  use  his 
astronomical  instruments;  flesh  must  not  be  allowed  in 
or  on  the  streams ;  and  many  other  like  superstitions 
must  be  observed,  else  the  fish  would  go  away  and  the 
people  would  starve. 

A  lodge  having  been  prepared  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  guests,  after  examining  the  many  points 
of  interest  about  the  place,  such  as  the  hieroglyphics 
and  contents  of  the  houses,  and  the  extensive  fish 
catching  and  curing  processes,  they  retired  for  the 
night.  Before  they  were  asleep,  however,  the  chief 
came  to  Mackenzie  and  insisted  upon  his  going  to  the 
chief's  bed  and  bedfellow,  while  he  should  take  the 
stranger's  place.     Such  was  their  hospitality. 

Though  some  distance  from  the  sea-coast,  these 
people  were  intelligent  in  their  knowledge  of  what 
transpired  there.  A  large  canoe  was  shown  to  Mac- 
kenzie, in  which  he  said  the  chief  told  him  that  "about 
ten  winters  ago  he  went  a  considerable  distance 
towards  the  mid-day  sun,  with  forty  of  his  people, 
when  he  saw  two  large  vessels  full  of  such  men  as 
mvself,  by  whom  he  was  kindly  received;  they  were. 


696  MACKENZIE'S  V')YAGE. 

he  said,  the  first  white  people  he  had  seen.  They  were 
probably  the  ships  commanded  by  Captain  Cook." 

Again  in  remarking  on  the  iron,  copper,  and  brass 
so  highly  prized  by  them,  and  of  which  they  had 
much,  both  for  use  and  ornament,  sometimes  twisting 
iron  bars  of  twelve -pound  weight  into  ornamental 
collars,  Mackenzie  spoke  of  another  visit  to  this  same 
chief,  when  he  "opened  one  of  his  chests  and  took  out 
of  it  a  garment  of  blue  cloth  decorated  with  brass  but- 
tons, and  another  of  a  flowered  cotton,  which  I  sup- 
posed were  Spanish ;  it  had  been  trimmed  with  leather 
fringe  after  the  fashion  of  their  own  cloaks." 

When  the  party  were  ready  to  start  down  the 
river,  Mackenzie  was  informed  that  one  of  the  axes 
was  missing.  He  immediately  requested  from  the 
chief  its  restoration.  "  But  he  would  not  understand 
me,"  says  Mackenzie,  "till  I  sat  myself  down  on  a 
stone,  with  my  arms  in  a  state  of  preparation,  and 
made  it  appear  to  him  that  I  should  not  depart  until 
the  stolen  article  was  restored.  The  village  was  im- 
mediately in  a  state  of  uproar,  and  some  danger  was 
apprehended  from  the  confusion  that  prevailed  in  it. 
The  axe,  however,  which  had  been  hidden  under  the 
chief's  canoe,  was  soon  returned.  Though  this  instru- 
ment was  not,  in  itself,  of  sufficient  value  to  justify  a 
dispute  with  these  people,  I  apprehended  that  the 
suffering  them  to  keep  it,  after  we  had  declared  its 
loss,  might  have  occasioned  the  loss  of  everything  we 
carried  with  us,  and  of  our  lives  also.  My  people 
were  dissatisfied  with  me  at  the  moment;  but  I 
thought  myself  right  then,  and  I  think  now  that  the 
circumstances  in  which  we  were  involved  justified  the 
measure  which  I  adopted." 

Embarking  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
19th  in  one  large  canoe  manned  by  four  natives,  the 
party  left  the  Great  Village,  as  this  place  was  subse- 
quently called,  and  passed  rapidly  down  the  river. 
They  had  not  proceeded  far  when  they  were  obliged 
to  land  and  pay  their  respects  to  the  owner  of  two 


THE  END  ATTAINED. 


697 


hey  were 
ook." 
,nd  brass 
hey  had 
twisting 
lamentai 
his  same 
took  out 
rass  but- 
h  I  sup- 
1  leather 

own  the 
the  axes 
Tom  the 
derstand 
wn  on  a 
tion,  and 
)art  until 

was  im- 
nger  was 
led  in  it. 
inder  the 
is  instru- 
justify  a 
that  the 
jlared  its 
thing  we 
"y  people 
b;   but   I 

that  the 
tified  the 

>n  of  the 
tives,  the 
as  subse- 
he  river. 
3  obliged 
ir  of  two 


houses,  who  being  a  personage  of  consequenc(.'  it  was 
deemed  best  not  to  pass  him  by  unnoticed.  Here  they 
were  entertained  as  before,  and  many  European  arti- 
cles shown  them,  among  others  forty  pounds  of  old 
copper.  Proceeding,  another  large  house  was  soon 
reached,  their  last  host  accompanying  them.  Here 
was  seen  for  the  first  time  by  the  visitors  the  famous 
underlip  ornament.^^  For  the  berries  here  placed 
before  them  the  travellers  made  recompense  in  pres- 
ents. Once  more  embarking,  they  find  the  swift  cur- 
rent separating  itself  into  channels  as  they  approach 
its  mouth.  After  shooting  a  cascade  they  came  to  a 
fall,  where  they  left  the  canoe  and  carried  thoir  bag- 
gage on  to  a  village  of  six  large  houses  on  posts 
twenty-five  feet  high,  having  completed  thirty-six 
miles  that  afternoon.  Here  they  could  see  the  mouth 
of  the  river  and  an  arm  of  the  sea.  The  few  people 
they  found  here  were  poor,  unable  to  offer  the  visitors 
a  single  fish  for  their  supper,  whereupon  the  remnants 
of  the  last  meal  were  brought  out.  The  loss  at  this 
place  of  their  dog,  who  had  accompanied  them  from 
Athabasca,  was  greatly  regretted. 

Very  early  next  morning  they  set  out  in  a  still 
larger  though  leaky  canoe,  accompanied  by  only  two 
of  the  natives  from  the  Great  Village,  the  others 
refusing  to  proceed.  They  were  shortly  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  and  soon  past  the  place  which  they  felt 
constrained  subsequently  to  call  Rascals'  Village ;  and 
at  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  July 
1793,  Alexander  Mackenzie  and  his  party  found  them- 
selves afloat  on  the  tide-waters  of  the  Pacific.  Here 
was  their  object  attained;  the  goal  was  won! 

Bentinck  North  Arm,  this  water  was  afterward 
named.  And  it  was  not  a  pleasing  sight  that  greeted 
them  after  their  devoted  toil ;  not  so  glittering  as  that 
which  sent  Vasco  Nunez  and  his  comrades  to  their 
knees  on  the  hill  overlooking  this  sani'  ocean  five 
thousand  miles  to  the  southward,  and  two  hundred 

^'  See  Native  Races,  i.  98. 


608  MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 

and  eighty  years  before.  There  were  no  flags  or  pen- 
nons flying,  no  wading  into  the  water  with  drawn 
sword,  no  fighting  of  imaginary  foes,  no  declamation 
to  the  winds  and  waves  about  the  ownership  of  that 
quarter  of  God's  earth.  Exploration  had  Decome  a 
soberer  thing  in  the  course  of  three  centuries. 

Spread  out  before  these  northern  fur-traders,  who 
had  ventured  so  far  to  see  what  this  great  Northwest 
was  made  of,  was  a  broad  uncovered  beach,  dripping 
with  sea- weeds.  A  thick  fog  shut  out  the  surround- 
ing hills.  Sea  and  sky  were  murky  and  opaque.  A 
strong  west  wind  chilled  both  blood  and  spirits.  There 
were  many  seals,  so  quick  of  movement  as  almost  to 
dodge  the  bullets  sent  after  them.  Only  some  small 
porpoises  seemed  willing  to  be  shot.  In  the  distance 
was  the  white-headed  eagle,  which  had  come  with  them 
from  the  interior  to  see  the  ocean,  and  nearer  gulls 
and  ducks,  both  diminutive,  and  some  dismal  dark 
birds  of  evil  omen,  smaller  than  the  small  gulls.  To 
crown  all,  as  the  day  wore  away  the  wind  rose  and 
the  sea  grew  boisterous,  so  that  after  a  voyage  of  ten 
miles  from  the  entrance  of  the  river  they  were  obliged 
to  land  their  leaky  canoe  in  a  small  bay,  opposite 
another  small  bay  in  which  was  an  island,  and  carry 
ashore  their  scanty  stock  of  provisions,  consisting  now 
of  twenty  pounds  of  pemican,  fifteen  pounds  of  rice, 
and  six  pounds  of  flour,  for  ten  half-starved  men  upon 
a  savage  shore,  with  a  thousand  miles  of  wilderness 
between  them  and  security. 

The  Canadians  did  not  take  kindly  to  the  mussels 
and  other  shell-fish  which  they  now  gathered  and 
boiled.  One  of  the  natives  who  had  accompanied 
them  from  the  Great  Village,  and  who  had  started  for 
home  some  time  before,  returned  about  dark,  bringing 
with  him  a  large  porcupine,  which  he  cut  in  pieces, 
boiled,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  two  of  the  Cana- 
dians, wholly  devoured  before  retiring  for  the  night. 
From  this  circumstance  Mackenzie  called  the  place 
Porcupine  Cove. 


j8  or  pen- 
th  drawn 
jlamation 
of  that 
jecome  a 

3. 

[ders,  who 
orthwest 
,  dripping 
surround - 
aque.     A 
ts.    There 
almost  to 
ome  small 
e  distance 
with  them 
jarer  gulls 
smal  dark 
^ulls.     To 
rose  and 
age  of  ten 
3re  obliged 
%  opposite 
and  carry 
isting  now 
ds  of  rice, 
men  upon 
wilderness 

18  mussels 
tiered  and 
3ompanied 
started  for 
:,  bringing 

in  pieces, 
the  Cana- 
bhe  night. 

the  place 


SURVEY  OP  THE  COAST. 


099 


Embarking  next  morning  and  sailing  south-westerly, 
they  came  to  the  Point  Menzies  of  Vancouver,  and 
coasted  the  land  called  by  that  navigator  King  Island, 
meeting  in  their  voyage  several  boat  loads  of  natives 
who  had  had  familiar  uitercourso  with  white  men,  and 
manifested  neither  fear  nor  curiosity  at  the  appearance 
of  the  strangers. 

Entermg  Vancouver's  Cascade  Canal,  they  were 
greatly  annoyed  by  the  Indians,  who  here  assumed  an 
arrogant  tone  and  threatened  an  attack.  One  man 
made  himself  specially  obnoxious,  having  been  beaten 
and  shot,  as  he  said,  bv  Vancouver.  The  little  band 
prepared  to  defend  themselves,  the  commander  re- 
fusing to  yield  one  iota  to  the  importunities  of  his 
companions  to  quit  the  place  uiiti,  he  had  satisfied 
himself 

The  westei'nmost  point  of  this  memorable  journey 
was  here  attained.^  Landing  at  a  place  which  from 
the  distance  looked  like  sheds,^  but  on  nearer  ap- 
proach proved  to  be  the  ruins  of  a  village,  Mackenzie, 
the  better  tv  defend  himself  from  the  natives,  whose 
numbers  and  boldness  were  constantly  increasing,  took 
his  position  on  a  rock,  which  was  none  too  large  t 


() 


™The  course  since  leaving  the  mouth  of  Bellacoola  River,  recapitulated, 
is  as  follows:  Down  Bentinck  Arm  or  Burke  Canal  some  25  miles  towanl 
the  sea;  then  crossed  over  by  a  channel  in.  a  north-westerly  direction,  having 
King  Island  on  the  left,  to  Dean  Canal;  followed  down  Dean  Canal  to  tlio 
westward  about  six  miles  to  the  point  where  the  Cascade  Canal  joins  it, 
coming  in  from  the  north-west.  Followed  up  the  Cascade  Canal  three  miles 
to  the  sheds  near  the  rock  on  which  lie  placed  the  inscription,  and  then  tlueo 
miles  farther  to  his  astronomical  station.  It  is  wortliy  of  remark  tliat  on  all 
the  old  maps  the  passage  from  Burke  Canal  to  Dean  Canal  is  represented  as  a 
broad  channel,  while  on  recent  maps  it  is  put  down  as  a  narrow  channel  or 
slough.  The  old  maps  are  all  based  on  Vancouver's,  and  the  modem  ones 
on  Admiralty  charts. 

'"It  was  during  the  last  days  of  May  and  the  first  days  of  June  1793,  less 
thaa  two  months  prior  to  Mackenzie's  appearance  on  this  shore,  that  Van- 
couver was  here  surveying  these  same  inlets.  Speaking,  with  the  aliuds  ia 
sight,  of  information  received  from  a  native  concerning  Vancouver's  visit, 
Mackenzie,  Voy.,  345,  says:  'At  some  distance  from  the  land  a  channel 
opened  to  us,  at  south-west  by  west,  and  pointing  that  way  he  made  me  un- 
derstand that  Macubah  came  there  with  his  large  canoe.'  Tlii.s  same  saviige 
asserted  that  Macubah,  as  he  called  Vancouver,  had  tired  upon  him,  and  that 
'Benfins  had  struck  him  on  the  back  with  the  flat  part  of  his  sword.'  llu 
now  proved  extremely  troublesome  to  Mackenzie,  on  whom  he  would  bo 
greatly  pleased  to  take  revenge  lor  insults  received  at  the  liands  of  the  other 
white  men. 


Bl'T 


700 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


accommodate  his  little  force.  The  day  passed,  how- 
ever, without  an  attack,  and  there  they  spent  the 
night  of  the  21st,  keeping  a  careful  watch  in  turn, 
two  at  a  time. 

The  next  day  the  sky  was  clearer,  and  Mackenzie 
obtained  more  satisfactory  observations.^*  Mixing 
some  vermilion  in  melted  grease,  Mackenzie  now 
marked  in  large  letters  on  the  south-east  side  of  the 
rock  on  which  they  had  slept  the  previous  night,  these 
words :  Alexander  Mackenzie,  from  Canada,  by  land, 

THE  TWENTY-SECOND  OF  JuLY,  ONE  THOUSAND  SEVEN  HUN- 
DRED AND  NINETY-THREE. 

For  the  purpose  of  completing  his  observations, 
Mackenzie  proceeded  north-east  three  miles  farther 
and  landed  in  a  little  cove.  The  only  remaining  In- 
dian from  the  Great  Village  now  attempted  to  escape, 
but  was  brought  back  by  Mackenzie,  who  requested 
his  men  to  guard  him,  but  they  peremptorily  refused 
to  employ  force  in  detaining  him,  and  Mackenzie  was 
himself  obliged  to  watch  him. 

The  object  of  the  expedition  being  now  attained, 
Mackenzie  set  out  from  this  point  on  his  long  return. 
As  the  situation  was  both  unpleasant  and  dangerous, 
the  party  embarked  at  ten  o'clock  that  night,  the  22d. 
In  leaving  those  shores  the  men  piied  their  oars  lust- 
ily, for  they  were  badly  frightened.  The  return  was 
by  the  route  they  came;  and  at  half  past  four  next 
morning  they  arrived  at  Porcupine  Cove,  passing 
which  they  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Bellacoola.  On 
leaving  the  bay,  the  explorer  named  it  Mackenzie 
Outlet. 

Yet  more  imminent  danger  awaited  them  at  Ras- 
cals' Village.  It  seems  that  the  savage  who  had  been 
chastised  by  Vancouver  was  there,  stirring  up  enmity 
against  the  strangers,  so  that  when  Mackenzie,  in 
order  to  keep  pace  with  the  Indian  whose  escape  he 


'1  These  astronomical  observations,  however  satisfying  to  the  explorer, 
were  of  little  use  to  science  or  to  history,  other  than  to  determine  positively 
Mackenzie's  route. 


M 


ised,  how- 
ipent  the 
in  turn, 

Mackenzie 
Mixing 
nzie  now 
:de  of  the 
ght,  these 

BY  LAND, 
EVEN  HUN- 

ervations, 
Bs  farther 
ining  In- 
to escape, 
requested 
y  refused 
enzie  was 

attained, 
ig  return, 
angerous, 
;,  the  22d. 
oars  lust- 
aturn  was 
four  next 
I,  passing 
oola.  On 
lackenzie 

1  at  Ras- 
had  been 
p  enmity 
:enzie,  in 
jscape  he 

;he  explorer, 
ne  positively 


THE  RETURN. 


701 


had  nreyented  the  day  before,  very  imprudently  pro- 
ceded  his  men,  he  found  the  villatjers  armed  and  in 
menacing  attitudes.  Throwing  down  his  cloak,  lio 
raised  his  gun,  whereupon  the  Indians  dropped  their 
daggers.  Nevertheless  they  continued  to  advance 
until  one  of  them  succeeded  in  getting  behind  Mac- 
kenzie, when  he  threw  his  arms  about  him  and  lickl 
him  in  hostile  embrace.  Coolness  and  bravery  alone 
saved  the  whole  party  from  destruction.  The  ex- 
plorer could  have  killed  two  or  three  of  them,  but  he 
would  soon  have  been  overcome  by  numbers,  and  his 
men  might  easily  have  been  disposed  of  one. by  one 
as  they  came  up.  Finally  he  succeeded  in  shaking 
himself  from  the  Indian's  grasp,  and  as  some  of  his 
men  now  apposared,  the  savages  fled.^^ 

Mackenzie  had  lost  his  hat  and  cloak  in  the  scuffle ; 
besides,  at  this  same  Rascals'  Village  on  their  way 
down,  some  articles  had  been  stolen;  and  now  that 
his  Scotch  blood  was  up  he  detormined  to  have  every- 
thing restored  before  he  left  the  place.  Ordering  his 
men  to  prime  their  guns,  the  party  drew  up  before 
the  house  in  which  the  villagers  had  taken  refiiLje. 
Finally  the  man  whom  Mackenzie  had  previously 
guarded  came  out  and  said  that  the  villagers  had 
been  informed  that  the  white  men  had  killed  four 
Indians  in  the  bay,  and  had  ill-treated  others.  The 
knowledge  of  this  falsehood  brought  from  Mackenzie 
a  fresh  demand  for  the  stolen  articles,  together  with 
some  fish.  These  conditions  of  his  departure  the 
natives  complied  with,  and  a  reconciliation  took  place. 
The  Indian  from  the  Great  Village,  however,  could 
not  be  induced  to  join  them,  and  they  followed  him 
up  the  river  in  another  canoe. 

The  ascent  of  the  stream  was  tedious;    and  on 

•"It  was,  however,  upwards  of  ten  minutes  before  all  my  people  joined  me ; 
and  as  they  came  one  after  the  other,  these  people  might  have  successfully 
despatched  every  one  of  us.  If  they  had  killed  me  in  the  first  instance  this 
consequence  would  certainly  have  followed,  and  not  one  of  us  would  have 
returned  home  to  tell  the  horrid  fate  of  his  companions.'  Mackenzie's  Voy., 
353-4. 


702 


MACKENZIE'S  VOYAGE. 


landing  frfc^-h  alarm  was  caused  by  the  appearance  of 
ravages  supposed  to  be  unfriendly.  The  men  became 
panic-stricken,  and  throwing  their  superfluous  effects 
into  the  river,  swore  they  would  take  to  the  moun- 
tains. One  of  the  Indians  they  had  brought  with 
them  having  been  seized  with  illness,  they  proposed  to 
abandon  him. 

For  a  time  Mackenzie  sat  upon  a  stone  waiting  for 
the  subsidence  of  this  demonstration  of  insane  terror. 
But  when  he  saw  them  continue  in  earnest  he  arose 
and  rebuked  their  folly  and  inhumanity  in  the  severest 
terms.  Finally  their  fears  were  overcome,  and  the 
party  proceeded,  part  on  shore  and  part  by  canoe. 
In  much  alarm,  though  without  serious  accident,  the 
white  men  succeeded  in  finally  extricating  themselves 
from  their  perilous  position  and  reaching  the  Friendly 
Village  in  safety. 

Continuing  their  journey,  they  arrived  at  Fraser 
River  the  4th  of  August,  just  one  month  after  leaving 
it,  and  found  their  canoe  and  all  their  effects  undis- 
turbed. The  buried  pemican  did  excellent  service,  as 
the  weather  was  nov/  cold  and  the  stremgth  of  the  men 
well  nigh  exhausted.  So  long  had  they  been  without 
spiritous  liquor  that  they  seemed  to  have  lost  all  relish 
for  it.  For  respecting  the  white  man's  property  the 
natives  were  well  rewarded,  though  they  might  as 
easily  have  taken  the  whole  of  it  had  they  been  so 
disposed. 

The  16th  of  August  saw  them  at  the  portage 
between  the  tributaries  of  the  Fraser  and  Peace 
rivers.  At  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream  were  found 
three  beaver-skins,  left  there  by  the  young  Indian  who 
had  presented  them  to  the  white  chief  on  his  outward 
journey;  Mackenzie  took  them,  leaving  in  their  place 
thrice  their  value. 

At  last,  rounding  the  point  on  Peace  River  Satur- 
day afternoon,  the  24th  of  August  1793,  they  sighted 
Fork  Fort,  which  they  had  left  the  9th  of  May  pre- 
vious.     Unfurling     h«.i^  flag  and   firing  their  guns, 


:i'A^h 


•AjtmnviVWiM  *"*^«"W««Hi 


HOME  AGAIN. 


703 


arance  of 
n  became 
>us  effects 
he  moun- 
ght  with 
oposed  to 

aiting  for 
ne  terror, 
he  arose 
severest 
and  the 
by  canoe, 
ident,  the 
lemselves 
Friendly 

at  Fraser 
er  leaving 
cts  undis- 
service,  as 
if  the  men 
n  without 
t  all  relish 
iperty  the 
might  as 
y  been  so 

3  portage 
tid  Peace 
ere  found 
idian  who 
s  outward 
heir  place 

er  Satur- 
yy  sighted 
May  pre- 
leir  guns, 


amidst  shouts  of  joy  their  frail  bark  flew  to  the  bank. 
The  jouru(y  was  done.  All  honor  to  the  bravo  liLtK; 
band  aiiil  Uieir  gallant  (H)mmander!  A  month  later 
Mackenzie  returned  to  Fort  Chepcwyan  and  resumed 
the  position  of  trader. 

Among  the  many  qualities  I  find  in  Alexander 
Mackenzie  which  command  my  admiration;  atuong 
the  many  brave  and  humane  acts  done  during  this 
hazardous  journey,  none  have  so  stirred  my  heartfelt 
respect  as  his  kind  and  loyal  treatment  on  Bellacoola 
River  of  his  sick  Indian  guide,  who  but  for  the  severe 
and  self-denying  laboi  of  the  commander,  whose  men 
refused  their  hearty  assistancii,  nmst  have  been  left 
to  perish  amongst  his  foes — .".n  act  worthy  of  higher 
commendation  than  even  his  ijrand  excursion. 

I  append  the  unpublished  journals  of  Captain  Gray's 
and  of  Kendrick's  famous  voyages  to  the  Northwest 
Coast,  the  first  ever  made  under  the  American  flag, 
as  described  in  early  chapters  of  this  volume.  Some 
portions  of  minor  importance  are  omitted. 

A  Voyage  eo0nd  the  Wohld  on  Board  the  Shu-  'Columbia  Rediviva  ' 
AND  Sloop  '  Washinqton,'  in  1787-9,  dy  Robert  Haswell. 
Sept.  1787.  Early  in  the  fitting  of  tlie  Columbia  for  a  voyago  round  tlio 
T\'orl(:l,  I  was  employed  as  third  oliicer.  (iruat  expedition  was  tisoil  to  for 
ward  our  departure,  and  on  the.,  .the  sliip  was  hauled  olF  from  the  wharf 
and  anchored  in  the  iiarbor.  Here  numberless  articles  of  her  provisions. 
Btores,  etc.,  were  received  hi  board,  and  on  the.  .  .the  pilot  came  on  itoard 
and  we  were  removed  down  to  the  Castleroads,  where  wo  aiicliored  with  the 
SKiall  bower  and  moored  with  the  stream  anchor.  Friday  the.  .  .the  nloop 
Washington,  Captain  Robt  Gray,  "  !io  is  to  ho  our  consort,  andiored  in  the 
roads.  Saturday  the ...  I  took  my  baggage  on  board,  and  in  the  afternoon 
Mr  Jo.  Ingraham,  the  second  mate,  came  on  'xard  with  his  baggai^'o,  etc.,  foi 
the  first,  time.  Till  late  in  the  evening  all  hands  were  employed  clearing  the 
dei  ks,  which  were  miicli  lumbered,  and  getting  in  readiness  Ui>  sea.  On 
Siiiday  morninir,  being  the  <lay  wo  wen:  to  sail,  we  were  thn»nij.'d  with  the 
friends  of  almost  all  our  people,  and  about  noonCapt.  K(;n(lr'':k,  Lieut  Howe, 
his  clerk,  Mr  Treet,  tlie  furrier,  Mr  Roberta,  our  surgeon,  and  Mr  Nuttin, 
the  astronomer,  came  on  board  with  tlie  j)ilot,  accom|i:iuied  by  a  great  num- 
ber of  the  merchants,  gentlemen,  and  others  of  Uoston.  The  ship  was  got 
under  way  and  proceeded  down  as  far  as  Nantajsket  roads,  where  wo  anchored, 
it  being  nearly  calm,  in  company  with  the  Washlwitim.  The  evening  was 
spent  in  mirth  ami  glee,  the  highest  flow  of  spirits  animating  the  whole  com- 
jiany.  Jovial  songs  and  animating  sentiments  passed  tlio  last  evening  wo 
spent  on  that  sido  of  the  continent.  Our  friends  parted  not  with  us  imtillate 
in  the  evening,  nor  then  without  the  most  tender  expressions  of  fneml.'^hip, 
ttud  their  wishes  for  our  prosperity  resounded  from  every  tongue,     h^rl/  oa 


704 


HAS  WELLS  JOURNALS  1788-9. 


Monday  morning  we  weightMl  and  came  to  sail,  and  by  sunrise  were  out  of 
the  harbor.  .  . 

Aug.  '-J,  1788.  At  10  A.  M.,  to  our  inexpressible  joy  we  saw  the  coast 
of  New  Albion  ranging  from  N.  n.  E.  to  s.  s.  e.,  distant  about  7  leagues,  and 
tried  for  soundings  in  100  fathoms  without  finding  bottom.     Lat.  41°  28'  s. 

Aug.  3d.  We  struck  Houndings  in  50  fathoms  water  over  a  bottom  of  fine 
black  sand.  At  this  time  we  were  6  leagues  distant  from  the  continent. 
Lat.  41"  38'  N.,  long.  l'2V  29'  w. 

Aug.  4th.  We  iliscovered  a  canoe  with  10  natives  of  the  country  ^.-ciddliug 
toward  us,  and  on  their  nigh  approach  they  made  very  expressive  signs  of 
friendship.  These  were  the  lirst  iuhahitants  we  had  seen  her*^  I  must  add 
that  a  regular  account  of  the  people,  manners,  customs,  etc.,  of  this  \a.st 
coast  18  a  task  equal  to  the  skill  of  an  able  historian.  However,  as  there  are 
i?ome  few  remarkable  occurrences,  I  mention  them  with  '  '^ule  or  form. 
Tlt^sae  people  were  in  a  canoe  of  a  most  singul*^  shape,     j  nade  from  a 

Wee  of  vast  b«lk.     It  was  v«*ry  wid«,  its  hroa/tdi  nearly  lore  and  aft; 

its  head  and  stern  were  but  little  di4JE»i-i:at,  both  ending  a.brupi<iy  as  tl»t  ><"  a 
board,  timag  some  inches  abov«  tbe  Hide  '/  the  l)oat  in  an  arcb,  whutJj  oas 
neatly  wctHkeH  o'-^r  with  straw  o<f  rrnnoaa  •jwko.  Ti**  boat  wa*  /rf  the  moHt 
clumsy  sh::   -  world,  yet  m,  ir«H  wm  t4  liauih«<f  that  it  looked  vnry 

passable,     i  .-  idles  were  very  rottj||h,  y^fHtght  of  a*h  woe'      They  were 

clothed  chiedy  ^  deer-skins,  and  they  vrerc  '.fmamented  with  omkIs  oi  Euro- 
pean manufa/;toM-  I  th'jik  they  have  some  intercourse  with  tiie  itoaaiarda 
at  Monterey,  which  is  but  three  or  four  degrees  to  the  south war^T  T'.'-y 
smoke  tobacco  out  of  a  small  wooden  tube  aix>ut  the  size  of  a  child's  vrhin-  le. 
They  had  some  sweet-scented  herbs.  The  country  from  whence  theoe  fx'.uple 
came  appeared  to  me  the  most  pleasant  I  had  ever  seen.  The  men  in  tlie 
boat  appeared  to  bo  well  made,  about  medium  size;  their  bodies  were  jmnc- 
tured  in  many  forms  in  all  parts.  Capt.  Gray  made  them  several  pi'^sents, 
but  our  attentiori  was  called  another  way.  The  wind  by  thi.-i  time  blew  a 
gale.     We  hove  up  and  sto'xl  off  sliore  upon  a  wind  to  the  westward. 

Aug.  5th.  Wo  coasted  along  the  shore,  but  saw  no  place  ^t^r-^  there  was 
shelter  even  for  a  boat.  This  country  must  )m  thickly  inha</y/t/^  by  t!ie 
many  fires  we  saw  in  the  uight,  and  columns  o*  smoke  we  woulll  tme  in  the 
day-timo,  but  I  think  they  ean  derive  but  little  of  their  suljsistenc**  from  the 
sea;  but  to  compensate  for  this  the  laud  was  beautifully  diveraifted  with 
forests  and  green  lawns,  which  must  give  shelter  to  \a>»t  numbers  of  wild 
beasts.  Proliably  most  of  the  natives  on  this  part  of  the  coast  live  by  hunt- 
ting,  for  they  most  of  then,  live  inland.  This  is  not  the  case  to  the  north- 
ward, for  the  face  of  the  country  is  wiilely  different.  Lat.  42"  3'  N.;  varia« 
tion,  13°  50'  K. 

Aug.  6th.  About  8  o'clock  we  were  abreiwt  a  cove  whore  tolerably  goo<l 
shelter  from  a  northerly  wind  may  bo  had.  It  is  formed  by  a  small  l)uy  to 
the  northward  and  a  little  island  to  the  southward.  Here  wood  and  wutcr 
may  be  procured,  but  what  sort  of  auchoruge  reinains  unknown.  The  people 
wire  very  anxious  to  come  on  board,  and  paddled  after  us  an  amazing  distance 
with  groat  celerity,  waving  something  wiiieh  I  suppose  was  skins,  but  as 
we  hatl  at  this  time  a  good  wind,  it  was  judged  best  U>  seek  a  harbor  while  it 
continued.  We  ran  along  shore  with  a  clouri  jf  sail,  paMing  within  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  of  a  bold  sandy  shore  in  5  or  6  fathoms  water.  AIx>vo  the  beach 
appeared  a  delightful  country  thickly  inhabited,  and  clothe.*!  vvith  verdu»'e 
and  forests  and  many  charming  streams  of  water.  Most  of  the  inhabitants, 
as  we  passed  their  scattered  houses,  fled  into  the  woods,  while  others  ran 
along  shore  with  great  swiftness,  keeping  abreast  of  us  many  miles.  Capa 
Minaocin  bore  north,  distant  about  5  leagues.  Wo  now  ran  for  a  place  that 
looked  like  an  inlet.  It  was  in  a  large  deep  bay  to  the  south  and  east  of  Cape 
Mindocin. 

Aug.  7th.  Having  run  in  within  a  mile  of  a  small  island,  wo  hove  the 
jolly-boat  out  and  sent  her  to  sound  thf  channel  and  explore  the  harbor,  if 
any.    She  soon  made  a  signal  that  there  was  plenty  of  water  within  the  island. 


•aaiiB^tawBintaMwitt  mtmuAimtttuu^ 


HARWELL'S  JOURNALS  1788-9. 


Tljfy 


Wo  then  followed  her,  but  booii  diacuvercd  what  wo  Riippoticd  to  bo  an  inlet 
was  no  other  than  two  hills  separated  by  a  deep  valley.  We  wore  ship  withm 
half  a  mile  of  the  land,  and  found  uo  bottom  with  a  lou^t  scope  of  line.  Wo 
now  took  in  the  boat  and  stood  out  on  the  other  aide  the  islaml.  whii'li  cmdd 
be  compared  to  nothing  else  but  a  hive  of  bees  »wanning,  the  birds  were  so 
numerous.  They  were  of  many  species,  but  most  of  them  j)elicau8.  At  « 
P.  M.  Capo  Mindocin  bore  n.  n.  k.,  disUuit  about  0  or  7  leagues.  A  long  mid 
very  dangerous  reef  of  rocks  ran  out  0  leagues  westward  of  this  promontory. 
Steered  clear  of  it  and  stood  in  for  the  land.  Lat.  43"  '-I0'  n.  There  is  a  very 
deep  bay  to  the  northward  of  the  oapc,  in  which  probably  there  ni.ay  l)o  wime 
deep  sounds  aud  rivers,  but  in  the  night  we  were  imperceptibly  drifted  by  a 
cun'ent  from  the  eastward  far  from  the  shore,  which  prevented  our  exploring 
this  part  of  the  coast.  A  knowledge  of  this  situation  might  be  oascnlial, 
for  if  there  should  bo  a  harbor  here,  uo  doubt  there  would  Im  great  num- 
bers of  sea-otters,  whose  skins  to  the  number  of  several  thousjind  collected 
on  the  coast  of  California  are  sent  by  the  Spanish  missionaries  to  (yhina  l>y 
way  of  Manilla.  About  10  or  1 1  leagues  to  northward  of  the  cape  wo  hoisted 
onr  boat  out  to  more  minutely  examine  thu  coast,  while  we  sailed  in  the  ship 
within  a  njile  of  the  shore. 

Aug.  9th.  At  '2:'M)  o'clock  we  passed  an  iulet,  where  though  there  did  not 
appear  to  be  suiDcient  water  for  our  vessel,  yet  I  am  of  opinion  it  is  the  en- 
trance of  a  very  largo  river,  where  greot  commercial  advantages  might  bo 
reaped  by  a  small  vessel  of  is  or  20  ton.s.  This  harbor  is  in  l.it.  41"  'JO'  N., 
and  long.  122°  0*  w.  The  long  boat  returned  alongside  in  the  evening,  having 
seen  nothing  remarkable  except  vast  numbers  of  natives,  who  ojipcued  very 
hostile  and  war-like.  They  ran  along  shore  waving  white  skins.  These  are 
the  skino  of  moose.  Three  or  four  thicknesses  completely  tanned  and  impen- 
etrable to  arrows  aro  their  armor.  They  would  sonietimes  make  fiist  their 
bows  and  quivers  of  an-ows  to  spears  of  incredible  bugtb,  nn<l  hliake  them  at 
us  with  an  air  of  defiance.  Every  gesture  was  accompanied  by  hideous 
shouting.  The  coast  trended  by  the  cumpass  .v.  by  w.  At  11  A.  m.  there 
came  alongside  two  Indians  in  a  small  canoe,  very  differently  formed  from 
those  we  had  seen  to  the  southward.  It  was  sharj)  at  the  head  and  stern, 
and  extremely  well  built  to  paddle  fast.  Tlicy  cani<'  very  cautiously  toward 
us,  nor  would  they  come  within  pistol  shot  until  one  of  them,  a  very  tine- 
looking  fellow,  ha(l  delivered  a  long  oration,  accompanying  it  with  action  and 
gestures  that  would  have  graced  a  f]uropcan  orator.  Tlic  subject  of  hisili.s- 
course  was  desighed  to  inform  us  tliat  tliey  had  plenty  of  lish  and  fresh  water 
on  shore  at  their  habitations,  which  they  scemetl  to  wish  us  to  go  and  partjike 
o^.  We  made  them  understiuid  that  skins  were  the  articles  W(!  most  wantccl. 
These,  as  well  as  they  could  bo  understood,  they  would  bring  the  ensuing 
day.  Wo  could  perceive  their  language  was  utterly  dilfercut  from  those  wo 
had  first  fallen  in  with  to  the  southward.  After  \iewin;,'  the  vessel  atten- 
tively for  some  time  they  depnrled,  well  pleased  with  the  trifling  ^)resent3 
they  had  received.     The  [ilace  these  people  ('amo  from  is  in  lat.  45^  0  N. 

Aug.  10th.  At4  P.  SI.  wore  ship  and  stood  in  with  the  land.  At  9  wo  hove 
the  boat  out  and  she  went  in  seareh  of  a  landing-place.  During  her  absence 
there  came  alongside  2  Indian  canoes,  one  contiiiuing  2  and  llio  other  o  pco 
pie.  Among  them  were  yesterday's  friends;  they  brought  several  sea-otter 
skins,  and  one  of  the  best  furs  I  ever  saw.  They  were  a  smart  set  of  active 
fellows,  but  like  all  others  on  this  coast  withoul  on  -  exception  addicted  to 
thefts.  They  were  anr.ed  with  tows  and  an-ows  and  spears,  but  woeld  part 
•with  none  of  tliem.  They  had  both  iron  and  stono  knives,  which  they  always 
kept  in  their  hands  uplifted  in  readiness  to  strike.  We  admittted  ono  of 
them  on  board,  but  he  would  not  con)o  without  this  weapon.  Two  or  three 
of  our  visitors  were  much  i)ittcd  with  small-pox.  They  were  dexterous  in  tlio 
mauaffemcnt  of  their  canoes,  and  though  they  were  long,  woidd  turn  them  in 
three  lengths.  Their  paddlca  were  neatly  m.ido  of  ash  of  cmial  breadth,  the 
comers  pointed  and  end  arched  like  a  swallow's  tail.  They  departed,  promis- 
ing to  return  apain  soon.  Lat.  45°  2'  N. 
Hist.  N.  V.',  Co*BT.,  Vol..  I.    45 


iMf^Sff^Xi  '-(frf^'iW1i||())iii[y.  •  I 


706 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  I7S8-9. 


in 


Aug.  lltb.  Marked  l>y  no  singular  CTent.  Lat.  44°  58'  >'.,  having  made- 
5  miles  southing. 

Aug.  12th.  We  came  to  anchor  within  half  a  mile  of  the  shor^,  hoisted 
the  long  boat  out,  and  went  to  a  Btnall  inlet  where  there  was  not  .sufficient 
water  for  the  sloop  to  enter.  We  took  off  two  loads  of  wood,  and  then  hove 
up  and  came  to  sail  with  the  wind  favorable.  We  saw  while  the  boat  was  ou 
shore  one  of  the  natives  who  were  off  on  Sunday  last.  The  place  had  beeu 
inhabited,  but  had  been  deserted  no  doubt  as  late  as  when  they  saw  the 
boat  coming  on  shore. 

Aug.  J  3th.  There  came  alongside  12  natives  in  a  canoe.  Tb»y  had  noth- 
ing to  traffic,  but  seemed  enticed  by  curiosity  to  view  the  vessel.  Their  chief 
was  the  only  person  tluit  was  allowed  to  come  on  board.  He  observed  every- 
thing witli  great  attention,  and  was  presented  with  a  few  gifts  and  departed 
well  pleased.     Lat,  4.j''  uU'  m. 

Aug.  14th.  Kctween  the  hours  of  5  and  G  last  evening  we  passed  a  toler- 
able harbor,  but  having  a  bar  with  waves  breaking  pretty  nigh  all  athwart  it, 
it  looked  as  though  we  could  witli  case  get  into  it.  This  harbor  was  now  10 
leagues  to  leeward.  In  the  afternoon  it  was  determined  to  bear  away,  and  at 
I  I'.  M.  we  lay  her  head  to  the  southward,  and  at  6  hove  to  with  the  smaU 
boN^'cr  in  7  fathoms  over  a  bottom  of  sand,  distant  from  the  shore  about  2 
miles.  We  now  hoisted  the  boat  out,  manned  and  armed  her,  and  sent  her  to 
explore  the  harbor  and  soun<l  its  entrance,  taking  proper  bearings  and  marks 
for  sailing  into  it.  At  10  the  boat  returned  with  an  account  that  the  harbor 
w.iH  tolerably  commodious  and  sufficient  water  for  us  in  the  proper  channel. 
Wo  immediately  hove  up  and  went  in  without  coming  into  less  than  2^ 
fathoms  water.  We  anchored  half  a  mile  from  the  shore  in  3  fathoms.  In 
the  anchoring  >lace  I  observed  my  latitude  to  be  45°  27'  N.,  and  longitude 
12;i°  10'  w. ;  the  variation  by  the  azmuth  was  14°  26'. 

Aug.  15th.  It  was  with  great  persuasion  late  in  the  afternoon  that  a  small 
canoe  came  alongside  and  received  many  trivial  presents,  which  soon  enticed 
maijy  others  off,  and  each  canoe  brought  large  quantities  of  benies,  and  crabs 
ready  boiled.  These  they  handed  on  board  as  presents,  seemingly  without  aa 
idea  of  payment.  These  were  the  most  acceptable  things  they  could  have 
brought  to  most  of  our  seamen,  who  wore  in  a  very  advanced  state  of  the 
scurvy,  and  was  a  means  of  a  restoration  to  health  to  3  or  4  of  our  company, 
who  would  have  found  one  month  longer  at  sea  fatal  to  them,  so  advanceil 
were  they  iu  this  malignant  distemper. 

Traffic  on  a  very  friendly  footing  being  thus  established,  before  evening  we 
had  purchased  a  number  of  otter-skins  for  knives,  axes,  adzes,  etc.,  but  had 
we  had  copper,  a  piece  2  or  3  inches  square  would  have  been  far  more  valuable 
to  them.  'I'hey  would  hand  their  skius  on  board  without  sBruple,  and  take  with 
satisfaction  whatever  was  given  in  I'etum.  This  we  very  seldom  found  to  be 
t!io  case  in  any  other  part  of  the  coast.  The  necessary  operations  of  wooding 
and  watering  were  the  principal  objects  of  our  attention.  Tiie  wiiterinc;-pla(«> 
Mas  situated  at  a  cousiderable  distance  from  the  sloop,  uud  toi^aily  out  of  pr\>- 
tixtion  of  her  guns.  For  this  reason  one  turn  of  water  was  juiImiI  sulHciont  to 
serve  till  some  more  safe  place  might  be  discovered  at  some  other  part  i>.  Jlie 
coast.  We  took  off  several  boat-loads  of  wood  which  was  hundy  to  the  ^waul, 
and  of  a  very  good  quality.  The  natives  while  wc  were  nt  w<:>rk  on  shore  bc- 
iiaved  with  great  proprietyi  frequently  bringing  us  fiuit,  but  t  hey  always  kept 
themselves  armed,  and  never  ventured  nigh  us  but  with  thoir  knives  in  their 
hanvls  ready  to  strike.  This  wo  imputed  to  their  being  such  total  »tnuige«* 
to  Europeans. 

Aug.  16th.  At  this  time  an  amazing  number  of  natives  w«n  atoMfside 
with  boiled  and  roasted  crabs  for  sale,  which  our  people  pn  '■.■)««s*d  for  iNMftou, 
etc.  They  had  also  dried  salmon  and  berries  in  ahuadan  v  About  tkis  tisM 
the  old  chief  whom  wo  had  met  on  the  13th  came  ou  Kv*.  d.  He  hftd  a  giv*t 
lumber  of  the  natives  with  liim  all  armed,  and  they  had  no  skins  with  ttMBh, 
.'.hough  they  were  .voll  convinced  it  was  thone  only  we  wanted.  TWmm^  tte 
c'.iicf  had  not  fulfillrd  his  engagement,  for  he  had  promised  to  supplr  <•%  1»  nak 


HASWKLL'S  JOUHNALS  1788-9. 


707 


having  made 


■with  a  polite  reception.  Having  nothing  else  to  dolmt  wait  for  tho  next  day's 
tide  to  depart  early  in  the  afternoon,  1  accompanied  Mr  CtwledLMum  shore  in  tho 
lone  boat  to  amuse  ourselves  by  takiug  a  walk,  while  our  lH«a  was  loaded 
with  grass  and  Bhrubs  for  our  stock.  We  took  in  the  Iwmt  nil  who  were 
afTected  by  scurvy,  in  all  amounting  to  7.  The  people  st-enied  bo  friend  ly  that 
we  went  worse  armed  than  usual.  We  had  'J  niusUets  and  ."1  or  4  cutlassen, 
and  we  each  took  our  swords  and  a  pistol.  On  first  landing  we  visited  thoir 
houses,  and  such  food  as  they  eat  themselves  they  ofiFercd  us,  but  they  are  so 
intokralily  liltliy  that  wo  could  eat  iiotliing  but  the  fniit.  'i'liev  tJnii  (.mused 
us  by  showing  their  dexterity  with  their  arrows  and  spears,  and  bcgi«,  n  war- 
dance,  which  was  longuiid  hideous,  accompanied  with  frightful  howls.  Indeed, 
there  vras  something  more  horrid  in  tlieir  song  and  the  (.'oslures  tihat  accom- 
panied it  than  I  am  capable  of  describing.  It  chilled  my  blond  iti  my  veins. 
J'lic  dance  over,  we  left  the  natives  to  themselves,  and  \Nalked  alung  tliu  beach 
to  the  boat,  wliere  the  people  v.  ere  cutting  grass,  only  om;  or  two  of  tho 
natives  with  them.  We  went  a  little  way  past  tho  boat,  but  within  call,  to 
a  small  sand-flat  in  hopes  of  linding  some  clams.  While  we  were  digging,  a 
young  blaek  man,  Marcus  I^opius,  a  native  of  the  Cape  de  Vcrd  Islands,  who 
had  shipped  as  Captain  (iray's  servant  at  !St  .Iiigij's,  being  employed  carrying 
grass  down  to  the  boat,  had  carelessly  stuck  Ids  cutliuss  in  the  sard,  (hie  of 
the  natives  seeing  this  took  a  favorable  opportunity  to  snatch  it  unobserved 
and  run  off  with  it.  One  of  ihi  nen  seeing  it  before  he  was  quite  out  of  sight 
Called  vehemently,  threatening  to  shoot  him,  in  hopes  he  would  aliandon  the 
stolen  goods  and  make  his  escape.  But  I  ha<l  given  positive  orders  to  our  men 
not  to  lire  except  in  an  emergency,  when  in  .self-defence  it  might  be  necessary. 
The  holloaing  of  our  people  first  rou.so>l  our  attention,  and  we  inmiediately 
rushed  to  know  the  cause.  AVe  were  informed  of  tho  eiroiimstances,  and  told 
that  the  black  boy  had  followed  the  thief  iu  spite  of  all  they  could  say  to  the 
contrary.  I  was  struck  with  the  danger  tho  lad  was  in,  and  doubted  of  there 
being  a  possibility  ol  saving  him,  but  resolving  no  means  should  be  left  un- 
tried, ordering  the  boat  to  keep  abreast  of  us,  we  ran  toward  the  village  with- 
out hesitation.  We  met  several  chief  persons,  whoso  friendship  we  had  taken 
every  opportunity  to  obtain  Ijy  kind  usage  and  liberal  presents.  Indeed,  it 
seemed  before  this  as  if  wo  had  fully  succeeded.  To  these  pco|)le  Mr  (.'ooledge 
otTercd  articles  of  great  value  to  them  to  bring  back  tho  man  niduirt.  This 
they  refused,  intitnaliug  their  wish  for  us  to  seek  him  ourselves.  I  now  re- 
marked to  Mr  Cooledgo  that  all  the  natives  we  saw  were  unusually  well  armed. 
However,  we  proceeded  still  further,  and  on  turning  aolunip  of  trees  ♦he  first 
thing  we  saw  was  a  very  large  group  of  natives,  in  the  midst  of  whom  was 
the  jioor  black  holding  the  thief  and  calling  f(jr  aasistance,  saying  he  had 
caught  the  thief.  When  we  were  observed  \>y  tho  main  Ixjdy  of  natives  to 
harshly  approach  tiiem,  they  instantly  plunged  their  kiiive.-j  with  savage  furv 
into  the  body  of  the  unfortunate  youth.  lie  quitted  his  hold  and  stumbled, 
but  rose  again  and  staggered  toward  us,  l>nt  a  flii^ht  i  i  iniows  pieicing  his 
back  he  fell  within  15  yards  of  me,  r.nd  in.sta,ntly  ex|)ired,  while  they  mangled 
his  lifeless  corp.sc.  We  were  now,  by  our  pa3,sing  a  nuudier  whom  wo  suji- 
posed  to  be  our  friends,  situated  between  two  formidable  parties.  'I'hose  we 
had  passed,  being  reenforced  hy  a  y  ml  number  from  the  woods,  gave  us  tho 
first  siiliitation  by  a  shower  of  trn  v.-s.  Our  ordy  chance  was  to  get  to  the 
boat  a*  quickly  as  possible.  iSo  we  turueil,  leaving  the  ilead  body,  for  it 
would  have  been  tho  height  of  imprudence,  our  h  juber  was  so  small,  to  res- 
cue it.  We  mr.do  the  best  of  ou-  way  to  tho  boat,  oh^<  udted  on  all  siiles  by 
showers  of  arrows  and  spears,  and  at  leuijth  it  lx>eamo  aiisolulely  necessary  to 
shoot  the  most  dan  ^  liugleaders,  whieli  I  did  with  my  |.'istol.  Mr  Cooledge 
and  one  man  who  was  with  us  followed  my  examph'.  Tho  former  ordered 
those  in  the  lx)at  to  cover  us  »s  we  waded  olF,  for  the  boat  could  not  come 
within  a  considerable  distance  of  the  shore.  Uncl*ii-**Bd  by  thu  fate  of  their 
companions,  the  savages  followed  us  up  to  their  rawi-iles  in  water,  and  slightly 
wounded  both  Mr  Cooledge  and  myself  in  the  i\at»i,  and  totally  disabled  the 
|>Mraon  who  was  with  us  on  shore,  who,  fainting  trom  tho  loss  of  blood,  hiy 


^f&f^^^>ii0'^*^S»>a,Jtetiifi^^, 


708 


HASWELX,'S  JOURNALS  1788-9. 


lifeless  several  honrs,  and  continued  to  bleed  a  torrent  till  the  barb  of  the 
arrow  was  extracted.  We  jumped  into  the  boat,  put  off,  and  were  soon  out 
of  arrow-shot.  Then  they  launched  ttaeir  canoes,  intending  to  cut  us  off; 
indeed,  they  were  well  situated  for  it,  but  some  were  timid  and  not  half 
paddled,  and  wo  keeping  a  constant  fire  from  the  boat,  they  came  barely 
within  arrow-shot  when  we  readied  the  sloop.  They  turned  towards  the 
shore  as  soon  as  we  got  on  board,  and  we  discharged  2  or  3  swivel-shot 
at  them,  and  in  a  few  momenta  not  one  canoe  was  to  be  seen,  all  having  fled. 
During  the  whole  of  the  night  it  was  dismal  to  hear  the  whoops  and  howlinga 
of  the  natives,  who  had  fires  on  the  beach  near  the  spot  where  the  lad  was 
killed.  We  could  see  numbers  of  them  passing  to  and  fro  before  the  blaze 
Murderer's  harbor,  for  so  it  was  named,  is  I  suppose  the  entrance  of  the  river 
of  the  west.  It  is  by  no  means  a  safe  place  for  any  but  a  very  small  vessel  to 
enter,  the  shoal  at  its  entrance  being  so  awkwardly  situated,  the  passage  so 
narrow,  and  the  tide  so  rapid,  that  it  is  scarce  possible  to  avoid  the  dangers. 
It  is  probable  whenever  a  vessel  goes  there  they  may  procure  20  or  30  sea-otter 
skins.  We  know  but  little  of  tlie  manners  and  customs  of  the  people,  our 
stay  among  them  was  so  short.  The  men  wear  no  clothing  but  the  skins  of 
animals  well  dressed;  the  women  nothing  but  a  petticoat  of  straw  about  as 
long  as  a  liighlander's  kilt.  Tlieir  huts  wer  very  small,  made  of  boards,  with 
a  mat  on  the  floor.  They  appeared  to  be  very  indolent,  and  were  intolerably 
filthy.  Their  canoes  were  well  shaped  for  every  useful  purpose.  The  language 
we  obtained  no  knowledge  of,  and  I  am  of  opinion  it  was  very  hard  to  leaim. 
I  am  positive  it  was  a  planned  affair  which  fii-at  gave  rise  to  our  quarrel,  fin- 
seeing  how  few  we  were,  they  had  hopes  of  overpowering  us  and  tnakmg 
themselves  masters  of  our  clothes  and  arms.  Had  we  l>een  taken,  it  would  have 
been  no  difficult  job  to  take  the  sloop,  for  Capt.  Gi-ay  had  but  3  people  left 
on  board.  It  was  folly  for  us  to  have  gone  ashore  so  ill  armed,  but  it  proved 
a  sufficient  warning  to  us  to  be  well  anned  ever  afterwards .    . 

Aug.  19th.  Having  had  a  good  run  from  Murderer's  harbor  we  had  passed 
a  considerable  length  of  coast,  which  no  doubt  affords  many  valuable  furs. 
Wo  were  4  or  .1  miles  from  a  straight  coast,  trending  w.  w  by  n.  in  w.,  and 
20  fathoms  water.     Lat.  47"  11' N. 

Aug.  'JOth.  At  10  A.  M.  2  canoes  with  4  people  in  each  come  alongside. 
We  purchased  several  sea-otter  skins  of  them  at  a  reasonable  rate  for  iron, 
but  they  expressed  a  great  desire  for  copper. 

Aug.  2l8t.  At  f)  two  Indian  wlialing  canoes,  each  containing  (>  people, 
came  alongside.  They  had  nothing  to  dispose  of  but  a  few  beaver  skins. 
Their  whaling  implements  were  very  curious,  ben;  they  would  part  with  none 
of  them.  At  6  weighed,  and  came  tu  sail  at  7.  Green  Island  .bore  north 
distant  4  miles.  Quinelth  (the  Indian  name  for  the  village  where  these  men 
belong)  bore  N.  n.  e.  distant  7  miles.  Lat.  47°  30'  n.  The  land  we  were 
abreast  of  rises  at  a  distance  inland  to  exceedingly  high  mountains  covered 
with  now. . . 

Aug.  2i')th.  A  numk*er  of  craggy  and  detached  rocks  and  reefs  lying  at  a 
considerable  distance  rran  the  shore.     47°  ""'  iv .  . . 

Aug.  26th.  I  am  ot  opinion  that  tlie  iStiaits  of  Juan  de  Puca  exist,  though 
Capt.  Cook  positively  asserts  they  do  not,  i(r^  in  the  very  latitude  where  tliey 
are  said  to  lie  the  coast  takes  a  beijd,  which  v«-y  probably  may  be  the  entraiMe. 
Lat.  48°  6'  N.,  and  long.  124°  50'  w.,  maii  to  rjje  e.  n.  k.  lay  a  very  deep  hay, 
in  whose  entrance  lie  many  islands.  T*  tiuB  was  given  the  name  of  Com- 
pany's Bay,  and  there  is  but  little  doub^  that  it  affbnda  gwid  harbor. 

Aug.  27th.  Elarly  in  the  morning  we  made  sail  standing  off  w.  n.  w.  . . 
Lat.  48°  43'  N.,  long.  124°  54'  w. 

Aug.  28th.  At  8  A.  M.  2  canoes  came  off  with  2  men  men  in  each,  who 
looked  at  as  a  little  while  with  great  indifference,  and  then  paddled  farther 
out  t  ■  sea,  where  they  hove  to  U)  fish.  My  latitude  by  observation  was  48" 
53'  N.  In  the  P.  m.  we  were  visited  by  3  canoes  coatainin^  46  people  from 
among  the  islands  in  Company's  Bay.  As  soon  aa  tkmf  oainv  within  musket- 
shot  of  us  they  paddled  with  exceeding  great  baala,  MgiBg  an  agreeable  air. 


barb  of  the 

ere  soon  out 

cut  us  off; 

,nd  not  half 
came  barely 

towards  the 

swivel-shot 

having  fled. 
Liiil  how  lings 

tiie  lad  was 

e  the  blazu. 
i  of  the  river 
nail  vessel  to 
le  passage  so 

the  dangers, 
r  30  sea-otter 
e  people,  our 

the  skins  of 
raw  about  as 

boards,  with 
re  intolerably 
The  laugua<e 
ard  to  leani. 
r  quarrel,  ^nr 

and  makin;^ 
it  would  have 

3  people  left 
but  it  proved 

we  had  passed 
valuable  furs. 
N.  in  w.,  and 

jne  alongside, 
rate  for  iron, 

ling  6  people, 
beaver  skins. 
)art  with  none 
id  .bore  north 
lere  these  men 
land  we  were 
itains  covered 

eeis  lying  at  a 

li  exist,  though 

,de  where  they 

B  the  entrance. 

^ery  deep  bay, 

name  of  Oom- 

irbor. 

jff  w.  N.  w. . . 

I  in  each,  who 
wldled  farther 
vation  was  48* 
W  people  froia 
vithin  muaket- 
I  agreeable  air. 


HASWKLL'S  JOUIINALS  17SS-9. 


709 


and  keeping  stroke  in  time  to  the  tune,  and  at  the  end  of  every  cadence  alto- 
gether would  point  their  paddles  first  aft  and  then  forward,  first  whooping 
shrill  and  then  hoarse.  Three  times  they  went  round  tlic  vi'ssel  porforniiiig 
this  exercise,  and  then  M-ithout  further  ceremony  came  alongside.  The  ihiefs 
came  on  board  at  the  first  Invitation.  Tliey  had  no  otter  skins,  and  but  few 
of  any  other  sort.  Beyond  a  doubt  some  other  English  ijjiips  must  have  visited 
here  this  season,  for  they  plainly  articulated  several  ICnglish  names.  They 
were  very  extravagant  in  tlieir  demands,  in  cuuscquence  of  which  but  little 
trading  took  |)lace.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  they  departe<l,  and 
they  first  sang  a  very  agreeable  song.  The  remainder  of  the  day  we  gained 
only  5  miles  to  the  northward .  .  . 

Aug.  30th.  Tln^  first  thing  we  saw  through  the  fog  was  a  wide-spreading 
rock  lying  nearly  level  with  tlic  water's  edge,  over  which  the  surf  broke  with 
violent  rage,  not  farther  from  us  than  1(X)  fathoms.  In  a  few  moments  we  saw 
several  othei-s  equally  dangerous,  and  i  being  a  perfect  calm,  we  were  borno 
along  by  a  swell  on  a  direct  line  toward  tiiem.  We  manned  our  sweeps,  and 
providentially  a  liglit  breeze  sprung  up  which  wafted  us  clear,  but  wo  had 
little  time  to  spare,  for  tiiere  was  scarce  the  hollow  of  one  swell  l)ctwixt  us  ojid 
a  watery  grave.  While  we  were  in  this  pitiable  situation  several  canoes  came 
near  us,  having  with  them  several  sea-otter  skins.  They  could  not  come  ahmg- 
side,  the  swell  was  so  great,  and  our  vessel  had  so  much  motion,  but  by  signs 
they  gave  us  to  understand  that  a  little  to  the  eastward  was  a  liarlx)r  winch 
they  called  Nootka.  As  its  entrance  was  by  this  time  in  view,  wo  hoisted  the 
long  boat  out  to  tow,  assisted  by  the  natives  in  their  canoes,  and  late  in  the 
afternoon  we  came  to  in  T  fathoms  water  over  a  bottom  of  sand  in  a  tolerably 
well  sheltered  roadstead.  Soon  after  sunset  the  natives  left  the  vessel  and  re- 
tired to  their  habitations. 

Aug.  31st.  Early  in  the  morning  a  great  many  natives  came  oCT  bringing 
an  abundance  of  shins,  but  greatly  to  our  mortification  there  was  nothing  in 
our  vessel  excepting  nuiskets  would  purchase  one  of  them,  and  we  hatl  Ijaroly 
enough  for  our  defence.  Copper  \\aa  all  tiieir  cry, and  wo  had  none'  for  them. 
The  name  of  the  princijml  cliief  of  the  triho  is  Wickananish.  lie  visited  us 
with  his  brother  completely  dressed  in  a  genteel  suit  of  clothes,  which  he  said 
Capt.  Mcars  had  given  hiin.  He  was  not  the  only  one  they  mentioned,  for 
they  spoliT  of  Capts.  llarkley,  Hannah,  Dunkin,  and  Douglas.  What  they 
said  of  them  we,  knowiug  so  little  of  their  language,  couhl  not  comprehend. 
The  natives  had  loft  their  summer  habilauou  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the 
roads,  anc'  followed  the  fish  up  through  the  rivers.  At  7  a.  m.,  armed,  we 
manned  the  long  boat  uud  au  ollicer  went  in  her  to  search  for  a  geod  watering- 
place.  This  was  easily  found,  with  a  most  excellent  harbor,  landlocked  and 
sheltered  from  all  winds.  Anchorage  in  7  fathoms  water,  g(x>d  holding- 
ground;  enti-ance  naiTOW  and  tides  rapid.  Lat.  49"  9'  n.,  long,  iio'  2G'  w. 
At  12  M.  we  weiglied  .ind  sailed  from  Hancock's  harbor.  The  shortness  of  our 
tarry  prevented  my  taking  a  sketch  of  it,  but  I  expect  to  see  it  again  erelong. 

Sept.  2d.  ^Ve  were  scarcely  out  of  the  roads  when  it  began  to  blow  a 
gale ... 

Sept.  15th.  Heavy  gales  and  thick  disagreeable  weather  until  the  15th, 
when  we  stood  along  shore  in  Hoi)e  Bay,  and  at  o  r.  m.  were  disagreeably 
situated  in  shoal  water,  among  large  beds  of  kelp  and  a  rocky  bottom.  We 
were  )nak.y  enough  to  get  free  befoiti  ilark,  and  at  sunset  the  north  point  of  the 
entrance  of  Nootka  Sound  bore  cost,  distant  ")  miles. 

Sept.  Ifitli.  Calm,  and  wo  made  sail  toward  Ship  Cove,  where  Ca])t.  Cook 
lay  when  he  was  in  this  sound,  intemling  to  lay  there  till  wo  could  find  some 
better  situation.  Hero  we  expected  to  meet  the  i'olumbin,  and  wc  were  all 
positive  that  she  must  be  in  the  sound,  when  wo  saw  a  l)oat  under  sail  coming 
round  the  north  point.  We  stretched  for  that  side  of  the  sound,  but  it  was 
nearly  calm,  and  it  was  not  before  the  l>oat  was  very  near  that  wo  discovered 
it  to  belong  to  some  strange  vessel.  As  soon  as  they  camo  on  board,  tho  boat 
was  ordered  to  assist  ours  in  towing.  We  learned  that  there  »vero  2  snows 
lying  in  a  cove  on  the  west  side  tho  sound,  at  tho  village  where  Capt.  Cook 


^llipilSSS&Lmmii,iiMui 


710 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1788-9. 


^  'l^  .if  fi-vjaps-caciT^j-i-rft- 


visited  and  met  with  so  friendly  a  recoption.  Tliithcr  these  gentlemen  offered 
to  conduct  us,  and  Capt.  Gray  complied  with  their  request.  The  commanders 
of  the  2  vessels  and  the  chief  officer  were  now  on  board.  They  breakfasted 
with  us,  and  about  0  A.  M.  a  slight  breeze  earned  us  into  the  cove.  At  1 1 :30 
we  were  anchored  in  5  fathoms  water  over  a  bottom  of  sand.  Here  were  the 
Fillis  Adventurer,  John  Mears,  and  the  Efagenin  Nuheana,  Wm  Douglas, 
commanders,  filled  from  Macao  in  China,  and  under  Portuguese  colors,  botli 
belonging  to  the  same  merchants;  one  vessel  had  made  the  coasf  to  the  north- 
ward and  the  other  to  the  southward  and  met  at  this  place,  having  betwixt 
them  a  very  valuable  cargo  of  furs.  Capt.  Mears  arriving  here  some  time  be- 
fore (y'ant.  Louglas,  landed  his  second  officer,  Mr  Funter,  and  a  party  of  artili- 
cers,  who  first  built  a  tolerably  strong  garrison,  and  then  went  to  work  l)uild- 
ing  a  small  schooner  about  30  tons,  while  Capt.  Mears  cruised  the  coast 
collecting  skins.  We  found  this  vessel  nearly  completed,  and  they  proposed 
to  launch  her  in  a  few  days.  The  natives  had  quitted  their  village  and 
removed  far  up  tlio  sound.  The  commanders  of  the  3  vessels  and  Capt.  Mears' 
chief  mate,  ilr  Duffin,  dined  with  us.  In  the  course  of  conversation  we 
learned  that  ( 'apt.  Mears  would  depart  in  2  or  3  days  for  Macao,  leaving 
Capt.  Douglas  to  complete  tlie  rigging  of  the  scliooner,  when  he  also  would 
leave  the  coast  to  wiater  in  the  Sandwich  Islands.  All  the  time  these  gentle- 
men were  on  board  they  talked  vaguely  of  the  coast  and  the  vast  dangers 
attending  its  navigation,  of  the  monstrous  savage  disposition  of  its  inhabitants, 
adding  that  it  would  be  madness  in  us,  weak  as  wo  were,  to  stay  a  winter 
among  them.  Capt.  Mear.s  protested  both  vessels  ever  since  they  had  been  on 
the  coast  had  not  collected  50  skins;  on  our  smiling  (for  wo  had  been  differently 
infoi'med),  Jie  said  it  was  a  fact  upon  his  sacred  word  and  honor.  So  intent 
was  this  gentleman  on  deceiving  us,  that  ho  hesitated  not  to  forfeit  his  word  and 
honor  to  what  we  knew  was  a  falsehood.  The  fact  was,  they  wished  to  frighten 
us  off  the  coast,  that  they  alone  might  monopolize  tlie  trade.  But  the  depth 
of  their  design  was  easily  fathomed.  They  very  politely  offered  us  every 
assistance  that  lay  in  their  power.  Disappointed  at  not  finding  the  Columbia 
in  the  sound,  and  at  getting  no  intercourse  with  the  natives  even  to  ob- 
tain the  supplies  of  fisli  and  vegetables  that  were  necessary  for  the  vessel's 
use,  Capt.  Gray,  in  the  long  boat  manned  and  armed,  went  over  to  the  other 
side  of  the  sound,  hoping  to  find  villages,  and  to  convince  the  inhabitants  of 
the  friendly  intention  of  our  visit  to  the  sound,  but  they  saw  not  one  of  the 
natives. 

Sept.  19th.  We  hauled  on  shore  and  payed  her  bottom.  Capt.  Mears 
politely  allowed  his  blacksmith  to  repair  our  rudder-irons,  wbich  had  been 
damaged  in  Murderer's  harbor.  This  day  they  launched  their  schooner,  and 
named  her  the  Northwest  America.  The  ships  saluted,  and  the  day  among 
the  English  was  spent  in  mirth  and  festivity. 

Sept.  20th.  At  high  water  hove  off  and  moored  ship,  .'ill  hands  constantly  em- 
ployed preparing  for  sea,  cutting  wood  and  getting  water.  A  very  friendly  foot- 
mg  existed  betweeea  the  English  gentlenien  and  ourselves,  and  Capt.  Mears  of- 
fered to  be  the  bearer  of  any  letters  to  communicate  with  China.  ThisoffcrCapt. 
Gray  accepted,  and  giving  him  a  packet  on  the  22d,  assisted  in  towing  her  out 
of  the  harbor,  wishing  him  a  good  voyage,  and  returning  before  Capt.  Douglas. 
How  great  was  his  surprise  when  the  latter  returned  to  find  his  letters  enclosed 
in  a  note  from  Capt.  Meais,  apologizing  for  returning  them,  saying  he  was  not 
certain  to  what  part  of  India  he  should  go,  and  therefore  could  not  insure  a 
safe  delivery  of  them.  This  scheme  was  well  concocted,  for  he  was  fearful 
that  through  the  letters  to  our  connections  some  information  would  be  com- 
municated relative  to  the  trade  on  the  coast  that  would  bo  disadvantageous 
to  the  interest  of  his  company.  He  knew  had  he  refused  to  carry  his  letters 
we  could  have  prevailed  on  some  of  his  officers  and  people  to  take  them  for  us, 
for  (I  take  him  to  be  a  man  of  deep  penetration)  he  seemed  obliging  on  tho 
score  that  ho  might  make  sure  of  the  letters  going  by  no  other  way.     Tiiia  un- 

fentlemanliko  behavior  gave  us  on  unfavorable  opinion  of  Capt.  John  Meara. 
[e  is  a  lieutenant  in  tho  ]>ritish  navj',  had  been  several ^ears  in  India,  and 


HASWELL.S  ,IOUl!\AL.S  1788-9. 


omen  offered 
commacders 
breakfasted 
e.     At  11:30 
ere  were  the 
[Vm  Douglas, 
colorg,  botli 
to  the  uortli- 
Iving  betwixt 
loino  time  be- 
iarty  of  artiU- 
work  build- 
led  the  coast 
liey  proposed 
■  village  and 
Capt.  Mears' 
iversatiou  wo 
[acao,  leaving 
he  also  would 
these  gentle- 
vast  dangci-3 
a  iuhabitauts, 
Bl.iy  a  wiuter 
'  lad  been  on 
en  difTereutly 
:)r.     So  intent 
this  word  and 
led  to  frighten 
iat  tlie  depth 
ered  ua  every 
the  Columbia 
s  even  to  ob- 
)r  the  vessel's 
r  to  the  other 
inhabitants  of 
not  one  of  the 

Capt.  Mears 
lich  had  been 
schooner,  and 
16  daj'  among 

lonstantlyeru- 
friendly  foot- 
ipt.  Mears  of- 
'hisoflferCapt. 
jwingherout 
apt.  Douglas, 
tters  enclosed 
ig  he  was  not 
not  insure  a 
e  was  fearful 
3uld  he  com- 
idvantagoous 
ry  his  letters 
i  them  for  us, 
iging  on  tho 
y.  This  un- 
Jbhn  Mears. 
n  India,  and 


711 


about  3  years  ago  was  fitted  by  a  company  of  gcntlcincn  in  Bengal  in  the  snow 
he  18  now  in  and  a  schooner  (small)  for  tliis  coast.  He  met  with  many  ditfl. 
culties;  his  vessel  was  cast  away  on  the  Alaskion  Islanil.'i,  and  in  his  snow  he 
•wintered  at  Prince  William's  Sound,  wlicic  by  the  rigor  of  the  climate  and 
tho  scurvy  he  left  almost  all  liis  seamen  and  ollicers.  He  left  tho  coast  with- 
out exploring  much  of  it,  touched  at  tlic  Sandwich  Islands,  from  whence  ho 
took  a  young  ciiicf  of  rank  and  went  to  M;v;,o.  Tiana,  tho  young  cliiof, 
accompanied  him  to  tiie  Northwest  Coast,  and  from  hero  is  to  bo  carried  by 
Capt.  Douglas  to  his  native  islauds.  These  vessels  were  very  pooily  lifted 
vith  provisions  and  cordage,  thougli  tiiey  had  plenty  of  tiio  principal  article 
for  trade  (copper  and  iron).  All  tiie  provisions  Capt.  Mears  could  spare,  ro- 
Berving  only  a  scanty  allowance  to  last  him  to  China,  united  to  what  Capt. 
Douglas  had  before,  was  barely  enough  to  preserve  existenco  till  tiiey  could 
reach  tho  Sandwich  Islauds,  and  l>ut  for  tlie  provisions  with  which  wc  sup- 
plied them  they  would  have  h^id  many  a  scanty  meal. 

Sept.  23(1.  Our  people  were  constantly  employed  in  preparing  for  sea. 
Some  of  our  geutlenicn  were  on  shore  and  saw  a  sail  in  the  offing,  which  by 
our  glasses  wc  soon  knew  to  be  tho  Colti'mbin.  I  concluded  at  first  sight  her 
people  were  in  an  advanced  state  of  scurvy,  for  thougii  very  moderate  and 
pleasant,  her  top-sails  were  reefed,  and  her  top-gallant  masts  down  on  deck. 
Capt.  Gray  in  the  long  boat  immediately  went  out  to  give  them  all  tho  asjiist- 
ance  in  our  power,  and  about  5  i".  m.  she  anchored  within  40  yards  of  us. 
They  had  been  so  unfortun:ito  as  to  lose  "2  of  their  people  with  scurvy,  and 
most  of  the  crew  were  in  an  advanced  state  of  tiiat  malignant  distemper. 
After  wo  parted  with  the  sliip  otf  Cape  Horn  she  eucouutereil  many  very 
heavy  gales.  They  touched  at  Massafuero,  but  finding  it  would  bo  very  diffi- 
cult to  take  in  wood  and  water,  immediately  went  to  Juan  Fernandez,  arriv- 
ing there  the  29th  of  May,  when  wu  in  tho  sloop  were  nearly  40  degrees  of 
latitude  to  tho  northward.  They  were  politely  received  by  tho  governor  of 
tho  island,  amply  provided  with  all  necessaries,  and  departed  after  a  stay  of 
17  days. 

Sept.  24th.  As  Capt.  Kendrick  had  now  arrived,  everything  must  of  course 
await  his  orders,  and  as  often  as  he  was  asked  what  he  would  have  done  to 
forward  the  operation,  he  said,  '  Wc  can  do  nothing  till  these  Englishmea 
have  left  the  place.'  Accordingly,  he  set  his  cariiciiters,  calkers,  black- 
Bmiths,  etc.,  at  work  to  facilitate  their  departure,  su])plying  them  witii  pro- 
visions, naval  stores,  etc.,  while  they  monopolized  all  tho  skins,  nor  could  wo 
et  intercourse  with  one  of  the  natives  for  the  iiurchase  of  fish  or  deer.  Wo 
ad  exceedingly  boisterous  weather  for  a  long  time,  which  was  unfavorable  to 
our  work  on  board  or  shore. 

Oct.  Ist.  Being  the  anniversary  of  our  departure  from  the  east  side  of  the 
continent,  tho  Columbia  at  12  M.  fired  13  guns;  wo  next  fired  13,  and  it  was 
returned  with  7  from  Capt.  Funter  at  tho  house  on  shore,  and  0  guns  from 
the  Efaqenia.  All  the  officers  of  each  vessel  were  invited  to  dine  on  board  tho 
Colvmbia,  and  tho  rest  of  the  day  was  spent  in  mirth  .and  fcwlivity.  Tlio 
weather  through  all  October  was  rainy  and  disagrci'ablc.  Tho  scarcity  of  oil 
and  provisions  determined  Capt.  Douglas  to  send  the  schooner  up  the  sounil 
to  purchase  what  fish  and  oil  was  to  bo  disposed  (jf,  and  no  doubt  tlio  princi- 
pal object  of  their  expedition  was  to  purchase  skins.  Messers  Howe,  Im^ra- 
ham,  and  Treat  accompanied  Ciipt.  Funter,  and  s.alcd  on  tlie  14tli.  On  tin? 
return  of  the  schooner  we  found  they  had  not  pcnctrat(!d  as  far  up  tlie  sound 
as  they  at  first  intended.  This  was  their  mode  of  dealing  with  the  natives; 
On  arriving  at  a  village,  to  take  all  the  fish  and  oil  to  bo  found,  giving  them  iu 
return  perhaps  a  small  piece  of  copper  far  less  valuable  tlian  the  provision.* 
they  had  taken  by  force,  and  leave  tho  poor  harmless  wretches  unprovided  for 
a  long  and  rigorous  winter.  This  cruel  beliavior  seemed  almost  unpardon- 
able. They  would  often  send  their  boat  from  tho  snow  in  chase  of  the  canoes, 
and  bring  them  to  by  firing  musket-balls  at  them  (for  tho  native  canoes  were 
far  swifter  than  those  of  European  build),  and  then  rob  tlicm  of  tlicir  fish. 
Oct.  20th.     At  10  A.  M.  all  our  boats  towed  the  /■J/'tf/enia  out  of  Friendly 


i: 


T19 


HAS  WELL'S  JOURNiiJLS  1788  9. 


Core,  bound  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  natives  no  sooner  saw  the  siidtt 
clear  of  the  sound  than  they  flocked  to  ns  in  great  numbers  with  tish,  oil,  and 
Tenison,  and  a  friendly  intercourse  soon  began,  by  which  we  wore  plonteouuly 
supplied  with  prorisions  and  some  skins.  The  natives  are  a  harmless,  inoffen- 
sive people,  and  are  well  described  by  the  great  Cnpt.  Cook. 

Oct.  27th.  It  was  <lctcrmined  by  Capt.  Kendrick  to  winter  here  in  Nootka 
Sound  with  both  vessels.  He  also  determined  to  rig  our  sloop  into  a  brig, 
without  considering  tliat  he  had  not  cordage,  duck,  or  blocks  suiBcient  for 
the  purpose.  With  these  projects  in  our  heads,  wo  cut  some  spars,  but  these 
labors  soon  relaxed  and  turned  another  way,  for  Capt.  Kendrick  had  all  hands 
turucd  to  to  build  a  house  on  shore,  but  after  several  days  this  also  fell 
through.  Our  caboose,  originally  of  little  valuo  and  now  in  shattered  trim, 
mado  it  necessary  for  uf.  to  burn  a  lime-kiln  and  build  a  new  one,  which  wa 
covered  with  a  tolerable  house,  large  euough  to  hold  all  hands.  Much  of  our 
time  was  employed  burning  charcoal  for  the  omiths. 

Nov.  lt)th.  The  weather  now  began  to  be  cold,  with  frcst  and  snow,  and 
on  the  evening  of  tho  19th,  having  frequently  seen  tho  tracks  of  deer  on  a 
beach  not  far  from  the  ship,  it  struck  mo  if  I  lay  in  wait  near  where  they  came 
at  night,  favored  by  the  tightness  of  tho  snow,  I  might  shoot  some  of  them. 
1  Btt  oli'  ..bout  0  P.  M.  Tho  cold  was  severe,  nor  was  it  very  comfortable  sit- 
ting in  the  cleft  of  a  rock,  but  about  10  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  shoot  a  fine 
largo  buck,  which  I  lugged  to  the  vessel.  Most  of  our  people  were  constantly 
employed  burning  coal  to  supply  our  smiths.  Copper  was  tho  article  in  de- 
mand, and  as  wo  were  unprovided,  we  used  iron  worked  into  chisels.  Few 
incidents  marked  the  time.  The  natives  visited  us  almost  every  day  with  dsh, 
deci',  oil,  and  a  few  skins.  Our  principal  amusements  were  fowling  and  hunt- 
ing, in  both  of  which  we  had  tolerable  success.  The  weather  was  rainy  and 
disagreeable  most  of  the  time.  The  long  boat  turned  bottom  up  made  a  shed, 
which  was  constantly  guarded  to  prevent  the  natives  from  stealing  our  water- 
casks,  etc. 

Dec.  112th.  To  our  great  amazement,  on  the  morning  of  the  12th  we  found 
the  natives  had  landed  and  carried  off  6  small  cannon  given  to  Capt.  Kendrick 
by  Capt.  Douglas;  also  15  water-casks  and  several  other  things.  The  water- 
casks  were  a  great  loss,  nor  did  we  know  any  way  to  recover  them.  The 
Indian  habitations  were  far  from  us,  and  of  course  their  chiefs  were  out  of  our 
reach.  The  next  visitors  told  us  that  the  aggressors  were  the  people  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  sound,  with  whom  they  were  at  war.  This  story  pacified 
Cfapt.  Kendrick,  who  fearful  of  punishing  an  innocent  person  let  the  matter 
drop.  For  several  weeks  he  had  been  up  to  his  elbows  in  mortar,  build- 
ing a  brick  chimney  where  tho  mizzen-most  had  stood,  though  he  had  a  good 
brass  stove.  We  all  dreaded  its  bad  results  and  tried  to  dissuade  him,  but 
to  no  purpose. 

Jan.  13,  1789.  We  were  hailed  and  told  that  the  ship  was  on  fire,  so  we 
immediately  gave  all  the  assistance  in  our  power.  The  fire  was  near  the 
magazine,  and  it  was  very  fortunate  tiiat  it  was  discovered  in  time  to  be 
quenched  before  it  had  done  irremediable  damage. 

Jan.  20th.  Capt.  Gray  intended  to  have  hauled  on  shore  to  grave  our  bot- 
tom. We  had  sli,  _)cd  our  cable,  but  Capt.  Kendrick  seeing  us  about  to  move 
without  his  orders  hailed  us  in  a  pet,  and  ordered  us  to  moor  ship,  which  of 
course  we  did.  However,  to  make  up  for  tliis,  his  carpenters  were  employed 
making  spurs  for  the  sloop,  for  all  idea  of  making  her  a  brig  had  been  totally 
abandoned. 

Jan.  28th.  A  large  canoe  with  the  chief  of  Hancock's  harbor,  his  brother, 
and  others  of  distinction,  having  30  large  sea-otter  skins,  came  alongside. 
They  sold  us  none,  for  they  wanted  copper  and  muskets.  The  natives  now 
began  to  come  down  in  great  numbers,  and  about  tlie  last  of  the  mon,/ii  came 
to  reside  in  the  cove. 

Feb.  2oth.  Received  450  Indian  chisels.  When  we  arrived  in  the  sloop 
at  this  cove  we  were  told  by  Capt.  Mears  that  he  had  had  a  very  seriooa 
mutiny,  and  its  ringleader  was  his  boatswain.     These  people  were  in  confine- 


HAiSWKLL'S  JOURNALS  1788-9. 


ri:» 


law  the  sno^ 
tish,  oil,  and 

B  plonteouuly 
leas,  inofTen- 

sre  in  Nootka 
_  into  a  brig, 
auliicient  for 
irs,  but  these 
had  all  hands 
this  also  fell 
attered  trim, 
ne,  which  wa 
Much  of  our 

nd  snow,  and 
of  deer  on  a 
ore  they  came 
ome  of  them, 
mfortable  sit- 
:o  shout  a  fine 
iro  constantly 
article  in  dc  - 
chisels.  Few 
day  with  fish, 
ing  and  huut- 
vas  rainy  and 
I  made  a  shed, 
ing  our  water- 

12th  we  found 
apt.  Kendrick 
.  The  water- 
r  them.  The 
'ere  out  of  our 
people  on  the 
story  pacified 
let  the  matter 
mortar,  build- 
he  had  a  good 
lade  him,  but 

on  fire,  so  we 
was  near  the 
in  time  to  be 

jrave  our  bot- 
nbout  to  move 
ship,  which  of 
rere  employed 
d  been  totally 

r,  his  brother, 
me  alongside, 
e  natives  now 
e  moni/U  came 

i  in  the  sloop 
i  very  serioiu 
ire  in  confine- 


ment,  but  supposing  we  wero  wnak-hande<l  and  wonld  give  shelter  to  ono  of 
them,  John  (ireen,  the  boatawaiii,  broke  from  the  house  where  they  wore  con- 
fined, und  made  his  case  known  to  Mr  Cooledge,  adding  that  ho  was  well  ac- 
quainted witli  the  coast  and  the  languages  R|X)kcn  on  it.  Of  course  «uc-h  a 
man  as  this  would  be  very  serviceable,  but  Cant.  (}ray  had  given  his  word  to 
Captain  Mcars  not  to  take  him  on  board  while  snow  was  in  the  port.  VVe 
supplied  him  wftli  ]iroviaiong,  and  wlien  the  Cotiimbia  came  ho  wa«  taken  on 
board  of  her  as  a  swmiun,  hut  when  ho  was  told  to  sign  the  articles  on  March 
4th  lie  refused,  ami  Capt.  Kcntlrick  iiiiniciliatc'.y  ordered  liiin  on  shore  among 
the  savages.  Oeorgo  Monk,  a  seaman  sliipped  l)y  Captain  Kendrick  at  !St 
Jago's,  having  signed  tho  papers,  was  told  his  wages  wero  to  be  less  thou  tlio 
otlier  seamen's,  and  coniplainiiig  tliat  it  was  not  just,  he  was  ordered  to  quit 
the  ship,  whicli  he  did,  and  dwelt  among  the  natives  in  the  woods. 

March  10th.  Capt.  Kendrick  Ijeiiig  iuforinod  that  Monk  was  sheltered  by 
the  natives,  threateneil  them  with  his  most  severe  displeasure  if  they  did  not 
give  him  up.  In  the  evening  we  landed  armed  i'l  '2  boats  and  took  him 
prisoner. 

March  14th.  We  bent  sails  and  wero  ready  for  soa.  Our  intended  cruise 
was  to  the  southward,  wliero  we  were  to  lie  at  llanuock's  harbor  till  the  suu 
siioiild  cross  the  equator. 

March  10th.  We  weighed  in  the  morning,  saluted  the  Co^(mfcia  with  li 
guns  which  was  returned  with  3,  and  being  safe  out  of  the  cove,  Capt.  Ken- 
drick and  his  officers  took  leave  of  us  wilh  3  cheers.  While  wo  are  running 
to  Clicquot  I  will  give  a  short  account  of  Nootka  Sound  and  its  environs^  Our 
constant  intercourse  witii  the  natives  cnal>led  us  to  gain  couaiilerablo  knowl- 
edge of  their  language,  manners,  and  customs.  I  have  here  iuserteil  u  vocab- 
ulary, which  enabled  us  to  converse  on  almost  any  subject.  Nootka  Sound 
was  discovered  by  Capt.  Cook,  30th  of  March,  1778,  on  passing  to  tho  north- 
ern hemisphere  of  this  ocean,  but  from  the  natives  we  learn  that  a  ship  was 
anchored  at  tho  entrance  of  tho  sound  40  months  before  (,';ipt.  Cook's  arrival. 
From  the  description,  they  must  have  been  Spaniarila,  but  tho  natives  say 
their  boats  were  not  out  during  their  tarry.  The  sound  is  in  latitude  49°  3G'  N., 
and  longitude  120"  46'  w.  It  abounds  in  good  luirbors,  well  sheltered  from  all 
winds.  The  sound  is  navigable  ::carly  20  league;,,  where  it  again  incets  the  soa 
in  another  outlet  nearly  as  largo  as  Nootka,  about  7  leagues  we3f;war(l.  Uquot, 
or  Friendly  Cove,  situated  on  the  west  side  of  tiio  sound,  is  a  well  sheltered 
L.'  !bor.  On  tha  west  side  is  a  beach  almost  the  length  of  the  cove,  and  on  the 
bank  above  it  is  a  large  town,  the  summer  habitation  of  the  natives.  At  this 
place  we  wiu(;ered,  and  it  was  here  tliat  Capt.  Cook  met  with  reinarkablv 
severe  treatment  from  the  natives.  Tliero  is  but  little  soil,  from  the  inequal- 
ity of  tho  surface,  that  can  be  rendered  arable.  The  trees  are  so  enormous 
that  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  clear  the  land  in  the  most  level  places.  The 
mountains  rise  steep  to  a  great  height,  and  to  their  summits  are  clad  with 
immense  flora,  whose  roots  woven  in  with  the  cragu  have  but  little  soil,  and 
tliat  merely  the  decayed  limbs  and  moss  about  2  feet  deep.  To  the  top  of 
tliose  mountains  lies  a  continuous  mass  of  rocks.  In  the  woods  we  find  fir, 
spruce  of  several  kinds,  white  pine,  red  and  white  cedar,  white  cypress,  ash, 
alder,  birch,  hemlock,  poplar,  maple,  crab,  wild  cherry,  and  a  small  tree  that 
resembles  a  hemlock.  The  wood  is  close-grained,  and  resembles  maiiogany, 
but  is  heavier.  Tho  natives  tell  me  there  are  oaks  at  Matchlat,  a  village  up 
the  sound.  We  often  meet  with  gooseberries,  raspberries,  currants,  black- 
berries, strawberries,  and  thimbleborries.  In  the  spring  there  are  plenty  of 
wild  onions,  but  late  in  tho  season  they  are  not  so  well  llavored.  Tho  rivers 
produce  water-cresses  and  the  marshes  samphire.  Good  clover  grows  near  the 
villages,  and  there  are  several  sorts  of  fern  roots  the  natives  eat  with  which  I 
am  not  acquainted.  One  sort  is  very  small,  ond  when  boiled  tastes  like  a 
sweet  potato,  but  it  is  not  pleuciful.  There  are  also  parsley,  wild  cclerj ,  hog- 
weed,  sorrel,  mullein,  and  wild  pease.  Tho  natives  of  the  sound  are  below 
nuddle  size,  broad-shouldered,  and  the  parts  of  the  body  they  exercise  ore 
well  proportioned.     Their  chief  employment  being  paddling,  their  arms  and 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  H5«0 

(716)  872-4503 


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714 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1788-9. 


bodies  become  more  muscular,  while  their  legs  are  crooked  and  ill-shaped. 
They  not  only  sit  in  their  canoes  but  in  their  houses  on  their  hams,  and  when 
walking  never  straighten  the  knee,  but  from  constant  habit  keep  it  bunt.  Tlie 
faces  of  BC  me  of  the  females  are  pleasing,  but  the  generality  of  both  sexes 
have  high  cheek-bones,  low  brows,  small,  black,  drowsy-looking  eyes,  thick 
lips,  largo  mouths  and  nostrils,  and  their  skin  constantly  coveiud  witli  paint 
and  oil.  Their  dress  is  usually  a  garment  with  3  sides  square,'  the  lower  edge 
surrounded  with  a  fringe,  and  upper  trimmed  with  fur.  On  each  side,  about 
2  inclies  broad,  the  garment  is '  composed  of  wool  from  the  mountain  sheep, 
but  the  rest  of  the  garment  is  made  of  the  bark  of  the  cedar  beaten  till  it 
looks  like  liemp.  liieiio  are  usually  worn  under  the  left  arm,  tied  near  tha 
corners  over  the  shoulder.  With  this  they  generally  wear  a  garment  resem- 
bling a  petticoat,  with  a  hole  largo  enough  to  admit  the  head,  and  this  falling 
over  the  shoulders  reaches  aa  low  as  t)ic  elbows.  On  their  heads  they  «car 
curious  conical  caps,  but  their  legs  and  feet  arc  Imru.  In  very  cold  or  rainy 
weather  they  \»  ear  a  bear  or  wolf  skin.  They  have  blankets  of  wool  of  excel- 
lent workmanship,  as  ^\'cll  done  as  if  woven  in  a  loom.  Their  ornaments  are 
necklaces  of  beads,  copper  bracelets,  and  earrings,  but  nose  ornaments  are  not 
fasliiouable,  though  all  their  noses  are  pierced.  They  heighten  these  orna- 
msuts  by  painting  their  skins  and  covermg  tlicir  h^ir  witii  feathers.  They 
throw  onto  their  faces  a  fine  sand  resembling  isinglass,  which  sticks  to  the 
paint,  and  thus  equipped  they  receive  and  pay  visits.  The  sides  of  the  houses 
are  i)erpeudicular,  the  top  nearly  flat,  both  cover  and  sides  of  very  wide 
boardf?.  The  ridge  pole  is  an  enormous  size,  near  12  feet  in  circumference, 
and  nearly  100  feet  long.  The  side  poles,  slightly  slanting,  are  not  so  la.ge. 
The  houses  generally  are  about  30  feet  wide,  and  from  '20  to  100  feet  long. 
They  are  divided  into  small  apartments  for  the  dwellings  of  separate  families, 
partitioned  only  by  a  siugle  lK>ard  3  feet  wide,  so  when  a  person  stands  up  he 
can  see  all  over  tho  house.  Each  family  has  a  fire-place,  and  there  is  a  long 
passage  from  the  door  to  the  further  end  of  the  house,  where  the  chief  of  the 
lauiily  usually  lives.  They  sit  on  boards  covered  with  mats  raised  0  inches 
above  tho  ground.  For  ornaments  they  have  pillars  supporting  tlie  poles 
carved  into  the  shape  of  human  faces  with  distorted  features,  beasts,  and 
imaginary  animals.  The  frame  poles  are  usually  painted.  They  eat  regu- 
larly, breakfast  in  the  morning,  dine  at  noon,  and  sup  at  G.  They  are  intol- 
erably filthy.  Their  amusements  are  singing  and  dancing,  beating  *'ime  witit 
paddles.  Tlteir  weapons  are  bows,  arrows,  spears,  daggers,  and  stone  &xes, 
and  they  now  use  fire-arms.  They  generally  surprise  their  enemy  in  the 
night.  Few  of  them  are  good  bowmen,  nor  do  they  throw  a  spear  witii  dex- 
terity. It  is  a  custom  to  adorn  tiieir  weapons  witli  tho  teeth  of  their  vau- 
?[uished  enemies.  Here  are  found  bears,  wolves,  moose,  fallow  and  reindeer, 
oxes,  raccoons,  squirreb,  miuks,  laud  and  sea  otters,  dogs,  beavers,  iiiarteus, 
wildcats,  and  mice.  In  tho  woods  are  woodpeckers,  robins,  Virginia  led- 
birds,  snow-birds,  yellow-birds,  long-tailed  thrush,  ground-birds,  tomtits, 
sparrows,  wrens,  partridges, quail,  hawks, owls,  eagles,  ravens,  crows,  swallows, 
cloves,  pigeons,  water-fowl,  geese,  ducks,  brant,  shags,  teal,  loons,  divera,  gulls, 
marsh-larks,  king-fishers,  and  swans.  There  are  whales,  porpoises,  salmon, 
flounders,  cod  and  halibut,  jculpins,  dogfish,  herring,  seal,  also  scuUop.s, 
clams,  mussels,  and  starfish.  In  making  tlicir  canoes  they  use  iiu  other  tools 
but  ft  chisel,  a  wooden  wedge,  and  a  round  stone  for  a  mallet.  No  others  in 
felling  trees  or  cutting  firewood.  Their  employments  arc  building  and  re- 
pairing their  canoes,  fching-gear,  and  bringing  homo  firewood.  The  women 
prepare  the  bark  of  the  cedar  for  garments,  anil  also  split  and  clean  the  fi.ili, 
which,  when  it  is  sutBciently  dried  by  smoke,  is  packed  in  boxes  and  laid 
aside  till  time  of  need.  Their  food  is  dried  roots,  dried  fish,  and  oil,  and 
sometimes  bear,  deer,  raccoon,  and  squirrel.  They  abhor  wolf  or  dog  llesii. 
They  usually  boil  their  food  in  a  wooden  box  with  hot  stones,  and  by  so  doing 
make  a  nourishing  soup,  which  they  servo  to  each  person  in  a  small  bowl. 
They  are  becoming  fond  of  ruin  and  wine,  and  will  eat  bread  or  anything 
•weot.  but  dislike  salt.     They  pay  great  adoration  to  the  sun,  and  believe  in 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  178S-9. 


715 


and  ill-shaped. 

laniB,  and  when 

p  it  buut.     The 

y  of  botli  sexea 

iug  eyes,  tiiick 

t'ud  wiih  paiut 

the  lower  edge 

;ach  side,  about 

ountAin  aheep, 

dr  beaten  till  it 

tied  near  the 

garment  rescni- 

and  this  falling 

leads  they  wear 

■y  cold  or  rainy 

)f  wool  of  excel- 

r  oniamonta  are 

ii.iments  arc  not 

iten  these  orna- 

feathers.     Tliey 

;h  sticks  to  the 

es  of  the  houses 

!8  of  very  wide 

I  circninfereiice, 

ire  not  so  la;'ge. 

[>  100  feet  long. 

eparate  families, 

)un  stands  up  he 

1  there  is  a  long 

the  chief  of  the 

raised  0  iuches 

orting  the  poles 

ires,  beasts,  and 

They  eat  regu- 

They  are  intol- 

eating  time  witli 

and  stone  &\es, 

x  enemy  in  the 

spear  with  dex- 

ith  of  their  van- 

jw  and  reindeer, 

eavers,  martens, 

8,  Virginia  red- 

l-birds.  tomtits, 

crows,  swallows, 

•ns,  divei-s,  gulls, 

)rpoises,  salmon, 

I,  also  scaUops, 

se  no  other  tools 

t.     No  others  in 

)nilding  and  re* 

)d.     The  women 

id  clean  the  tii<h, 

boxes  and  laid 

ish,  and  oil,  and 

alf  or  dog  llesiu 

and  by  so  doing 

n  a  small  bowl. 

ead  or  anything 

I,  and  believe  in 


a  supreme  god  and  a  devil.  AI)out  the  latter  they  have  seyeral  strange 
stories.  He  is  represented  as  black,  with  hery  eyes  of  enonnous  size,  with 
but  one  leg,  but  so  nimble  that  after  eating  20  or  30  of  them,  the  blood  run- 
ning in  streams  down  his  face,  he  at  one  hop  went  across  the  sound,  and  they 
suppose  he  dwells  in  the  woods.  Their  departed  friends  become  guardians  of 
the  fish  and  animals  which  are  of  most  service,  and  the  dcgrci'S  of  bliss  are 
proportioned  to  the  valor  and  dexterity  in  killing  whales  and  l)ea8ta,  and  tak- 
ing fish.  I  have  seen  the  old  people  appear  tt)  pray  with  great  fervor  and  shed 
tears.  Their  dead  of  rank  are  put  into  Ihjxcs  ornamented  with  sea-otter 
teeth,  their  knees  close  to  the  chin.  Into  these  cotHns  are  also  put  the  fishing- 
tackle  or  favorite  weapons.  They  carry  the  box  to  the  top  of  some  very  high 
tree  about  half  a  niilo  from  the  village,  where  it  is  securely  lashed,  the  top 
limbs  bent  round  the  box,  and  as  they  descend  they  lop  cT  branches,  which 
makes  it  diiiicult  of  aucess.  The  lower  class  are  put  in  boxes  and  laid  under 
the  trees,  or  at  the  foot  of  rocks.  Kvery  man  has  as  many  wives  as  ho  can 
purchase.  The  parents  of  chiefs  usually  buy  their  sons  wives  from  distant 
tribes  at  an  exorbibiut  price  in  iron,  copper,  canoes,  etc.  It  costs  nearly  as 
much  to  purchase  a  name  for  a  new-born  child.  The  chiefs  of  other  families 
give  it  a,  dilFercut  name  every  year  until  the  child  is  of  age,  when  he  assumes 
!i.  number  of  names  or  titles.  When  any  of  the  villagers  die  they  make  great 
lamentation.  A  little  while  Ijefore  we  sailed  I  wa.s  on  shore  with  Capt.  (iray, 
and  had  walked  '2  or  3  miles  inland,  when  on  our  return  we  were  amazed  to 
hear  a  loud  and  most  piteous  groan.  On  inquiring,  I  was  told  that  a  canoe 
loaded  with  herring  had  upset,  and  that  a  mischimmce,  or  laboring  man,  wiis 
drowned,  and  that  it  was  the  women  condoling  with  the  widow  and  moaning 
over  the  corpse,  for  they  say  they  revere  the  memory  of  a  ixirson  who  dies  in 
so  laudable  a  pursuit.  The  next  morning  there  was  a  large  contribution  col- 
lected at  the  chief's  house,  and  from  thence  it  was  carried  in  procession  to  the 
house  of  the  deceased,  and  presented  to  the  widow  and  children.  The  like 
donations,  they  say,  are  always  produced  on  similar  occasions.  These  peojjlo 
arc  cannibals,  eating  the  flesh  of  their  vanquished  enemies,  and  frequently 
their  slaves,  whom  they  kill  in  cold  blood.  They  have  no  hesitation  in  own- 
ing to  the  fact,  and  I  myself  have  seen  them  eat  human  flesh.  Their  imple- 
ments for  fishing  are  for  savages  m'cU  contrived.  The  weather  being  pleasant 
and  the  wind  favorable,  we  made  sail  alonsshoro  the  coast  trending  E.  by  s. 
At  sunset  we  were  within  4  leagues  of  Clio<iuot,  where  we  hove  to. 

March  17th.  In  tho  morning  we  st(H)d  in  shore,  distant  2  leagues,  when 
the  brother  of  the  chief  of  Clioquot  came  on  board.  Many  of  the  natives  came 
off  and  several  chiefs  were  on  boanl  and  sold  some  skins.  At  sunset  we  lired 
u  gun,  and  they  all  departed  {leaccably. 

March  18th.  Early  in  the  morning  Capt.  Gray  went  \ip  into  the  harbor 
and  returned  at  12.  49"  6'  n.  At  12:30  weighed  and  ran  into  the  harlwr. 
Wo  purchased  skins,  and  I  went  out  and  shot  some  geese. 

March  27th.  Wo  lay  doing  nothing  but  amuse  ourselves  till  the  27th, 
during  which  time  I  took  a  tolerably  uccunite  sur\'ey  of  the  harbor.  Clioquot, 
or  Hancock's  harbor,  is  in  latitude  49"  9*  x.,  and  longitude  12.')°  20'  w.  In 
these  roads  there  is  good  anchorage  and  shelter,  and  the  liarlwr  was  com- 
pletely land-locked;  plenty  of  fresh  water,  game,  and  wood.  All  the  time  we 
were  hero  we  were  on  the  most  friendly  footing  with  the  natives,  who,  exactly 
resembling  tho  Nootka  people  in  manners  and  customs,  arc  stouter  and  l)ettei- 
proporticmed.  Their  towns  are  much  larger  and  Itetter  built  and  cleaner.  I 
really  think  there  is  a  great  inland  communication  by  rivers.  The  whole 
land  we  could  sec  I  have  reason  to  suppose  to  bo  islands. 

March  28th.  At  5  wo  weii,died  and  came  to  sail,  standing  alongshore  to 
the  E.  s.  K.,  to  determine  whether  or  not  any  harlwr  exi.sted.  It  was  near  10 
o'clock  before  wo  saw  even  shelter  enough  for  a  boat.  We  now  opened  the 
extreme  of  Company's  Bay,  and  as  wo  sailed  along  saw  it  to  much  better 
advantage  than  last  summer,  and  we  could  plainly  see  the  islands  formed 
good  harbors  easy  of  access.  I  much  regretted  leaving  this  port  unexplored, 
but  there  is  little  doubt  we  shall  sec  it  before  our  southern  cruise  is  over. 


m 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1788-9. 


The  hills  to  the  south  of  this  bay  are  more  equal  in  height  than  those  to  tha 
north,  and  the  shore  is  bold  and  iron-bound.  I  obaerved  at  12  H.  in  latitude 
48°  44'  v.,  and  this  time  we  saw  a  cape  or  headland,  which  I  suppose  to  be 
Cape  Flattfjry,  bearing  s.  B.  by  e.,  but  in  the  eatit  no  land  could  be  seen.  Aa 
we  proceeded  K.  by  s.,  following  the  coast,  I  fully  concluded  we  were  in  the 
Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca.  At  2  p.  h.  we  passed  the  village  Nitenat,  which  im 
in  latitude  48°  42"  N.  This  we  passed  and  proceeded  in  an  K.  by  s.  direction, 
and  at  4  p.  ii.  we  anchored  under  the  lee  of  the  west  shore,  2  miles  from  the 
entrance,  in  7  fathoms  water. 

March  29th.  At  8  a.  m.  we  stood  up  the  cove  3  miles,  and  anchored  half 
a  mile  from  the  shore.  At  0:30  we  saw  a  canoe  at  a  great  distance,  which  ap- 
proached us  with  great  caution.  We  were  glad  to  find  that  they  spoke  a 
dialect  of  the  Nootka  language.  They  appeared  to  be  a  poor  set  of  fellows, 
and  left  us  with  a  promise  to  bring  some  fish,  and  before  long  a  good  many 
natives  came  off  with  salmon  for  sale,  and  remained  with  us  all  day.  These 
people  have  seen  vessels  before  and  fire-arms,  but  they  say  they  have  never 
seen  a  vessel  like  ours.  This  place  is  called  by  the  natives  Patchenat,  and  by 
us  Poverty  Cove. 

March  31st.  At  8  a.  u.  we  weighed,  and  when  about  4  leagues  along  the 
shore  we  saw  a  large  canoe  making  for  us.  They  had  no  skins  for  us,  and 
said  there  were  none  in  the  straits;  that  the  chief  of  Clahaset  had  purchased 
them  all.  They  offered  their  own  manufactured  blankets,  which  were  really 
curious,  and  children  for  sale,  but  the  sea  was  so  boisterous  that  we  could 
hold  no  further  intercourse  with  them.  To  have  gone  farther  up  the  straits 
at  this  season  of  the  year,  without  any  knowledge  of  where  we  were  goine  or 
of  the  difficulties,  would  have  l)een  very  imprudent.  The  straits  appeared  to 
extend  a  little  wtey  above  us,  and  form  a  large  sea  stretching  to  the  east,  and 
no  land  to  be  seen. 

April  1st.  We  saw  the  sun  rise  clear  from  the  horizon  up  the  straits. 
There  was  a  strong  tide  setting  out  of  the  straits,  and  a  strong  east  wind. 

April  3d.  At  1  p.  H.  we  bore  away,  and  ran  out  of  the  straits,  and  at  2 
we  were  abreast  of  a  reef  that  runs  out  from  Cape  Flattery.  Betwixt  this 
and  the  cape  is  Tatooches  Island,  or  Chandee.  Here,  we  are  informed  by  the 
natives,  is  a  largo  tribe,  but  the  sea  was  so  high  that  not  one  canoe  came  off. 
It  is  4  miles  from  the  cape,  which  is  in  latitude  4S°  20'  N. ,  and  longitude  123° 
65'  w.,  and  makes  the  south  cape  of  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca. . . 

April  10th.  At  Clioquot,  at  10,  Mr  Cooledge  went  up  the  harbor  to  shoot 
some  garne.  About  noon  I  was  surprised  to  near  a  sudden  shout,  and  see 
almost  everybody  running  from  the  village  to  their  canoes,  but  my  friend 
Hannah  soon  relieved  my  suspense  by  telling  me  that  Wickananish  had  struck 
a  whale,  and  all  the  villagers  were  going  to  his  assistance.  I  was  curious  to 
see  them  kill  such  a  large  fish  with  such  simple  implements,  and  so  with  Mr 
Treet  went  to  look  on.  On  our  arrival  the  whale  hod  16  bladders  fastened  to 
him  with  harpoons,  and  was  lying  unmolested  till  the  chief  should  come. 
He  gave  orders  for  the  attack;  his  brother  invited  me  into  his  canoe,  and  we 
were  paddled  up  to  the  fish  with  great  speed,  and  gave  it  a  deadly  thrust, 
and  the  enormous  creature  instantly  expired.  On  my  return  I  made  particu- 
lar inquiries  about  their  customs  in  whaling,  and  they  said  that  the  nrst  one 
that  was  killed  in  the  season  thoy  sacrificed  one  of  their  slaves,  laid  the  corpse 
beside  a  large  piece  of  the  whale  s  head  adorned  with  eagle  feathers,  and  after 
a  certain  time  put  it  in  a  box  as  usual.  They  say  it  is  particularly  pleasing 
to  their  deity  to  adorn  a  whale  with  eagle  feathers,  for  they  suppose  that 
thunder  is  caused  by  an  eagle  of  enormous  size  taking  a  whale  high  in  the  air 
and  letting  it  fall.  Their  utensils  are  mussel-shell  harpoons  and  lances,  and 
.  grass  ropes. 

April  12th.  We  weighed,  and  shaped  our  course  for  Company's  Bay. 
About  2  we  were  almost  abreast  of  the  village  Cehasht,  and  had  passed  seveiul 
dangerous  reefs. 

April  1 3th.  At  daylight  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  northern 
entrance  of  the  harbor  under  our  lee.     We  bore  away  for  the  south  entraace. 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1788-9. 


717 


lan  those  to  the 
2  H.  in  latitude 

1  suppose  to  be 
lid  be  seen.  Aa 
we  were  in  the 
fitenat,  which  ia 

by  8.  direction, 

2  miles  from  the 

d  anchored  half 
tance,  which  ap- 
at  they  spoke  a 
>r  set  of  fellows, 
a  good  many 
day.  These 
they  have  never 
itchenat,  and  by 

eagues  along  the 
kins  for  us,  and 
it  had  purchased 
hich  were  really 
IS  that  we  could 
er  up  the  straita 
we  were  goine  or 
raits  appeared  to 
;  to  the  east,  and 

I  up  the  straita. 
ng  east  wind, 
straits,  and  at  2 
y.  Betwixt  this 
I  informed  by  the 
e  canoe  came  off. 
id  longitude  123" 
'uca. . . 

e  harbor  to  shoot 
n  shout,  and  see 
i,  but  my  friend 
lanish  haa  struck 

I  was  curious  to 
and  so  with  Mr 

Iders  fastened  to 
ef  should  come. 
is  canoe,  and  we 
a  deadly  thrust, 

I I  made  narticu- 
that  the  nrst  oue 
3,  laid  the  corose 
athers,  and  after 
icularly  pleasing 
ley  suppose  that 
le  high  in  the  air 

and  lances,  and 

Company's  Bay. 
id  passed  several 

ng  the  northern 
south  entrance. 


and  fetched  into  an  excellent  harbor,  as  good  as  any  I  am  acquainted  with  on 
the  coast  of  Northwest  America. . . 

Apri?.  22d.  We  now  made  sail  for  Nootka  Sound.  The  morning  of  the 
22d,  at  (Inybrtak,  we  wei-e  abreast  of  Company's  Bay.  At  3  we  anchored  in 
Friendly  Vove,  and  found  Capt.  Douglas  here,  having  a  few  days  since  arrived 
from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  but  the  Columbia  had  removed  up  the  sound  to  a 
cove  7  miles  distant.  Captain  Gray  went  up  to  Mawinah  to  inform  Capt. 
Kendrick  of  his  arrival,  and  found  all  well.  Early  in  the  morning  the  N.  W. 
American  schooner  in  the  offing.  At  10  captains  Kendrick  and  Gray  came 
down.  They  had  determined  the  sloop  should  remove  where  the  ship  was, 
and  at  1  we  anchored  in  Mahwinali,  or  Kendrick's  Cove,  within  40  yards  of  the 
Columbia.  We  were  surprised  to  find  that  scarcely  any  preparations  liad  been 
made  to  get  her  reatly  for  sea. 

April  30th.  I  accompanied  Capt.  Kendrick  on  a  shootmg  excursion,  and 
went  up  the  sound  till  we  could  see  a  large  arm  of  the  sea  stretching  to  the 
N.  N.  W.  This  we  followed  to  its  head,  where  is  the  winter  HllaRC  of  the 
Uquots,  and  several  villages  scattered  along  the  banks.  We  lauded  at  sev- 
eral and  met  with  a  hospitable  reception,  and  having  shot  a  nunilx-r  of  fowl, 
we  built  a  little  house,  where  we  spent  the  night.  In  the  morning  we  went 
round  the  head  of  the  river,  and  amused  ourselves  iu  shooting.  As  the  day 
advanced  we  returned  on  board.  The  Tashies  River  is  20  miles  in  length, 
and  generally  one  mile  broad,  navigable  for  the  largest  vessels  to  its  head. 
About  15  miles  from  the  village  Cooptrce  ia  tho  western  passage,  and  from 
the  information  of  the  natives  there  is  a  good  passage  to  sea  by  that  channel. 
It  was  late  when  we  returned  on  board  our  ships. 

May  1st.  I  accompani"^  I  Capt.  Kendrick  to  Uquot  to  visit  Capt.  Douglas, 
and  delivertd  to  him  a  man  who  had  run  away  from  Capt.  Mears  lost  fall,  and 
had  concealed  himself  until  the  captain  had  left  the  coast,  when  he  appliud  to 
Capt.  Kendrick  for  protection.  Tliis  was  refused  till  such  time  as  Capt. 
Douglas  should  sail  on  his  departure.  The  man  came  on  board  and  did  duty 
till  this  period,  and  as  Capt.  Douglas  expressed  a  wish  to  liave  tho  deserter,  ho 
was  immediately  returned  by  Capt.  Kendrick.  On  our  arrival  we  found  tho 
N.  W.  schooner  had  sailed  for  the  north.vard.  On  Saturday,  everything  be- 
ing ready  for  sea,  we  sailed  down  the  sound,  and  tho  ensuing  day  at  4  r.  M. 
wo  saw  a  sail  in  si'ore  of  us,  and  in  a  little  time  she  fired  a  gun  and  hoisted 
Spanish  colors.  At  5  W3  spoke,  and  they  requested  us  to  hoist  our  boat  out 
and  send  her  on  board,  which  \vc  did.  Ho  was  no  sooner  informed  who  we 
were,  than  he  said  if  there  was  anything  in  his  ship  wo  needed  ho  would  sup- 
ply us.  He  informed  the  officers  who  went  on  board  tluit  his  ship,  with  2 
others,  were  fitted  out  from  Cadiz  to  make  discoveries  on  this  coast;  that  he 
had  put  in  on  the  coast  of  New  Spain  and  lost  most  of  his  European  seamen, 
and  was  obliged  to  supply  the  deficiency  with  naturalized  natives  of  Califoinia. 
He  had  been  to  the  northward,  and  we  noticed  he  had  a  northern  skin  canoe 
lashed  on  his  quarter.  He  said  ho  had  been  in  Behring's  Straits  and  hatl  found 
much  snow,  and  had  parted  with  his  consort  a  few  days  ago  in  a  gale, 
expected  them  to  join  him  at  Nootka  Sound.  He  was  very  inquisitive  wuuc 
ahms  were  lying  there,  and  when  told  Captain  Douglas  was  there,  ho  said  it 
would  make  him  a  good  prize.  The  ship's  name  is  the  Princessa,  belonguig 
to  his  most  Catholic  majesty,  commanded  by  Don  Stephen  Joseph  Martmez, 
who  endeavored  to  do  everything  to  serve  us,  and  made  Captain  Gray  pnis- 
ents  of  brandy,  wine,  hams,  sugar,  and  everything  ho  thought  would  be 
acceptable,  and  when  we  parted  with  him  we  saluted  him  with  7  guns,  and 
the  compliment  was  returned.  On  Thursday  tho  wind  increased  to  a  gale, 
and  we  were  again  driven  in  Hope  Bay,  and  on  Friday  we  stood  into  a  place 
called  by  the  natives  Chicklesset,  which  is  the  westernmost  inlet  of  the  bay. 
Saturday  morning  we  made  sail  for  the  westward,  and  saw  a  snow  to  the  s.  E. 
She  fired  a  gun  and  hoisted  Spanish  colors,  and  is  no  doubt  one  of  the  consorte 
of  the  Spanish  ship  we  spoke  to  the  other  day.  We  continued  on  our  course 
to  the  northward  at  all  possible  speed,  and  at  7  p.  m.  we  passed  Cape  Ingra- 
faam... 


718 


HASWELL'S  JOURVALS  178S-9. 


May  I6th.  At  noon  the  land  was  seen  at  upward  of  90  miles  extent,  and 
6  miles  distant  from  the  nearest  shore.  We  again  stretched  over  for  the  con- 
tinent in  a  N.  N.  E.  direction.  We  saw  a  smoka  on  the  n.  e.  part  of  the  bay, 
which  led  us  in  without  hesitation,  and  we  were  soon  visited  by  2  canoes. 
The  natives  were  on  a  hunting  expedition,  and  made  us  understand  they  were 
at  a  great  distance  from  their  village,  and  they  were  very  auxious  that  we 
should  tarry  here  2  or  3  days;  supposing  they  wished  to  inform  the  rest  of 
the  tribe,  that  they  might  bring  their  skuis  for  sale,  they  departed,  making 
expressive  gestures  to  inform  us  they  would  return  soon.  A  party  was  now 
employed  wooding  and  watering.  We  found  wild  geese  and  ducks,  and  found 
tracks  of  deer  and  wolves.  In  a  plain  some  distance  from  the  harbor  I  found 
cranberries. 

May  19th.  It  was  not  till  the  19th  that  our  friends  returned,  and  much  to 
our  disappointment,  they  had  been  to  kill  otters,  instead  of  informing  the 
tribe  of  our  arrival.  At  7  a.  m.  wo  weighed,  and  stood  out  of  the  covo,  and 
it  was  dark  before  we  were  out  of  the  sound,  which  appears  to  be  of  vast  ex- 
tent, called  by  Capt.  Gray  Derby  Sound,  in  honor  of  one  of  our  owners. 

May  21st.  We  stood  under  sail  5  miles  from  Derby  Sound,  and  discov- 
ered a  large  inlet  trending  to  the  westward,  probably  the  entrance  of  Admiral 
do  Fonte  Straits.  We  could  not  see  its  extent,  which  is  probably  great.  We 
sounded,  but  found  no  bottom  with  40  fathoms.  We  stood  out,  resolving"  to 
examine  it  another  time,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  we  passed  a  broken  coast 
that  forms  deep,  dangerous  B0un<ls,  with  detached  isliinds  and  sunken  rocks. 
A  southerly  gale  threatened,  when  we  saw  we  were  followed  by  a  canoe,  the 
natives  shouting  loudly  for  us  to  return.  They  soon  came  alongside,  and  were 
very  anxious  for  us  to  go  to  their  village,  making  signs  that  they  had  plenty 
of  skins.  They  were  armed  with  iron-barbed  spears,  and  wished  one  of  us  to 
go  with  them,  a  chief  offering  to  stay  on  board  as  hostage.  But  it  would 
have  been  madness  to  seek  a  harbor  so  late  in  the  day  and  in  such  weather,  so 
we  stood  to  the  s.  w.,  and  before  long  saw  land  extending  far  to  the  n.  w. 
At  11  r.  M.  we  supposed  we  had  passed  the  end  of  the  cape,  and  so  we  lay  up 
south  the  remainder  of  the  night.  At  daylight  we  saw  part  of  the  same  island 
about  a  league  distant,  behind  which  we  had  been  these  several  days.  It  was 
now  a  perfect  gale  of  wind,  and  we  were  followed  by  u  small  canoe  paddled 
by  an  elderly  man  and  2  lively  boys.  We  hove  to  to  allow  them  to  come 
alongside,  but  the  sea  ran  so  high  they  dared  not  venture,  and  beckoned  us  to 
go  rounJ  ''he  bluff  and  they  would  meet  us.  Wo  purchased  several  skins  and 
a  number  of  plover.  We  could  not  understand  a  word  of  their  language,  but 
it  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  lind  the  island  well  inhabited.  This  island,  from 
the  little  I  know  of  it,  extends  from  latitude  52°  to  54°  30*  w.,  about  170  miles 
long,  15  leagues  from  the  continent,  and  nearly  parallel  to  it.  The  southern 
parts  appeared  high,  and  were  covered  with  snow,  but  the  more  northern  parts 
look  more  hospitable.  The  hills  are  regular,  pretty  equal  in  height,  thickly 
wooded,  and  could  be  easily  cultivated.  This  great  tract  was  named  Wash- 
ington's Island,  in  lionor  of  that  great  American  general. 

May  22d.  The  latter  part  of  the  22d  we  stood  to  the  N.  w.,  edging  into 
the  continent,  which  was  plainly  visible.  In  the  morning  we  bore  away  to  the 
westward.     At  noon  I  observed  in  latitude  65"  30'  north. 

May  24th.  We  met  with  a  most  terrible  gale,  and  our  vessel  was  so 
strained  that  it  was  thought  most  prudent  to  relinquish  the  design  of  going 
farther  to  the  north,  and  make  the  best  of  our  way  for  Nootka  Sound  before 
the  Columbin  left  it,  and  get  our  vessel  repaired.  A  more  critical  situation 
than  ours  hod  been  for  about  2  hours  cannot  be  imagined,  even  by  those  who 
have  been  wrecked  in  civilized  countries.  A  coast  inhabited  by  a  most  horrid 
race  of  savage  can.>ibals,  in  whose  hands  we  could  not  hope  for  life,  and  even 
if  uninhabited,  so  destitute  of  everything  that  we  esteem  necessary  to  sustain 
life  that  a  'European  could  not  exist.  To  admit  we  had  got  everything  from 
the  ivreck  we  cor.ld  have  wished,  and  saved  our  arms  and  boats,  our  return 
then  would  have  been  precarious;  our  boats  were  insufficient  to  carry  us  a 
much  shorter  distance,  and  neither  carpenters  nor  smiths  to  enlarge  thein. 


Is  extent,  and 
|r  for  the  con- 
;  of  the  bay, 
I  by  2  canoes, 
ud  they  were 
ioua  that  we 
|m  the  rest  of 
a.rted,  making 
larty  was  now 
pka,  and  found 
»rbor  I  found 

I,  and  much  to 

linformiug  the 

the  covo,  and 

be  of  vast  ex- 

owners. 

d,  and  discov- 

ice  of  Admiral 

)ly  great.    We 

it,  resolving  to 

i  broken  coast 

sunken  rocks. 

>y  a  canoe,  the 

^ide,  and  were 

hey  had  plenty 

led  one  ol  us  to 

But  it  would 

ach  weather,  so 

ir  to  the  N.  w. 

ad  so  we  lay  up 

the  same  island 

Ell  days.    It  was 

I  canoe  paddled 

r  them  to  come 

beckoned  us  to 

!veral  skins  and 

r  laneunce,  but 

his  isTauu,  from 

about  170  miles 

The  southern 

3  northern  parts 

height,  thickly 

s  named  Wash- 

w.,  edging  into 
)oro  away  to  the 

•  vessel  was  so 
iesign  of  going 
a  Sound  before 
ritical  situation 
n  by  those  who 
>y  a  most  horrid 
r  life,  and  even 
ssary  to  sustaiu 
verything  from 
)at8,  our  return 
t  to  carry  us  a 
i  enlarge  them. 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1738-9. 


719 


But  had  these  difBcultiea  l)een  surmounted,  the  many  savage  tribes  wo  must 
have  passed  might  have  proved  faUl  to  so  small  a  number.  This  disastrous 
place,  in  latitude  65°  n.,  we  called  Distress  Cove. 

May  28th.  Latitude  55°  43'  N.  In  tliia  part  of  the  coast  the  frontier  ap- 
pears to  be  a  chain  of  largo  islands,  but  the  good  weather  did  not  continue 
long  enough  for  us  to  pass  in  between  them.  The  winds  continued  adverso, 
and  the  weather  so  thick  that  it  was  long  before  we  reached  Washington's 
Island.  At  G  p.  m.  a  vast  number  of  natives,  men,  women,  and  children,  ca>uo 
off,  bringing  with  them  several  sea-otter  skins.  Wo  under8too<l  2  of  them  that 
thero  was  a  large  tribe  not  far  off.  Wo  soon  saw  their  village,  from  which  they 
launched  20  or  30  very  large  canoes,  and  came  off  in  great  parade,  singing  a 
very  agreeable  air.  Of  tlieso  people  we  purchased  200  skins  in  a  few  momenta 
for  one  chisel.  The  natives  called  their  village  Custa.  It  is  situated  in  a 
sandy  bay  on  the  n.  w.  eml  of  the  island.  Their  chief's  name  is  Cundah. 
He  appears  to  bo  a  very  good  old  fellow.  His  wife  came  off,  and  appeared  to 
have  vast  authority  over  every  person  alongside.  I  was  grieved  to  leave  them 
so  soon,  as  it  appeared  to  be  the  best  place  for  skins  wo  had  seen.  We  stood 
off  that  night  to  the  southward,  and  the  weather  was  so  foggy  that  we  could 
see  the  land  but  seldom. 

June  8th.  I  observed  in  latitude  53°  8'  n.  We  had  in  the  next  day  or 
two  passed  a  considerable  part  of  the  island,  without  being  able  to  view  it  as 
accurately  as  1  could  have  wished. 

June  10th.  Latitude  53'  3iJ'  n.  A  place  that  bore  the  appearance  of  a 
harbor  bore  n.  n.  w.,  distant  8  miles.  I  judge  Custa  to  bo  in  latitude  54°  15' 
N.  The  north  entrance  of  the  straits  that  divide  Washington's  Ishind  from 
the  main  land  is  in  latitude  54°  20'  n.,  but  hero  to  the  south  tlie  land  has  a 
far  less  hospitable  appearance,  for  it  rises  un  into  high  steep  mountains, 
whose  rocky  summits,  when  the  snow  is  off,  ifre  barren  of  verdure. 

Juno  11th.  Abreast  of  an  inlet  that  is  in  latitude  52°  12'  n.  We  were 
dtanding  in  when  we  saw  a  cano-',  paddling  toward  us;  an  agreeable  surprise, 
as  we  had  thought  this  part  o<i  the  island  uninhabitad.  Wo  stood  into  tho 
sound,  and  Capt.  Gray  ser  c  tho  boat  in  first,  and  the  officer  reported  a  good 
cove,  so  we  bore  up  and  anchored  in  14  fathoms,  hard  sand  bottom.  A  brisk 
trade  was  set  on  foot  by  Coya,  the  chief,  who  bartered  for  all  his  subjects,  and 
a  number  of  skins  were  purchased.  Iron  was  of  far  less  value  to  the  people 
than  to  the  natives  we  had  just  left.  Clothing  was  most  in  demand  with  these 
people,  and  they  had  been  visited  by  navigators.  Thej  spoke  distinctly  of 
Ootumet  and  Dunkin,  and  they  brought  a  piece  of  paper  thut  informed  us  that 
the  JV.  W.  American  schooner  had  been  here  May  24tli  last.  This  sound  was 
honored  with  the  name  of  Barrel  Sound,  for  our  owner.  During  our  tarry,  1 
landed,  to  make  an  excursion  in  the  woods,  where  I  met  with  a  fortified  rock, 
which,  I  suppose,  in  case  of  invasion,  is  their  place  of  refuge.  It  was  perpen- 
dicular, about  40  feet  high,  flat  top,  about  20  yards  wide,  inaccessible  on  nil 
sides,  except  by  p.n  old  rotten  ladder.  This  f(.irt  they  call  Touts,  and  whcii 
their  northern  neighbors  come  to  molest  them,  they  put  their  worncn  iuki 
children  up  there  while  they  figiit  tlio  battle.  They  say  it  is  their  custom  to 
eat  their  vanquished  enemies,  and  said  it  was  excellent  food.  Our  intercourse 
with  the  natives  while  wo  were  in  this  port  was  of  tho  strictest  frcindsiii)). 
They,  indeed,  pillaged  any  trifling  thing  they  could  take  unobserved,  but  as 
we  took  no  harsh  metliods  with  them,  it  never  interrupted  our  trade.  IW 
this  time  we  had  stript  tho  natives  of  almost  all  the  skins  they  were  posses-st-if, 
and  we  got  in  readiness  to  leave  the  first  time  the  weatlier  was  favorable.  In 
a  day  we  were  able  to  get  out,  and  stood  for  the  southward.  Off  tho  south 
point  of  the  island,  in  a  .s.  e.  direction,  lay  several  small  islands  woodcd.witli 
firs.  Had  we  not  met  with  tho  misfortune  of  running  auhore  in  tlie  storm,  our 
discoveries  would  have  been  very  interesting.  As  it  was,  we  discovered  that 
the  Straits  of  Admr.  de  Font  actually  exist.  As  far  north  as  wo  went  is  a  vast 
chain  of  islands,  and  the  entrances  between  them  may  be  taken  for  gulfs, 
straits,  etc.,  but  when  explored,  large  rivers  and  lakes  may  be  found.  Tliis 
coast  can  never  bo  thoroughly  surveyed  until  it  is  dcue  at  some  national  ex- 


720 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1791-2. 


peue,  whose  commanden  are  interested  by  oommeroe.  We  steered  e.  8.  i. 
from  this  cape  for  the  islands  off  Gape  Ingraham,  and  at  tt  p.  m.  we  passed 
Woody  Point,  and  at  19  hove  to  for  the  night.  It  was  2  p.  M.  next  day  before 
we  were  wafted  into  Nootka  Sound,  and  as  we  passed  Friendly  Cove  I  was 
surprised  to  find  a  fort  on  Hog  Island.  The  Spanish  ship  was  lying  in  the 
cove,  with  a  Spanish  snow  and  an  English  sloop.  The  Spanish  ship  fired  a 
gun  to  bring  us  to,  but  not  knowing  how  eTerything  was  situated  in  regard 
to  the  Spaniards  and  Gapt.  Kendrick,  we  thought  it  moat  prudent  to  stand  up 
the  sound  to  Mahwinah,  where  Capt.  Kendrick  lay.  Some  time  before  we 
got  into  the  cove  we  were  boarde(i  by  Capt.  Kendrick  and  Don  Martinez. 
We  found  Mr.  Hudson,  the  commander  of  the  sloop  Princesa  Royal  of  London 
(the  sloop  we  had  seen  at  Uquot),  on  a  visit  to  Capt.  Kendrick.  As  we 
arrived,  we  were  saluted  by  the  Columbia,  and  returned  it.  We  had  been 
gone  several  days,  and  captains  Douglas  and  Kendrick,  by  lying  at  a  consid- 
erable distance  from  each  other,  had  but  little  communication  except  by 
letters,  but  were  on  a  most  friendly  footing,  when  one  morning  in  May  they 
saw  an  Indian  canoe,  paddled  by  6  naked  natives,  coming  toward  them  with 
great  haste.  When  alongside,  they  found  our  friend  Culecum  with  a  letter 
from  Capt.  Douglas  to  Capt.  Kendrick,  informing  him  that  there  was  a  large 
ship  in  the  offing  standing  into  the  sound.  Capt.  Kendrick  and  some  of  his 
officers  set  out  to  escort  the  ship  into  the  harbor,  and  Capt.  Douglas  also  went 
in  his  boat.  Tliey  were  received  by  Don  Martinez  with  great  attention.  He 
came  into  Friendly  Cove  and  moored,  ard  seemed  to  live  on  a  very  frie^idly 
footing  with  Cant.  Douglas.  He  paid  a  formal  visit  of  several  days  to  Capt. 
Kendrick.  On  liis  return  to  Uquot,  the  St  Carlos  arrived,  the  snow  we  saw 
in  Hone  Bay.  Don  Martinez  now  demanded  Capt.  Douglas'  papers,  and,  on 
what  pretence  I  know  not,  said  they  were  false,  and  made  the  vessel  his 

Erize.  This  snow,  though  British  property,  was  under  Portuguese  colors,  and 
ad  a  Portuguese  by  the  title  of  captain  to  claim  them.  The  snow  was  imme- 
diately discharged  of  all  her  cargo,  and  mode  ready  for  a  passage  to  8t  Blass. 
The  officer  and  seamen  of  the  L/agenia  were  kept  prisoners  for  several  days, 
when  on  a  more  critical  examination  of  the  ship's  papers,  it  was  found  that 
they  could  not  with  propriety  detain  the  vessel,  and  she  wiis  delivered  to  the 
former  commanders,  on  condition  that  should  the  court  of  Spain  demand  her 
as  a  prize,  she  was  to  be  delivered  up,  and  as  the  ship  was  in  want  of  cordage, 
cables,  sails,  etc.,  Don  Martinez  supplied  them,  and  took  bills  on  their  owner, 
and  in  part  pay  the  schooner  N.  W.  America  was  to  be  delivered  to  him  as 
soon  as  she  shonld  arrive.  Everything  being  thus  settled.  Captain  Douglas 
■ailed  for  China. 


hi 


i 


VOYAQBS  ON  TUB  NoBTHWEST  CoAST,    1791-2,  BY  BOBEBT  HaSWELL. 

Aug.  14, 1791.  At  anchor  in  Hancock':;  River.  Aug.  15th.  At  9  weighed, 
and  attempted  to  beat  out,  but  the  tide  being  contrary,  we  came  to  in  30 
fathoms  water,  and  waited  its  return.  At  2  p.  m.  weighed,  and  beat  out  of 
the  harbor,  hoisted  in  the  boats,  and  set  steering  sails.  At  8  p.  m.  Port 
Tempest  bore  n.  by  w.,  distance  15  miles,  and  Masachree  Cove,  west,  9  miles. 
Aug.  16th.  At  1  P.  u.  saw  a  brig  in  the  ,s.  E.  quarter,  and  at  2  hailed  her. 
She  is  the  Hancock  of  Boston,  Saral  Crowell,  commander.  They  sailed  from 
Boston  the  beginning  of  November,  touched  at  St  Salvador,  at  Staten  Land, 
and  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  arrived  on  this  coast  in  July,  having  had  a 
longer  passage  than  ourselves.  The  brig  bore  up  and  run  to  the  south  in 
company  with  us.  At  sunset  Murderer's  Cape  bore  west,  distance  6  leagues. 
Aug.  17th.  At  2  A.  H.  saw  a  ship  to  the  westward.  At  4  Washington  Islands 
bore  from  W.  s.  W.  to  south,  about  10  leagues  distant.  Stood  alongshore  with 
the  depth  of  water  from  1  to  3  fathoms,  neat  into  Hancock's  River,  and  at  2 
P.  U.  anchored  in  6  fathoms  water  over  a  bottom  of  mud,  with  the  small 
bower,  and  70  fathoms  of  cable,  with  an  excessive  strong  flood-tide.  At  2  the 
brig  anchored  not  far  distant  from  us.  Latter  part  rainy,  disagreeable 
weather.    This  port,  though  we  discovered  it  on  our  former  voyage,  we  never 


il 


steered  e.  h.  b. 

P.  M.  we  nasaed 

next  day  l)ef ore 

dly  CoTe  I  was 

lying  in  tlie 

uish  ship  fired  a 

tuated  in  regard 

dent  to  stand  up 

time  before  we 

Don  Martinez. 

Boyai  of  London 

anorick.     As  we 

We  had  been 

ying  at  a  couaid- 

ation  except  )>y 

ing  in  May  they 

ward  them  with 

urn  with  a  letter 

there  was  a  large 

and  some  of  his 

)ongla8  also  went 

t  attention.     He 

II  n  very  frieiidly 

ral  days  to  Capt. 

the  snow  we  saw 

i'  papers,  and,  on 

ie  the  vessel  his 

iguese  colors,  and 

snow  was  imine- 

ssage  to  St  Blass. 

for  several  days, 

it  was  found  tliat 

8  delivered  to  the 

ipain  demand  her 

want  of  cordage, 

is  on  their  owner, 

ivered  to  liim  as 

Captain  Douglas 


ET  Haswell. 

1.  At  9  weighed, 
'e  came  to  in  30 
,  and  beat  out  of 
At  8  p.  M.  Port 
re,  west,  0  miles, 
at  2  hailed  her. 
They  sailed  from 
at  Staten  Land, 
ily,  having  had  a 
to  the  south  in 
stance  6  leagues, 
ishington  iHlands 
i  alongshore  with 
I  River,  and  at  2 
,  with  the  small 
I-tide.  At  2  the 
ny,  disagreeable 
iroyage,  we  never 


HARWELIVS  JOURNALS  I71»J  2. 


,m 


entered  till  now.  It  is  one  of  the  Wst  plaeeg  for  sea-otters  on  tlic  coast,  and 
early  in  the  spring  will  no  doubt  atford  us  a  very  consiiicrabUi  iiuinlK!r.  Its 
latitude  I  judge  (for  I  had  no  observation)  is  ."li"  10'  N.,  and  'oiiaitiidc  l.'W 
2.r  w.  •  rf 

Aug.  18th.  I  was  employed  sounding  the  river  up  to  a  coiisiderablo  dis- 
tance, and  found  it  everywhere  navigalile.  There  wcro  several  small  scatter- 
ing villages,  but  there  were  visiblo  traces  of  numerous  tribes  residing  hero  at 
■ome  season  of  the  year,  but  those  that  oamo  on  IxMird  made  us  understand 
their  village  was  removed  2  days'  journey  up  the  river.  When  soumling  the 
river  I  went  on  board  the  Ilancork,  and  invited  Cnpt.  Crowcll  and  Mr  Cmy- 
ton,  the  supercargo,  to  auconipaiiy  uiu  on  board.  Tiiis  they  readily  agreed  to, 
and  as  ho  intended  to  go  out,  he  j,'ot  under  way  and  stood  down  the  river,  and 
when  we  came  abreast  of  our  uliip  tlie  gentlemen  accompanied  me  on  board, 
ordering  the  officer  of  the  brig  to  keep  as  near  us  as  possible,  and  if  the  tidu 
should  run  too  strong,  to  anchor.  Almut  10  r.  m.  v.e  wore  surprised  to  liiid 
the  brig  was  ashore.  Our  boats  were  immediately  despatched  to'thcir  assist- 
ance, but  before  we  arrived  she  was  oil".  From  what  1  couhl  collect  from  tiiu 
different  stories  they  told  us,  I  lind  they  have  been  on  no  part  of  tlic  coast 
but  about  30  leagues  in  circumferenco  round  the  jilace  wo  are  now;  that 
they  had  to  tlic  amount  of  700  skins,  and  were  bound  to  China  in  the  course 
of  15  or  20  days,  and  meant  to  return  again  in  the  spring.  They  were  so 
polito  as  to  bo  the  bearers  of  our  letters. 

Aug.  19th.  At  10  a.  m.  the  //a/(co'i- sailed.  Many  of  the  natives  came 
off  with  good  skins.  Seamen  employed  in  the  repairs  of  the  riggin<{  and  otlicr 
■hip's  duties.  Purchased  a  lino  fish.  (Jceso  were  very  plenty,  but  since  tiio 
death  of  our  friend,  our  sportsmen  have  become  timid,  fearful  of  being  cati};ht 
by  the  natives  in  an  ambuscade.  Wo  ran  no  hazards,  and  nogeeae  wcro  shot. 
Aug.  20th.  Sjme  of  the  natives  caine  off  with  skins,  but  as  the  brig  Ihiii- 
cock  had  been  here  several  times,  ami  her  long  boat  almost  or)n8tantly,  wo  had 
good  reason  to  suppose  we  should  find  other  trilies  that  were  better  stockcil 
with  skins,  and  at  9  a.  m.  wo  weighed,  with  a  westerly  wind  antl  an  ebb-tiilc, 
and  beat  out  of  Hancock's  llivcr.  At  1  r.  m.  the  tide  turned,  .•uid  wn  ciimo 
to  with  the  best  bower  in  0  fathoms  water,  over  a  bottom  of  hard  sand,  4 
miles  distant  from  Hancock's  liivcr,  it  bearing  s.  Ijy  k.,  .'j  leagues  distant,  llio 
K.  w.  part  of  Capo  Hancock  w.  A  s.,  2  leagues  distant,  the  s.  e.  part  of  Miii- 
dcrer's  Cape,  n.  N.  w.  At  u  p.  m.,  with  a  fresh  breeze  from  the  westward, 
weighed  and  stood  to  the  northward,  to  (dear  the  shoals  of  Capo  Lookout. 
Capo  Hancock  is  in  latitude  54°  18'  n.,  and  longitude  lli'i"  'M'  w. ;  Capo  Look- 
out is  in  latitude  .'54°  24'  N.,  and  longitude  KH"  5G'  w. ;  and  iMurdcrer's  Capo 
is  in  latitude  C4°  43'  N.,  and  longitude  IIW  2:V  w.  from  Greenwich. 

Aug.  21st.  Under  snug  sail  wo  stood  to  the  n.  e.  until  3  a.  m.,  when  we 
spread  all  our  canvas  and  stood  to  the  S.  e.,  with  the  depth  of  water  from  7  to 
12  fathoms,  about  4  leagues  distant  from  tlic  islands.  At  noon  Capo  L)ok- 
out  bore  n.  w.,  distant  about  8  leagues.  Wo  stood  alongshore  till  0:30  r.  m., 
when  the  island  oflf  Comsuca  village  bore  s.  .s.  e.,  3i  leagues  distant.  Aug. 
■22d.  At  4  A.  M.  made  sail  for  Comsuea  village,  Toochcondoltii.  Found  tiie 
variation  of  the  compass  by  an  azmuth  and  amplitude  of  the  sun,  20^  2'  i;. 
Fetching  in  far  to  leeward,  we  made  several  tacks  to  endeavor  to  gain  a  more 
commodious  anchoring-place,  but  the  tide  was  strong  against  us,  and  at  !» 
p.  H.  we  came  to  in  35  fathoms  water,  Toochcondolth  bearing  n.  by  w.,  dis- 
tanco2milc8.  Our  anchoring-place  is  in  latitude  53''2'  n.,  and  longitude  131' 
31'  w.  A  good  many  of  the  natives  came  off  with  their  chief,  but  skins  wero 
not  so  plenty  among  them  as  they  were  when  we  visited  them  last,  and  wo 
soon  found  Ingraham  was  in  the  neighborhood.  Of  course  it  was  thought  ad- 
visable to  mako  but  a  short  stay.  Having  set  up  our  rigging,  at  1  p.  m.  wo 
weighed  and  stood  to  the  eastward,  and  at  half-past  2  saw  a  boat  rowing 
toward  us  frequently  firing  muskets,  and  m-c  heard  several  cannon  firoil  up  a 
Bound  to  N.  w.  of  us.  We  bore  down  and  the  boat  soon  came  alongside.  It 
waa  Mr  Crup  in  the  Ifope'g  boat,  with  a  message  from  Capt.  Ingraham  inform- 
ing U8  that  he  intended  to  leave  the  coast  in  a  few  days,  and  if  we  had  any 
Hist.  N.  V.'.  CoABT.  Vol.  I.    *B 


722 


IIASVVELLS  JOUUNAI.S  1791-2. 


oommandB  he  would  be  happy  to  be  the  executor  of  them.     They  seemed  to 
hint  they  had  purchased  an  excellent  cargo. 

Aug.  23d.  Wo  set  all  our  liglit  sails,  directing  our  course  to  the  K.  s.  k. 
At  8  A.  M.  the  northwardmoRt  land  in  sight  bore  n.  w.  by  w. ,  and  the  south 
wardmost  m.  k.  by  h.;  Toochcondoltli,  w.,  0  leagues.  Latitude  62*  37'  N., 
longitude  131°  'M'  w.  Aua.  24th.  With  all  sail  sot,  at  4  a.  m.  Capo  Uaswell 
bore  H.  by  w.,  distance  7  leagues,  and  at  noon  it  boro  h.  w.  by  w.  J  w.,  dis- 
tance 10  leagues.  lAtter  part  moderate  breezes  and  pleasant  weather.  lAti- 
tudo  52°  r/  N.,  longitude  130°  12'  w.  Aug.  2oth.  Steering  to  the  southward. 
Latitude  50°  51'  N.,  longitude  120°  45'  w.  At  0  the  southwardmost  part 
of  the  continent  in  sight  bore  u.  by  8.,  distance  10  leagues.  Aug.  2Ulh. 
Latitude  50°  35'  n.,  loiigitudo  128°  38'  w.  At  7  the  southwardmost  lund 
bore  E.  by  8.,  and  the  westwardmost  island  n.  w.  by  w.  Many  whales  play- 
ing about  tho  ship.  Aug.  27th.  Latitude  50°  IG'^n.,  longitude  129°  40*  w. 
At  8  p.  M.  passed  Woody  Point.  Aug.  2Sth.  Standing  to  the  southward 
with  all  sail  set.  At  noon  the  entrance  of  Nootka  Sou^'l  boro  n.  e.  by  r.., 
distance  about  11  leagues.  Latitude  49°  22'  n.,  longitude  127^  20'  w.  At  7 
r.  M.  the  entrance  of  Nootka  Sound  boro  n.  bv  w.,  uistanco  8  leagues. 

Aug.  29th.  At  3  A.  M.  shortened  sail  ancf  hove  to,  main-top  sail  to  the 
iimst,  and  at  half-past  2  hove  about  aud  made  sail  for  Glio({uot.  At  noon  tiie 
entrance  of  the  roails  bore  n.  e.,  distance  3  leagues.  Latitude  49°  4'  n.  At 
4  p.  M.  a  canoe  came  off  and  informed  us  that  Capt.  Kendrick  was  in  the  har- 
bor. At  5  saw  his  boat  coming  oiT.  Fired  a  gun  and  hoisted  our  colors. 
This  was  answered,  and  he  came  alongside  and  was  salated  with  3  cheers .  . . 
Capt  Kendrick  spent  the  evening  with  us,  and  went  lute  aboard  his  own  ves- 
sel. Saw  two  ships,  which  we  supposed  to  bo  Spaniards,  pass  this  port, 
standing  to  the  southward.  Aug.  30th.  At  8  a.  h.  weighed  and  towed  into 
tho  harbor.  I  spenc  tho  latter  part  of  tho  day  with  Capt.  Kendrick  at  Fort 
Washington.  Ho  had  hauled  his  brig  on  tlio  ground  to  grave  in  a  very  con- 
venient place,  and  tho  place  whero  the  provisions  and  stores  were  landed  wiis 
fortified,  and  dignified  by  tho  appellation  of  Fort  Woshiugton.  Aug.  Slst. 
People  employed  in  scraping  and  painting  tho  lower  masts,  and  ropainng  the 
rigging.  The  natives  came  off  witli  skins,  but  as  they  camo  not  abundantly, 
it  was  reasonable  to  suppose  Capt.  Kendrick  had  purchased  most  of  their 
stock. 

Sept.  8th.  At  9  weighed  and  stood  out  to  sea,  bound  to  the  southward. 
At  noon  the  entrance  of  CliMjuot  bore  n.  w.,  G  leagues.  At  4  saw  a  ship  in 
the  a.  w.  quarter.  Sept.  9th.  At  8  Company's  Bay  Iwre  north,  distance  3 
leagues.  At  noon  Cape  Flattery  bore  east,  and  tlio  northwardmost  laal  n. 
w.  Latitude  48°  42'  N.  At  3  p.  m.  Cape  Flattery  boro  e.  n.  e.,  distance  8 
leagues.  Sept.  10th.  We  beat  up  to  the  village  Chandce,  and  a  great  num- 
ber of  natives  camo  ofT  with  skins.  Wo  shortened  sail  aud  stood  to  and  fro 
off  Tatooches  Island.  Tho  breeze  was  now  fresh,  and  Capt.  Gray  concluded 
to  lie  under  the  lee  of  the  land  thus  nigh  all  night.  Sept.  11  th.  Saw 
Tatooches  Island  bearing  n.  n.  e.,  distance  3  miles.  So  strong  did  the  tide 
set,  we  were  within  a  quarter  of  a  milo  of  a  most  dangerous  reef.  Tims 
critically  situated,  wo  hoisted  out  our  boats  and  sent  them  ahead  to  tow,  and, 
assisted  by  a  very  light  breeze  from  tho  southward,  wo  narrowly  escaped  our 
impending  fate. . . 

Sept.  12th.  All  these  24  hours  keeping  nigh  the  north  side  of  tlie  straits, 
making  short  tacks,  never  stretching  nearer  than  25  fathoms  water,  and  at 
the  clearest  time  we  could  not  see  a  quarter  of  a  milo. .  .Sept.  15th.  At  4 
A.  M.  saw  Cape  Flattery  bearing  n.  n.  e.;  with  a  light  breeze  we  stood 
toward  it.  At  9,  having  a  strong  tide  acainst  us,  wo  anchored  in  25  fathoms 
water,  Tatooches  Isle  bearing  north,  1  league  distant.  At  a  quarter  past  1 
weighed  tho  anchor,  and  stood  into  the  Straits  of  Juan  do  Fuca.  Sept.  IGth. 
At  10  Tatooches  Island  bore  8.  e.,  distance  6  miles.  Made  sail  to  the  west- 
ward. It  was  Capt.  Gray's  intention  to  go  into  winter  quarters  as  soon 
as  possible,  and  for  this  purpose,  as  a  proper  place,  had  pitched  on  Nas- 
patee,  in  Bulfinche's  Sound.     We  hastened  toward  that  place.     Sept.  17th. 


They  seemed  to 

le  to  the  K.  8.  K. 

and  the  south- 

[itude  52*  37'  N., 

M.  Cape  Haiiwell 

by  w.  i  w.,  dis- 

t  weather.    Lati- 

to  tho  southward. 

-hwardmost  part 

lues.     Aug.  '20lh. 

:hw<irdmo8t  lund 

any  whales  ploy- 

,itudo  120°  40'  w. 

;o  the  southward 

V)oro  N.  E.  by  K., 

127"  20'  w.     At  7 

!  8  leagues. 

in-top  sail  to  the 

lot.     At  noon  tiie 

udo  49"  4'  N.     At 

!k  was  ill  the  liar- 

oisted  our  colors. 

with  3  cheers. . . 

>oard  his  own  ves- 

s,  pass  this  port, 

ed  and  towed  into 

Kciidrlck  ac  Fort 

avo  in  a  very  con- 

s  were  landed  wiis 

gtou.     Au^.  31st. 

and  repairing  the 

10  not  abundantly, 

.sod  most  of  their 

to  the  southward. 
it  4  saw  a  ship  in 
north,  distance  3 
wardinost  lau.l  ti. 
.  N.  E.,  distance  8 
and  a  great  nuni- 
l  stood  to  and  fro 
t.  Gray  conoludctl 
Sept.  nth.  Saw 
rong  did  tho  tide 
erous  reef.  Thus 
ihead  to  tow,  and, 
rowly  escaped  our 

lido  of  the  straits, 
ms  water,  and  at 
Sept.  15th.     At  4 

breeze  we  stood 
red  in  25  fathoms 

a  quarter  past  1 
'uca.  Sept.  ICth. 
I  sail  to  the  west- 
quarters  as  soon 

pitched  on  Nas- 
nce.    Sept.  17th. 


HASWKLL'S  .lOUKNALS  1791-2. 


723 


Tursued  our  course,  thouf^li  dipt.  (!rny  had  resolved  on  going  into  Nootka 
Sound  if  tho  Mind  would  allow.  At  8  in  tho  evening  wo  saw  tho  round  lull 
of  Clicquot  bearing  n.  e.  Sept.  18tl.  At  1  P.  M.  anchored  in  tho  ri>au«, 
with  a  very  fresh  brcize,  with  tho  small  iMJWor,  but  dragging  this,  wo  lot  go 
the  ix-st  l)ower  and  brought  her  up.  Sent  down  tho  top-galluut  yards.  1 
manned  and  armed  the  piiiiiacf,  and  went  to  seo  if  ('a|)t.  Ktndrick  still  r«- 
miiincd  in  tho  harbor.  I  wiis  accompanied  by  Mr  Iloskins.  Wo  found  him 
nearly  ready  for  sea,  but  not  much  more  so  than  when  we  left  him.  Wo 
•pent  tho  evening  in  convcrs.ilioii,  himself  and  ofliccrs  congratukting  us  on  our 
return. 

Sept.  loth.  At  half-past  12  weighed,  end  towed  into  a  licttor  anchomgo, 
where  we  waited  until  daylight,  when  we  weighed  nud  sfoml  into  tho  liarljor. 
It  now  struck  me  that  if  we  spent  so  much  time  ns  vvoulil  be  rccpiircd  to  go  to 
Nofjlka  or  BuUinche's  Souiul,  coubidcriiig  tlio  wind  had  iii>w  set  in  to  tho 
weatward,  exactly  contrary,  it  might  be  lato  before  wo  lK!gan  to  build  our 
sloop,  and  consequently  bad  weather  would  accompany  tho  undertaking, 
'riicsc  ideas  1  commuiiicatcil  to  Cupt.  (Iray,  and  ho  concurred  with  me  in  tho 
oi)inion  tliat  it  would  bo  tiie  best  place  we  could  winter,  if  pro|)cr  woo<l  could 
be  found  to  saw  into  plank.  In  search  of  this  and  a  commwlious  cove  to  win- 
ter (of  which  there  weiu  plenty)  wc  went,  and  rctunied  fully  Hatisfiod  with 
our  discovery.  On  our  letMvu  we  found  ('apt.  Kendriek  uiuler  way  for  tho 
harbor  in  which  ve  lay,  having  abiindoned  Fort  Washington.  Wo  joined  our 
bout  to  assist  in  towin;,'  down,  and  in  a  little  time  she  anchored  within  a 
CJible's  length  of  us  in  the  niiddlo  liarl)or. 

Sept.  20th.  At  10  weighed,  and  with  the  boats  ahead,  assisted  by  Capt. 
Kendrick's,  towed  up  to  our  winter  (puuters,  a  cove  alxi.it  ;t  miles  from  Opit- 
■cta,  and  moored  with  tho  sliect  anchor  to  tho  .n.  w.  in  the  mouth  of  tlio  covo, 
the  small  bower  cable  cliuched  to  a  tree  on  the  harbor  island  from  our  larboard 
quarter,  and  a  hawser  frim  tlio  starboard  quarter  to  a  tree  nigh  the  watering- 

Elace.  Sept.  2l8t.  In  tho  morning  I  landed  with  a  party  and  struck  tho  first 
low  toward  buililing  a  log  house,  and  clearing  a  place  for  the  ve.ssel,  for  it 
was  as  compact  a  thicket  as  over  grew.  Few  of  the  trees  were  less  than  2 
fathoms  round,  and  many  of  them  4.  This  made  our  work  hwivy,  but  all  our 
people  showed  themselves  alert  to  accomplish  the  undertaking.  This  work 
continued  without  intermission  until  the  27tli,  when  it  drew  nigh  a  conclu- 
eion.  This  day  sailed  tlic  Ladi/  lVanhiii!itoii,  .1.  Kendnck,  Ivsq.,  oommandcr, 
for  China.  Sept.  29th.  A  party  of  tho  people  during  this  time  had  lx;en 
employed  getting  the  ship  as  snug  as  possible.  Sails  were  unbent,  top-gallant 
ami  top-sail  yards  were  unrigged  and  stowed  below.  All  tho  si)aru  spars  and 
lumber  were  landed,  and  we  began  to  land  the  frame  of  our  sloop.  Sept.  30th. 
She  was  delivered  of  her  twelve  months'  burden,  and  C'o/Mm6(a'-<  young  adven- 
ture emigrated  into  its  scenes  of  discovery. 

Oct.  3J.  Moored  in  Adventure  Cove.  We  laid  the  keel  of  tho  slo«)p 
Ailventnre,  every  person  busily  employed.  Mr  Smith  in  the  pinnace  after  logs 
for  plank.  Oct.  7tli.  Nothing  reniurkablo  occurred  till  the  7tii,  the  car))eii- 
ters,  sawyers,  smiths,  etc.,  working  diligently,  when  in  the  evening  alxnit  II 
o'clock,  it  being  foggy  as  ever,  I  was  suddenly  awakened  by  tho  re|Kjrt  of  a 
musket,  and  tho  cry  that  the  cove  was  full  of  Indian  canoes.  With  tlii.s 
alarming  news  I  sprang  out  of  bed  (for  I  now  dwelt  on  shore),  armed  myself 
and  my  small  party,  consisting  of  7  persona,  and  marched  down  tho  beach,  re- 
solving to  oppose  their  landing,  and  if  wc  were  disappointed  in  this,  wc  couhl 
easily  retreat  to  our  port,  which  was  well  prepared  for  fighting  ot  close 
quarters.  But,  wonderful  to  tell,  these  mighty  war-equipped  savages  turned 
out  to  be  none  other  than  some  rocks,  which  the  tide  ebbing  low  hod  left  dry. 
These  seen  through  the  fog  might  easily,  by  the  apprehension  of  the  watch, 
bo  conjectured  to  bo  canoes.  I  did  not  chido  the  sentinel  for  a  false  alarm, 
for  it  were  better  to  be  alarmed  when  no  tlanger  is  nigh  than  once  to  let  it 
overtake  us  unprepared.  Our  work  still  jogging  on  in  a  sti^ady,  regular 
course,  the  2  whip-saws  kept  constantly  at  work  sawing  plank,  for  it  was  our 


724 


HASWELLS  JOUUN.tLS  1791-2. 


miafortune  to  And  those  of  oak  wo  had  brought  from  Buaton  moat  Iwdly 
daniagdd,  and  so  rotten  aa  to  render  thorn  quitu  unserviceablu. 

Oct.  12th.  I  was  viiited  by  Wickananiih  and  one  or  tyfo  oi  hia  brotheni. 
They  gaud  with  much  admiration  at  our  houne  and  veaacl,  and  exprewied 
mucii  wonder.  Indeed,  wo  are  bo  forward  with  our  work  tliut  I  could  wiiih 
Capt.  Kendrick  had  stayed  till  this  time  and  mca  our  Hiluatioii,  for  he  told  liic 
ofHcora,  during  our  cruise  to  the  sdiithward,  that  ho  ilid  not  supposo  it  would 
ever  bo  put  in  execution,  aa  lie  diil  not  think  there  vvua  u  porsuu  on  board  us 
uapnblo  of  conducting  the  busiucsti  of  building  the  sloop.  Now  ht>  would  hoo 
dH  with  ft  comfortable  dwelling  housu,  containing  our  iimith's  forg<;  and  shop, 
uouvcnieut  for  hia  wuik,  carncntor'u  ultoj)  with  ttc-nchus,  etc.,  und  several  good 
lodging-rooms  and  cibins,  the  whole  well  armed,  2  cannon  mounted  outsido 
aiulone  inside  of  the  houso  through  a  port,  and  in  cvury  direction  loop-holes 
for  our  small  arms  und  pititols,  of  which  wu  have  a  tolerable  plenty,  and  our 
party  ia  augmented  to  lU  in  all.  He  would  find  the  sloop's  frame  completely 
set  up,  and  the  carpenters  l)egun  to  plank  her  bottom.  This  I  am  conli  ^ 
we  have  executed  ns  quick  und  pcrlia))s  as  well  us  he  himself  would  have 
done.  I  am  daily  visited  by  some  one  or  other  of  the  chiefs,  who  express 
great  udminstion  nt  our  artisans.  The  sawing  of  plank,  the  smith  work,  and 
the  doxtorvty  with  which  our  iieoplc  cut  down  and  hew  trees  strike  them  with 
wonder.  They  almost  always  when  they  come  sell  a  few  skins,  and  goner- 
ally  bring  a  few  wild  geese  and  ducks  for  sale.  The  fowl,  indeed,  now  are  so 
plenty  that  our  sportsmen  seldom  return  without  "20  or  30  <lucks  and  goose   . . 

Oct.  2.3d.  of  the  renmindor  of  this  month  there  were  but  2  dnys  that  our 
builders  could  work  out  of  doors,  tlio  rest  of  the  vime  being  intolerably  rainy 
and  disagreeable  weather ...  Nov.  Gth.  The  days  have  become  so  short, 
scarcely  exceeding  8  hours,  of  which  the  sun  ia  obscured  from  us  by  the 
height  of  the  trees  7,  that  our  work  Imngs  heavily.  Indeed,  in  the  very 
rainy  times  the  c.iriicnters,  who  without  urging  are  naturally  diligent,  are 
employed  in  ''°  j  houso  building  a  boat,  the  armorers  repairing  arms,  the 
joiners  plani  ^  the  beams  and  carlings . . . 

Dec.  10th.  The  natives  moved  from  their  winter  village  to  Opitsetah. 
Parties  were  frequently  out  shootiu;.^  game,  and  generally  visited  the  village, 
where  they  met  with  very  civil  treatment. 

Jan.  1792.  Our  carpenters  diligently  exerted  tiiomselves  even  the  worst 
weather  to  forward  tho  work  in  their  department,  and  nt  the  end  of  the 
month  wp  laid  the  sloop's  beams,  but  the  weatlicr  was  so  bad  that  it  wus  tiu 
latter  end  of  January  before  wo  began  to  lay  the  deck.  It  was  indeed  mor- 
tifying to  find  we  had  littlo  more  than  half  enough  knees  for  the  deck,  and  no 
more  oak  plank  than  would  plank  hci'  bottom.  Jan.  27th.  Indeed,  we  had 
not  enough  materials  to  make  her  .nn  open  boat.  However,  wo  were  in  a 
country  where  there  is  plenty  though  iadillercnt  timber,  and  wo  found 
plenty  of  good  pitch-pine  knees.  It  was  Capt.  (Jray's  intention  to  haul  to  a 
veiy  convenient  place  in  the  north  port  of  tho  cove,  where  the  ship  couu!  lie 
and  discharge  on  the  bank,  afloat  at  all  times  of  tide. 

Feb.  2d.  In  tho  morning  they  began  the  operation  of  preparing  to  lay 
the  ship  on  the  ground.  Tho  constant  rains  retarded  the  business  very  much. 
We  wero  now  visited  very  much  by  the  native  chiefs  and  their  wives,  with  :\ 
strict  cordiality  of  manner  and  confidence,  unusual  before.  Tho  women 
would  visit  me  at  the  house  with  an  air  of  the  greatest  freedom  and  sociabil- 
ity, ond  the  chiefs  almost  every  day  visited  us  (I  allowed  none  of  the  lower  class 
to  land),  and  seemed  to  admire  our  progress,  and  were  inquisitive  to  know  when 
we  should  launch.  Their  manner  was  such  that  we  imagined  we  had  attracted 
their  sincere  regard.  All  tho  winter  they  hod  stayed  on  board  aa  long  as  they 
chose,  and  partook  at  onr  table  of  such  aa  we  ate  and  drank.  Capt.  Gray 
had  even  allowed  an  inferior,  who  was  very  ill,  to  tarry  with  hia  father  and 
servant  on  board  many  nights  for  the  reeoverv  of  his  h^th,  although  he  was 
a  very  disagreeable  companion,  and  before  this  event  and  afterward,  for  a 
considerable  time,  had  visited  the  sick  3  or  4  timea  a  week  at  the  village. 


n  moat  1>adly 

hia  brotheni. 
nil  expresne'l 

I  uouul  wiali 
for  he  told  liii; 
ipoBo  it  would 
111  oa  board  us 

llr  W0Ul<l  8C0 

or^c  and  ohop, 

I  Buvoral  gooil 

lunted  outuide 

tion  loop-lioloa 

ilonty,  luid  our 

.ino  completely 

am  uonti       ^ 

ilf  would  liuvt) 

a,  who  exprcas 

iiith  work,  aiid 

triko  them  with 

ins,  and  geiicr- 

ced,  now  aru  so 

if  aud  geese   . . 

'S  diiya  that  our 

itolerably  rainy 

come   80  short, 

from  us  by  the 

cd,  in  the  very 

lly  diligent,  are 

liring  arms,  the 

ijo  to  Opitsetah. 
ited  the  village, 

}  even  the  worst 
the  end  of  the 
1  that  it  wua  tUa 
.vas  indeed  mor- 
the  deck,  and  no 
Indeed,  wc  had 
ir,  wo  were  in  a 
,  and  wo  fuuud 
tion  to  haul  to  a 
he  ship  cou'u!  lie 

preparing  to  lay 
linoss  very  much. 
air  wives,  with  .i 
•e.  The  women 
iom  and  sociabil- 
of  the  lower  cloaa 
ive  to  know  when 
we  had  attracted 
d  oa  long  as  they 
ink.  Capt.  Gray 
h  hia  father  and 
although  he  waa 
afterward,  for  a 
k  at  the  Tillage, 


HAswnhr/s  .iouiinai.s  1791  2. 


721 


supplying  tliiin   with   <irug»,  rice  bread,   inolasscH,  ptc,   ao  much   hail   ha 
lalHirod  to  guiii  tlittir  t^sU'em.  . . 

Feb.  I8th.  At  diuk  1  niimi  on  l)oard  to  supiM-r,  and  found  Tototct'SOOHet- 
tie.  His  brother,  TotoochcatcooMC,  had  not  lont?  loft  tlm  Hhip.  Tototet'soo- 
Rettlu  had  l>ei-n  ilftcutuil  this  iiftvnionii  with  a  jiiokiit  liu  had  stolen  from  Ihu 
lioiitHWuiii,  JMit  ('apt.  (iraj'.i  li  imy  was  suiii  that  lie  would  not  iiuvo  tho 
thief  punisiiocl.  in.d  only  took  i  i'lcki't  from  liini.  Thii  fellow  hud  gono  but 
a  little  tin.)!  boluru  (Jttoo,  our  ''  >.  iw'n:\i  Island  lud,  iiiformud  ('ui>l.  tiruy  of 
11  plot  that  was  laid  by  thu  nativ  >>  to  I'apliii'o  tliu  ship.  lie  told  Iiirn  ToIim)- 
I'hcatecoso  had  )iroiniH<;d  to  nc.kc  him  u  groat  cliiff  it  he  would  wot  our  liro 
aruiM,  and  a  suu-ottiT  akL  iur  uii  !i  iauHkut-b.'>ll  lie  uouM  givi-  him,  telling 
liiin  he  meant  to  comi'  f  .ph  tho  «i)f)ils  m  '  IsMird  tlu-  ship  froi-i  tlii'  bulk, 
and  kill  every  piTHon  on  iHtanl  ex  'opt '  i  >.  ami  he  must  come  to  him  us  msin 
us  the  alt'ruy  coniuieiiocd.  Oiloo  k-kcMl  him  when  ho  uould  coin<'.  llu  at 
first  sa'  1  that  niu'lit,  but  uftr' Wi.  .  "viil  the  ntUvf  tribes  that  were  confeder 
ute  with  him  were  not  read,,,  ai 'I  it  would  be  '2  or  ',1  days  tirst.  It  was  not 
till  supper  t'.at  I  knew  uiiytiiin,  of  liu;  niultur,  when  ('apt.  (Iray  onlered  tins 
swivels  to  l>o  loaded,  then  infornieil  mo  of  tli'i  ])lot.  We  were  now  situated 
alongside  of  a  Ixiiik,  whieh  igaHcoinniocliousas  a  wharf  tor  tlitMiutives  to  board 
us  from.  Our  people  had  no  arms  or  animuni' '"u.  .Ml  our  great  guns  wert; 
landed  on  the  bank.  .\s  wo  were  thus  situated,  I  ■'  '^cd  (-'apt.  (Jray,  it- 
being  the  top  of  high  water,  to  liuul  on  tli  •  ground  that  liili.  'ii;ti  gruMi  I'v 
liigiit,  giving  for  my  ica.sons,  being  away  from  i:ie  bank  au'l  aground  wu.i'  '. 
i-ender  it  less  ]iracticui>lo  to  board  us,  while  we  eould  on  shore  and  on  board 
give  mutual  proteolioii  to  each  other  in  ease  they  siiuubl  muku  aa  alteiupt, 
the  ship  lying  within  pistol-shot  of  tin-  fort,  and  by  this  nightly  opi  lulion 
facilitate  our  business.  IJontieciucntly,  uo  .should  be  able  to  take  everything 
off  from  the  bank  on  the  morrow,  and  by  being  oil"  thu  next  night  to  our 
anchors,  prevent  an  evil  that  bad  like  to  have  been  fatal  to  us.  ('apt.  (iruy 
was  of  my  opinion,  and  the  sl-p  was  immediately  removed.  1  went  on  shore 
an<l  put  the  fort  in  iig<»od  poUureof  defence.  I  dischurgcd  and  reloadeil  the 
c.iiinon,  and  put  tlio  small  arms  in  as  ^ond  order  as  possible,  and  on  bourtl 
they  were  employed  jiropuriug  their  arms  for  a  smart  engagement.  As  (Japt. 
(ii-ay  had  remained  o;i  boanl,  1  took  llie  eunimand  of  tlic  party  to  grave  the 
ship.  Tho  tide  had  ebbed  so  that  our  jieoplo,  by  being  up  to  waist  in  water, 
scraiied  to  the  bottom  of  the  keol,  wlim  Mr  Smith  told  us  tho  nalive,s  w ,  re 
coming  and  close  to  us.  I  ordereil  Mr  \V>il  witli  all  the  shin's  people  imme- 
diately on  boanl,  and  with  my  party  went  to  join  tho  small  duUiehment  we 
l.!i<l  left  ill  the  house  to  guard  it,  but  I  was  much  surpri.sed  to  liml  A.r  Loit, 
with  several  of  the  shi[>'s  people,  had  >ome  up  to  tlio  house.  Tlu;so  I  iiui  le- 
diately  ordered  on  board,  not  wishing  to  leave  the  ship  void  of  defence,  and 
taking  3  people  with  mo,  guarded  them  down.  I  returiieil,  and  waited  the 
attack  with  everything  preparcMl  to  givi;  tliem  a  warm  receplion.  I  heard 
them  also  whoop.  One  parly  seemed  nigh  the  bank,  ami  the  other.icar  tho 
small  entrance  of  the  harlnir,  perhaps  to  liuve  attacked  tho  fort.  No  doubt, 
when  they  found  tlie  ship  wa.s  removed,  they  whooped  to  inform  the  other 
party  thn  their  sclieme  was  abortive.  Thus  having  their  plans  frustrated, 
they  retired,  without  planning  any  new  mode  of  attack.  The  day  now  broke 
and  tho  tide  had  ri.so;,  but  little.  Wc.  .  the  principal  part  of  tlio  bottoii 
tho  other  having  be.'n  v -ell  scraped.  The  tide  rose  early  to  lloat  her,  and 
they  hauled  to  the  Unk,  an.l  in  tlic  course  of  the  day  everything,  except  a  few 
things  of  small  value,  wore  taken  off,  and  the  ship  hauled  to  her  berth  in  tha 
harbor,  and  moored  head  and  stern.  All  day  the  carpenters  were  einployod 
preparing  to  launch  tho  sloop,  and  in  the  afternoon  all  the  trailcincn  s  tooU 
and  things  of  value  were  removed  on  boanl  tho  ship,  and  wo  abandoned  the 
fort,  that  our  parties  being  united  might  lie  in  greater  safety. 

Feb  19th.  Divi<liug  our  people  into  -t  watclics,  Mr  Smith,  Mr  Waters, 
Mr  lioit,  and  myself  took  chai-e  oi  them.  In  the  course  of  tho  day  2  canoes 
came  alongside'of  the  ship.  In  one  of  thc;n  was  one  of  the  chiefs  wives 
*nd  several  other  women.     In  the  coursu  of  the  night  wo  suspected  we  could 


726 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1791  2. 


hear  people  Tralking  on  the  beach  and  among  the  trees.  Feb.  *20tL.  At 
daylight  I  caused  4  cannon  loaded  with  canister  shot  to  be  iired  among  the 
trees  near  the  sloop,  and  then  I  landed  with  a  strongly  armed  party  to  pre- 
pare for  launching,  and  having  placed  a  guard  iu  our  rear  to  prevent  an  am- 
buscadn,  our  business  went  on  with  great  alacrity.  About  11  o'clock  Toto- 
tecBcosettle,  a  most  notorious  villain  in  the  plot,  and  who  had  intended  to 
have  murdered  us  the  other  night,  came  alongside  with  his  father  to  sell  his 
skins,  asking  the  gentlemen  if  they  would  not  come  down  to  the  village  or  go 
sliooting,  perhaps  imagining  we  did  not  hear  them  shout,  or  knew  nothing 
about  tno  matter.  However,  Capt.  Gray  took  the  skins  from  him,  and  or- 
dered him  immediately  to  leave  the  ship.  He  was  also  told  that  if  Lis  fatliur 
liad  not  been  with  him  he  would  liavo  been  instantly  shot.  Ho  immediately 
paddled  off  with  an  aspect  deeply  tinged  with  terror.  Capt.  Gray  did  not 
think  it  advisable  to  make  him  a  prisoner  until  some  future  opportunity, 
when  the  sloop  should  be  off  the  stocks.  The  natives  of  this  place  and  tlie 
villages  nigh  had  by  barter  become  possessed  of  more  than  200  stands  of 
arms  and  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition,  and  were  now  become  skilled  in 
tlie  use  of  thorn.  This  tliey  supposed  was  a  force  so  much  superior  to  oui's, 
that  in  our  late  condition  might  insure  tliem  success,  and  inviting  the  adja- 
cent tribes  to  partake  of  the  glory  of  vanquishing,  and  profit  of  sharing  tlie 
spoils,  they  embarked,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  with  not  less  than  '2,0i)0 
fighting  men,  and  had  not  Totoocheatecose  imparted  the  secret  to  Ottoo,  in  all 
probability  they  would  have  been  successful.  They  had  a  long  story  to  hido 
their  intentions — that  they  were  going  to  attack  a  village  called  Highshakt, 
and  had  purchased  many  muskets  and  some  ammunition  for  that  purpose, 
and  even  been  very  anxious  that  I  should  allow  the  smiths  to  make  daggers  to 
kill  the  Highshakt  people  with.  This  name  possibly  applied  to  us,  or  was 
fictitious,  to  delude  us.  They  even  told  me  when  one  of  the  chiefs  saw  a 
number. of  the  sloop's  blocks  hangmg  in  the  house,  that  they  should  have  the 
Highshakt  people's  heads  hanging  in  their  houses  in  the  same  manner  in  a 
little  while.  An  instance  was  scarce  ever  known  among  the  most  fierce  and 
savago  nations  of  so  much  treachery  and  baseness,  after  such  humane  and  hos- 
pitable treatment.  £ven  they  showed  no  small  share  of  hospitality  and  civ- 
ilization, for  our  parties  were  frequently  so  detached  as  to  lie  much  in  their 
power,  and  several  of  our  gentlemen,  particularly  Mr  Hoskins,  were  at  the 
village  daily,  and  were  never  treated  uncivilly.  They  wished  not  the  lives- 
and  clothing  of  2  or  3  persons,  but  rather  wished  to  treat  them  with  a  seem- 
ing cordiality,  until  at  some  unguarded  moment  they  might  make  the  whole  a 
prey  to  their  perfidy. 

Feb.  2l8t.  Our  full  employ  now  was  to  launch  the  sloop  with  expedition, 
and  tills,  it  is  probable,  we  should  have  accomplished,  had  not  the  ways, 
which  were  bloclced  with  very  buoyant  wood,  flonted,  but  when  the  tide  tell 
I  fully  prevented  !\  future  accident  of  the  same  nature.  Feb.  22d.  At  high 
water,  being  perfectly  ready,  we  began  to  launcli.  She  ran  about  .SO  feet  mid 
stopped,  for  the  launching-plank,  being  green  pine,  furrowed  up  before  llio 
bilge-ways.  We  were  under  the  mortifying  necessity  of  blocking  and  shor- 
ing the  vessel  again,  to  make  as  good  arrangement  as  possible  for  auotluT 
day's  launch,  leb.  23d.  The  morning  w;\s  exceedingly  pleasant.  1  landed 
as  usual  with  a  strongly  armed  party,  and  at  high  water,  about  3  o'clock,  .sue- 
cessfnlly  launched  the  sloop  Adventure . . . 

March  14th.  We  took  on  board  a  boat-load  of  ballast  and  a  number  of 
bricks.  March  19th.  Wo  completed  wooding  and  watering.  March  21st. 
Benj.  Harding,  boatswain  of  the  Columbia,  departed  this  life,  aged  31  years, 
after  lingering  a  long  time  of  dysentery,  and  on  the  following  day  he  wus 
buried . . . 

April  2d.  Early  in  the  moining  I  received  my  sailing  orders,  and  weighed^ 
in  company  with  the  Columbia,  and  by  10  o'clock  was  safe  out  of  the  harbor. 
There  was  a  large  sea  going,  and  we  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  our  vessel 
a  very  good  sea  boat,  outsailing  the  Columbia.  My  orders  were  to  proceed 
to  the  northward,  but  the  wind  being  directly  in  my  teeth,  Capt.  Gray  coa> 


HASWELL'S  ,IOUnNAr.S  1791-2. 


727 


'eb.  20tl).     At 
'ed  among  the 
party  to  pre- 
irevent  an  am- 
o'clock  Toto- 
id  intended  ta 
;her  to  sell  his 
le  village  or  go 
knew  nothing 
him,  and  or- 
lat  if  his  father 
[o  immediately 
Gray  did  not 
•e  opportunity, 
place  and  the 
200  stands  of 
;ome  skilled  in 
iperior  to  ours, 
itiug  the  adja- 
of  sharing  the 
less  than  2,000 
toOttoo,  in  all 
ig  story  to  liido 
led  Ilighsbakt, 
"  that  purpose, 
nake  daggers  to 
d  to  us,  or  was 
16  chiefs  saw  a 
should  have  tlie 
ne  manner  in  a 
most  fierce  and 
umane  and  hos- 
ntality  and  civ- 
e  much  in  their 
ns,  were  at  the 
id  not  the  lives 
!ni  with  a  sceni- 
ake  the  whole  a 

I'ith  expedition, 
not  the  ways, 
en  the  tide  fell 
22d.  At  higli 
lout  30  feet  and 
I  up  before  the 
iking  and  shor- 
ble  for  another 
lant.  1  landed 
t  3  o'clock,  suc- 

id  a  number  of 
.  March  21st. 
aged  31  years, 
ng  day  he  was 

3,  and  weighed, 
of  the  harbor, 
find  our  vessel 
ere  to  proceed 
!apt.  Gray  coa> 


cnrred  with  nic  in  the  opinion  that  it  wouM  be  best  to  proceed  to  Cechaht 
Cove,  Company's  Bay,  there  put  my  vessel  in  complete  order  for  sea,  and  then 
the  first  fair  wind  proceed  north.  1  dined  with  Caot.  Cray,  and  on  my  return 
on  board  made  sail. .  .At  9  p.  m.  anchored  in  Cechalit  Love,  in  17  fathoms 
water  over  a  bottom  of  mud  and  clay.  April  3d.  We  liad  a  number  of  the 
natives  ofl",  but  purchased  no  skins.  There  were  but  2  brought  off,  and  those 
not  worth  the  price  required.  I  kept  the  carpenters  and  seamen  fully  em- 
ployed in  the  equipment  of  the  vessel.  April  4th.  Carpenters  and  seamen 
employed  preparing  the  vessel  for  sea.  Many  of  the  natives  off,  but  nothing 
was  purchased  of  them  except  a  little  oil. . . 

April  7th.  lieing  tolerably  well  prepared  for  sCd,,  ht  10  A.  M.  we  weighed 
and  came  to  sjiil.  . .  At  4  Comi)any'3  bore  k.  by  N.,  5  leagues  distant,  and  at  8 
p.  M.  Clioquot  bore  N.  N.  e.,  8  leagues.  I  steered  a  w.  by  n.  course  all  night. 
At  0  the  entrance  of  Xoolka  Sound  bore  .n.  n.  \v.,  distiince  8  leagues,  and 
Point  Breakers  north,  10  leagues.  April  8th.  Wo  stretched  in  shore  within 
3  leagues  of  Breakers'  Point,  when  we  hove  about  and  stood  to  the  southward. 
April  9th.  Plying  to  windward  in  Hope  Day.  Lat.  49'  o  .\.,  and  in  long. 
127"  24'  w.,  Nootka  Sound  bearing  N.  \.  i;.,  12  leagues  distant.  In  the  even- 
ing Wij  came  under  snug  sail,  and  stood  to  and  fro.  April  10th.  Made  all 
sail  and  stood  in  for  the  land.  At  noon  Xootka  .Sound  bore  n.  k.  by  n.,  10 
leagues,  and  Ahatsett  N.  \v.  by  x.,  9  leagues.  My  latitude  was  49"  24'  N. 
I  stood  within  .3  leagues  of  the  land,  and  hove  about  with  the  wintl  at  w.  n. 
w.,  and  stood  off  shore. . . 

April  13th.  At  8  a.  m.  Split  Rock  bore  e.  n.  e.,  1  league  disttint.  I  stood 
np  into  the  bay  to  n.  e.  of  Woody  Point,  and  then  eoabted  along  the  .shore. 
As  it  bended  it  made  several  deep  bays,  in  which  there  seemed  to  bo  no  liar- 
bors.  Lat.  50°  10'  n.,  Woody  Point  bearing  s.  E.  by  e.,  distance  about  5 
leagues.  I  hove  to  and  let  a  small  canoe  come  alongside.  I  purchased  of 
them  24  large  lish  and  again  made  sail.  At  2  v.  m.,  seeing  several  largo 
canoes  coming  off,  I  hove  to.  When  they  came  alongside,  finding  they  had  no 
skins,  I  immediately  matle  sail.  Tliey  came  from  a  largo  sound,  in  which 
there  are  good  harbors.  I  distinguished  it  by  the  appellation  of  Port  Lincoln. 
I  regretted  not  being  able  to  examine  this  place,  Imt  my  anxiety  to  get  to 
^Va8^ington's  Island  forbid  my  losing  so  good  a  wind,  especially  as  I  knew  it 
was  Capt.  Gray's  intention  to  cruise  this  part  of  tiie  coast  on  his  return  from 
the  southward.  Port  Liir  oln  is  in  latitude  50"  20'  .v.,  and  longitude  12S'  .'{0' 
w.  As  soon  as  I  left  the  canoes  I  steered  a  west  course,  meaning  to  go  to  tho 
westward  of  tho  islands  off  Capo  Ingraham,  but  finding  a  strong  current  and 
a  heavy  swell  setting  to  tho  north,  I  kept  west  by  south,  going  little  nioru 
than  one  knot. . . 

April  17th.  At  half-past  7  saw  the  south  end  of  Washington's  Islands, 
bearing  N.  N,  e.,  4  leagues,  and  tho  south wardmost  hummock  off  tho  cane 
bore  N.  F.,  5  leagues.  We  made  .i  ■'  siiil  alongshore.  Lat.  52"  10'  n..  Barrel's 
Sound  bearing  e.  by  n.,  distance  4  leagues.  At  this  time  a  place  that  had  tho 
appearance  of  tho  entrance  of  a  harbor  bore  .v.  .n.  e.,  3  leairues  distant.  Tliis 
place  is  in  latitude  52"  20'  N.  At  G  P.  M.  the  .south  ward  most  land  in  sight 
bore  E.  s.  e.,  and  tho  northwanlmost  s.  w.  by  w.  Aptil  IHlli.  Early  in  tho 
morning  we  passed  several  places  that  had  tho  appearance  of  harlwrs  or  deep 
sounds.  latitude  53°  5'  n.,  my  Icngitudo  at  this  time  being  132'  8'  w.  A 
little  to  tho  northward  of  this  station  wo  had  a  tiumher  come  off,  and  with 
them  a  number  of  good  skins.  They  were  of  the  Tooscondolth  tribe,  sui)jeet 
to  Comsuah.  Tho  people  were  very  difficult  to  trade  with,  and  I  purchased 
but  few  skins,  being  anxious  while  tho  civstwardly  wind  lasts  to  arrive  at  tho 
west  end  of  the  i.sland.  Where  this  tribe  dwells  is  tho  strait  that  diviiles 
Washington's  Island  nearly  in  the  middle.  Tho  strait  forms  into  a  very  spacious 
harbor,  capable  of  contiiiiiing  100  sail  of  shipping,  commoiliously  navigable 
from  the  west  side  through  a  gut  not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide.  W'hether  it 
is  navigable  from  tho  east  side  for  large  vessels  or  not  I  am  at  present  unac- 
quainted. The  distance  across  to  where  we  formerly  lay  on  tho  cast  side  I 
calculate  to  ue  20  miles.     Tho  coast  I  sailed  past  all  this  day  is  very  broken. 


728 


HASWELL'S  JOURNAIJH  1791-2. 


and  must  form  many  good  harbors.  The  coast  generally  trended  n.  w.  by  w. 
by  compass,  but  in  about  fi3°  2ff  the  coast  turned  abruptly  to  the  westward  for 
a  considerable  distance,  and  left  a  large  channel  running  to  the  n.  e.  that  fornix 
all  the  west  end  into  a  very  large  isluid . . . 

April  19th.  This  ovenmg  we  were  nieb  the  s.  w.  entrance  of  Tadents  vil- 
lage and  harbor.  April  20th.  The  wind  being  adverse  to  our  going  to  tlio 
eastward,  I  stretched  to  the  northward,  intending  to  beat  to  windr/afd  on  the 
north  side  until  I  should  find  a  harbor.  We  for  a  considerable  tiii.e  fancied 
we  saw  a  boat.  I  was  much  concerned,  fearing  there  was  BnmclxMly  on  this 
part  of  the  coast  before  us,  but  on  nearer  approach  I  found  it  was  the  trunk  of 
u  tree  with  several  branches  standing  above  water,  that  bo:e  the  appearance 
of  masts  and  sails. .  .April  '22d.  At  ^  several  canoes  camd  oiF  from  Tadeuta 
village.  They  liad  many  skins,  of  which  I  purchased  few,  for  they  were  so 
exorbitant  in  their  price  as  to  ask  2  great  coats  for  one  skins.  This  price, 
however,  I  was  resolved  not  to  give,  being  confident  I  could  sell  them  better 
elsewhere.  At  7  F.  H.  the  westwardmost  part  of  Washington's  Island  in 
sigiit  bore  w.  by  s. 

April  23d.  Early  in  the  morning  I  saw  a  place  about  17  leagues  to  the 
eastward  of  Tadents,  where  there  was  the  appearapce  of  a  good  harbor.  I 
stretched  in  under  snug  sail  for  it.  Sent  Mr  Wateis  to  sound  the  entrance  of 
the  harbor.  iTe  found  exceedingly  shoul  water  all  across,  c.vcept  in  one  nar- 
row cliaimel.  Whether  this  runs  through  or  not  i.>  uncertain,  but  I  am  apt 
to  think  it  not  navigable  for  anythinj  larger  tliaii  a  boat. .  .1  weighed  at  3 
i*.  M.  and  stood  out  of  the  bay.  This  place  is  in  latitude  54°  O"  K.,  and  longi- 
tude 132°  45'  w.  The  cast  cape  of  the  islands,  Capo  Coolidge,  bore  w.  a.  w., 
17  leagues,  and  is  in  latitude  54°  15'  N.,  and  longitude  134°  13'  w.  As  soon 
as  I  was  out  of  the  bay  I  began  to  beat  to  windward  for  Hancock's  River,  and 
before  dark  Capo  Lookout  boro  E.  N.  E.,  distance  18  leagues.  April  24th. 
Stood  in  for  tlio  harbor . . .  April  25th.  Many  of  the  natives  came  on.  I  pur- 
cliased  of  them  some  tish  and  a  few  otter  tails.  They  brought  but  2  skina 
for  sale,  and  they  asked  2  great  coats  for  each.  The  natives  of  this  port, 
tliough  we  frequently  had  great  throngs  of  them  alongside,  behaved  them- 
selves with  great  propriety.  They  would  not,  indeed,  sell  me  their  skina 
witliout  an  exorbitant  price,  telling  me  the  captains  Douglas,  Kendrick,  Bar- 
nett,  Ingraham,  Crowell,  and  Keanna  would  be  hero  soon,  and  they  would 
give  tliem  what  they  asked.  Now,  there  was  nothing  I  had  for  cargo  but 
great  coata  th>\*i  these  people  would  take,  and  those  they  would  gi\e  only  one 
mdiffereut  skin  apiece  for,  and  demanded  2  great  coats  for  a  large  good  skin. 
April  2Uth.  As  there  are  many  other  places  on  the  coast  where  it  is  equally 
likely  to  find  plenty  uf  skins,  and  a  long  season  bcforo  ns  to  find  such  place.s 
out,  I  rather  cliose  to  keep  my  goods,  and  trust  fortune  for  a  better  market 
for  them. 

April  27th.  The  natives  frequently  tell  ns  that  one  Jones,  a  person  be- 
longing to  Captain  Crowell's  brig,  stayed  among  the  natives  of  Tadents,  and 
was  now  at  Legonee.  Whether  this  is  a  device  of  their  own  braiu  to  amuse 
or  the  fact,  I  know  not.  April  28th.  After  doing  some  necessary  jobs  about 
tlie  vessel,  and  leaving  a  letter  for  Capt.  Gray  with  the  chief  of  the  port, 
Cattar,  early  in  the  morning  I  weighed,  intending  to  go  to  Comsuah'f,  on  tlie 
east  side  or  the  island.  April  29th.  I  ran  along  the  edge  of  the  shoal  of 
Cape  Lookout  till  half -past  12  in  the  morning . . .  Were  soon  abreast  of  Sea  Lion 
Rocks.  At  noon,  latitude  54°  3G'  N.,  longitude  130°  55'  w.  At  7  p.  m.  Cape 
Lookout  bore  w.  by  n.  Tacked  to  the  northward,  being  pretty  nigh  the  island. 
April  30th.    It  was  a  perfect  hurricane. . . 

May  1st.  At  1  a.  m.  Hancock  s  River  bore  s.  s.  w.,  3  leagues  distant.  I 
made  all  sail  to  the  westward.  About  noon  a  canoe  came  oiT  and  broaght 
with  them  some  halibut,  and  soon  after  we  wore  visited  by  a  number  of  other 
natives  with  skins  for  sale.  Cunnea,  the  chief  of  Tadents,  came  oflf,  accom- 
panied by  his  wife  (who  is  the  superior  olficer).  They  sold  us  many  skins, 
and  were  very  anxious  for  us  to  go  in  to  an  anchor.  They  hail  such  an  abun- 
dance of  skina  that  it  would  have  l>oen  a  good  cai-go  to  have  purchased  them 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1791-2. 


729 


1  N.  w.  by  w. 
e  westward  for 
<.  E.  that  foriiid 

of  Tadents  vil- 
r  going  to  tlio 
ndr/ard  on  the 
le  tin.e  faucied 
nolxKly  on  this 
'as  the  trunk  of 
the  appearance 
'  from  Tadeuta 
they  were  so 
This  price, 
11  them  better 
»n's  Island  in 

leagues  to  the 

;ood  harbor.    I 

the  entrance  of 

;ept  in  one  nar- 

n,  but  I  am  apt 

I  weighed  at  3 

y  N.,  and  longi- 

,  bore  w.  s.  w., 

13'  w.     As  soon 

)ck'8  River,  and 

a.     April  •24th. 

xm&  off.     I  pur- 

gbt  but  2  skins 

GS  of  this  port, 

behaved  ttiom- 

me  their  skins 

Kcndrick,  Bar- 

nnd  they  would 

d  for  cargo  but 

Id  gi\e  only  one 

largo  good  skin. 

ore  it  is  equally 

Qnd  such  places 

a  better  market 

es,  a  person  bc- 
af  Tadents,  and 
brain  to  amuse 
isary  jobs  about 
ief  of  tlie  port, 
mauah'f,  on  tlie 
of  tlio  shoal  of 
east  of  Sea  Lion 
At  7  P.  M.  Cape 
nigh  the  island. 

juea  distant.  I 
jff  and  brought 
lumber  of  other 
lime  off,  accom- 
us  many  skins, 
I  suoU  an  abun- 
purchased  them 


all,  but  they  aaked  such  a  price  for  them  that  it  would  have  taken  all  th« 
salable  articles  I  had  to  have  purchased  70  of  them.  May  2d.  In  the  morn- 
ing I  stood  in  for  the  land,  with  the  wind  e.  n.  e.  and  a  lively  breeze.  As 
the  wind  was  fair,  I  determined  not  to  touch  at  Tadents,  but  make  my  M-ay 
to  some  cheaper  place.  Early  in  the  afternoon  the  wind  died,  and  we  lay  bo- 
Ciilmed  about  a  mile  distant  from  the  shore,  and  2  leagues  to  the  southward  of 
Tadents.  While  we  lay  in  this  condition,  the  chief  and  her  husband  came  off 
and  sold  me  several  good  skins  on  the  usual  terms,  and  I  promised  to  come  to 
their  village  again  Ijeforc  long. .  . 

I.Iay  4th.  Late  in  the  evening  I  saw  a  place  that  I  supposed  would  be  a 
good  harbor,  and  as  the  wind  was  light,  I  lay  off  it  all  ni^ht.  May  5th.  On 
tluj  morning  I  stood  in,  but  tlie  wind  was  light,  so  that  it  was  afternoon  be- 
fore I  entered  the  sound,  a  piece  of  great  length,  and  60  fathoms  of  water.  I 
began  to  beat  to  windward,  and  about  4  P.  m.  anchored  in  60  fathoms  water, 
being  the  first  bottom  I  had  got,  with  the  best  bower,  for  it  blew  fresh  in 
squalls,  about  4  miles  from  the  entrance  of  the  sound,  and  a  mile  from  the 
narrows  into  the  largo  harbor.  I  went  in  the  boat,  manned  and  armed,  in 
search  of  a  better  place  for  the  vessel  to  lie.  I  entered  a  cove  nearly  abreast 
of  which  we  had  anchored,  and  found  it  exactly  suiteil  to  our  purpose,  being 
a  most  commodious  place  to  get  wood  and  water.  I  tlieii  rowed  up  into  the 
otber  harbor  and  found  it  not  so  well  adapted  to  our  purposes,' but  a  most  ex- 
cellent place  for  a  large  fleet  of  shipping  to  ride.  I  returned  and  found  the  sloop 
had  drifted  a  considerable  distance.  I  immediately  weighed,  and  towed  into 
St  Tammonie's  Cove,  Port  Montgomery.  We  anchored  in  12  fathoms  water, 
mud  l)ottom. 

May  Gth.  At  8  a.  m.  weighed,  and  ran  down  the  harbor  with  a  lively 
breeze  at  N.  w.  I  think  the  discovery  of  this  harbor  a  valuable  acquisition  for 
a  vessel  that  had  met  with  an  accident,  and  wished  to  repair,  clear  of  the 
natives,  for  I  believe  this  port  is  only  visited  casually  by  strangers  from 
Coyah's  tribe.  This  place  affords  great  abundance  of  gootl  yellow  pine  timber 
and  spars,  plenty  of  water,  and  good  wood  that  is  hard  and  desirable  fuel. 
St  Tammonie's  Harbor  is  in  latitude  52"  25'  n.  May  7th.  I  had  been  informed 
by  some  of  Coyah's  tribe  that  there  was  a  ship  lying  at  Barrel's  Inlet,  and  I 
liad  little  reason  to  doubt  them,  ns  one  of  the  natives  had  a  jacket  and  trousers 
they  had  purchased  of  them,  on  tl'c  buttons  of  which  was  printed.  Long  live 
the  Presicfent,  G.  W.  I  had  been  resolved  to  touch  at  Gray's  Cove  before, 
nor  would  I  let  this  report  retard  me,  for  I  was  anxious  to  know  who  it  was, 
and  to  get  letters  from  liome.  I  made  sail  for  Barrel's  Inlet,  but  the  wind 
growing  light  it  was  2  o'clock  before  mo  were  abreast  of  the  outer  island,  the 
wind  drew  down  the  sound,  and  wc  began  to  beat  to  windward.  At  .S  P.  M. 
we  saw  a  boat  coming  towards  us.  Found  her  to  be  the  boat  belonging  to  the 
Marf/aret  of  Boston,  James  Magee,  couiinauder.  Mr  Lamb,  the  chief  oflicer, 
was  in  her.  They  sailed  from  Boston  the  2.')th  of  October,  1701,  and  arrived 
on  this  coast  the  24th  of  April,  1792,  touching  only  at  St  Jago's  on  his  passage. 
Captain  Magee  was  in  a  very  disordered  state  of  health  wlien  ho  made  the 
land  to  the  southward  of  Capo  Ingraham,  when  his  health  was  so  much  im- 
paired that  ho  gave  up  the  conducting  of  his  ship  to  Mr  Lamb,  his  chief 
oflicer.  They  ran  for  the  south  end  of  this  island.  Tiiis  was  tiie  first  port 
they  had  entered  on  the  coast.  They  had  been  lying  in  tliis  port  10  days, 
and  had  col' acted  but  few  skins.  Wo  beat  in  and  anchored  at  7  p.  m.  a 
little  above  tho  Margaret,  with  the  best  bower  in  8  fathoms  water.  Sainted 
Captain  Magee  with  3  cheers.  As  soon  as  tho  vessel  came  to.  I  waited  on  Cap- 
tain Magee,  and  was  happy  in  having  news  from  my  native  country  in  this  re- 
mote clime.  Captain  Magee  comman<led  as  fine  a  vessel  as  ever  I  saw  of  her 
size,  and  appeareil  exceedingly  well  fitted  for  his  voyage,  and  I  believe  there 
was  no  expense  spared.  I  found  on  board  liere  lettcia  for  Capt  Gray  and  Mr 
Hoskins  from  our  owners,  an<l  letters  for  the  otlier  gentlonieu  from  their 
friends.  Capt.  Magee  and  his  officers  put  letters  in  my  cliarge,  to  be  fni-- 
warded  to  Boston  by  the  first  opportunity.  Capt.  Magee  will  purchase  but 
few  skins  in  this  port,  and  those  at  a  very  high  price.     Of  course,  his  stay  at 


730 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1791-2. 


thb  port  will  be  short.  He  talks  of  going  to  the  northward  to  Cook  River, 
but  in  this  respect  hia  mind  will  change,  or  he  will  be  muoh  in  the  wrong. 
Finding  I  should  purchase  but  few  skins,  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  I 
weighed,  and  towea  out  of  the  ooye.  It  continued  calm  untu  the  12th,  when 
the  tide  came  nigh  drifting  us  on  the  breakers  off  Cape  Haswell. . . 

May  15th.  Latitude  52°  43'  N.,  and  by  G  in  the  evening  we  were  abreast 
of  Comsuah's  village.  I  soon  saw  several  canoes  coming  off.  We  hove  to  and 
waited  for  them  to  come  alon^ide.  1  purchased  several  skins  of  tUeui. 
May  16th.  Early  in  the  mornmg  wo  stood  into  Tooscondolth  Sound,  and 
anchored  at  11  a.  h.,  bm  Unding  the  place  not  so  well  sheltered  as  a  cove  not 
far  distant,  I  weighed,  and  iiaving  sounded  with  the  boat,  anchored  in  Hope 
Gove,  in  17  fathoms  water,  gravel  bottom,  about  noon.  On  the  latter  part  uf 
the  day  I  purchased  a  number  of  good  skins. .  .May  19th.  I  weighed  and 
stood  out  to  sea  M'ith  exceedingly  pleasant  weather.  Latitude  53°  7'  n. 
This  place  is  not  an  excellent  liarbor,  but  it  will,  as  an  anchoring-place  to 
trade  with  the  natives,  answer  very  well.  It  is  situated  on  the  north  side  of 
Tooscondolth  Sound,  and  the  first  cove  after  passing  a  barren  island.  At  the 
entrance  there  is  a  dangerous  reef,  to  avoid  which  I  advise  to  go  to  the  south- 
ward of  it.  Comsuah  has  at  this  time  his  town  at  least  4  leagues  to  the 
southward  of  the  place  where  we  lie. 

May  20th.  Early  in  the  morning  several  canoes  came  off  to  the  southward 
of  Hatche's  Island,  and  I  purchased  of  them  several  good  skins.  They  were 
very  anxious  for  me  to  go  in,  but  there  is  a  reef  to  the  southward  of  Hatche's 
Island  which  is  very  dangerous  to  pass.  I  therefore  determined  to  make  tlie 
best  of  my  way  to  the  northward  of  the  island,  and  there  seek  a  harbor. 
May  21st.  I  stretched  to  the  northward  of  Hatche's  Island,  and  the  same 
people  boarded  me  that  were  off  yesterday.  They  had  been  diligently  em- 
ployed  since  we  parted,  for  they  had  6  otter  in  their  canoe  yet  warm  with 
life.  I  purchased  them  and  stood  to  the  northward.  About  3  leagues  in  a 
V.  v.  E.  direction  from  Hatche's  Island  is  a  very  deep  sound  running  m  to  the 
8.  E.,  and  there  is  but  little  doubt  that  it  must  contain  good  harbors,  but  at 
too  great  a  distance  for  me  to  go  at  present.  If  I  can,  on  my  return  from  the 
nortiaward,  conveniently,  I  wiU  examine  this  place  thoroughly.  This  place 
lying  so  close  to  Hatche's  Island,  I  call  it  by  the  same  name.  May  22d.  I 
entered  Derby  Sound,  and  stood  in  for  Allen  Cove.  We  found  no  natives 
here.  I  lauded  with  Mr  Waters  and  we  shot  several  geese.  May  *i4th. 
Employed  ballasting,  wooding,  and  watering. 

M^  25th.  With  a  light  breeze  off  the  land  we  weighed,  and  stood  on 
sea.  It  was  now  my  intention  to  make  the  best  of  my  way  up  Brov  i  ^ 
Sound,  but  I  was  no  sooner  clear  of  the  land  than  the  wind  became  directly 
adverse  to  my  intention.  I  stretched  over  for  Cape  Lookout,  and  was  abreast 
of  it  at  8  F.  M.  I  shaped  my  course  into  Hancock's  Straits,  iutendiug  to  go  a 
little  way  to  the  northward  on  the  sea  side.  May  26th.  Ran  along  shore, 
and  6  p.  m.  were  abreast  of  Tadents.  May  27th.  Latitude  54°  59'  n.  May 
28th.  Abreast  of  Distress  Cove,  and  the  land  in  sight  was  a  number  of  large, 
high  islands.  May  29th.  I  altered  my  course  to  the  southward.  May  30th. 
At  8  A.  M.  Douglas'  Island  bore  e.  k.  e.,  distance  3  leagues.  Lat.  54°  42'  n. 
May  3l8t.  It  was  my  intention  now  to  visit  Sushin,  if  possible,  and  with  this 
determination  I  shaped  ray  course  for  Murderer's  Cape.  My  latitude  at  noon 
was  64°  2*  N . . . 

June  2d.  I  directly  made  the  best  of  our  way  to  Port  Tempest,  at  which 
place  I  anchored  at  half-past  12,  with  fresh  gales  and  squalls.  Wo  found  the 
natives  had  dug  the  corpse  of  Mr  Caswell  up,  and  by  the  appearance  it  must 
have  been  done  soon  after  burial.  June  3d.  Several  of  the  people  fancying 
they  saw  a  smoke  rising  from  among  the  trees  abreast  of  the  watering-place, 
I  fired  among  the  trees  in  that  direction . .  .June  6th.  As  we  were  towing  out 
a  canoe  was  seen  to  land,  and  a  native  walk  away  along  the  beach.  'I'liis, 
together  with  the  smoke  we  saw  frequently  nigh  the  watering-place,  tempts 
me  to  think  we  have  been  watched  narrowly  by  the  natives,  who  keep  them- 
•elves  secret  from  us  in  hopes  to  have  us  in  their  power  at  some  unguarded 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1791-2. 


m 


moment.  The  information  of  my  commanding  this  vessel  may,  no  doubt, 
have  easily  reached  tliis  place  from  Washington's  Islan.l  or  from  Legonee. 
June  7th.  It  was  my  intention  to  lie  hero  the  principal  part  of  the  day  and 
wait  the  appearance  of  the  natives.  Conscious  it  would  not  do  to  spend  moro 
time  in  the  sound,  I  was  determined  to  leave  it  in  the  afternoon.  Aly  inten- 
tion was  now  to  cruise  tlio  coast  of  the  continent  down  to  Naspatee,  wlicre  I 
hope  to  arrive  Liic  last  of  tijo  month.  .At  .3  p,  m.  weighed,  and  made  s,-iil  to 
tho  southward.  At  8  Murderer's  Cape  bore  w.  s.  w.,  and  the  cftstw.irdinost 
land  in  sight  bore  e.  s.  k.  June  8th.  Coasting  along  very  nigh  tiie  land  and 
seeking  villages,  but  had  the  misfortune  to  see  not  one  native  to  tiio  northward 
of  Hatches  Island.  .June  11.  In  the  afternoon,  being  abreast  of  u  largo 
rock  that  looked  like  tiic  haunt  of  pca-lion.s,  I  sent  the  boat,  but  they  saw 
none.  Tliis  rock  is  situated  a  few  leagues  to  the  westward  of  Rocky  Sound. 
In  the  evening  stood  to  the  southward  under  easy  sail.  Juno  I'ith.  To  the 
H.  E.  of  me  lay  Barron  Hill  Ikiy,  .and  in  it  I  hoped  to  find  a  good  harbor,  but 
all  this  day  was  calm,  and  J  had  it  not  in  my  power  to  seek  tliem.  I  observed 
Jit  noon  in  latitude  S'J"  r>9'  .\.     About  7  in  the  evening  a  canoe  camo  off,  and  1 

rurchased  5  skins  of  them.  They  informed  me  there  was  a  largo  tribe  wliere 
was  endeavoring  to  get  in. 
June  14th.  I  now  resolved  to  seek  farther  to  the  southward,  and  bore 
nway  with  a  strong  nortli  gale,  and  at  noon  I  observed  in  latitude  52'  .1.3'  n.  , 
and  longitude  129°  32'  w.  The  islands  off  Cape  Ingraham  bore  h.  by  W., 
distance  74  miles.  June  15th.  I.4ititude  5r  11' n.,  and  longitude  I'J'J-.'JO' 
w.  June  16th.  At  8  p.  m.  Woody  Point  boro  s.  by  e.,  distance  77  miles. 
June  17th.  We  soon  saw  a  ship  ia'the  n.  e.  quarter.  I  hauled  for  her,  and 
soon  discovered  it  to  lie  the  Columbia.  They  were  just  out  of  Pintard'.s 
Sound.  For  a  considerable  time  after  we  parted  company,  they  had  very  dis- 
agreeable weather,  but  latterly  they  had  good  success. '  To  tiie  southward 
they  spoke  his  Britannic  majesty's  ship  Di.trorery,  George  Vancouver,  Esq., 
commander,  and  brig  Chatham,  Wm  Brouton,  commander. .  .They  discovered 
a  harbor  in  latitude  40°  53'  n.  ,  and  longitude  122°  51'  w.  This  is  Gray's  Har- 
bor. Here  they  were  attacked  by  the  natives,  and  the  savages  had  .a  consid- 
erable slaughter  made  among  them.  They  next  entered  Columbia  River, 
and  went  up  it  about  30  miles,  and  doubted  not  it  was  navigable  upwards  of 
100.  Besides  sea-otter  skins,  they  purchased  a  great  number  of  land-furs  of 
very  considerable  value.  After  leaving  this  they  came  again  to  tho  north- 
ward, and  went  into  Xaspatee.  Hero  they  >vere  attacked  by  tlie  natives, 
and  they  were  necessitiitocl  to  kill  a  great  number  of  them.  They  next  went 
up  Pintard's  Sound.  Here  again  they  were  formidably  attacked,  and  a  con- 
siderablo  fall  of  natives  ensued.  Tho  ship  during  the  cruise  had  collected  up- 
wards of  700  sea-jtter  skins,  and  15,000  sKins  of  various  otlier  species.  Both 
our  vessels  wer-  bound  to  Naspatee,  and  ancliored  there  early  in  the  evening. 
Jime  18t!i.  All  hands  employed  preparing  to  haul  tho  sloop  on  tho  groiiud 
to  grave.  Delivered  to  Capt.  Gray  2,S8  sea-otter  skins,  142  tails,  23  cootsacka, 
and  19  peues...June  24th.  Weighed  and  stood  out  to  sea.  At  noon  we 
passed  Woody  Point.  As  we  outsailed  tlie  ship,  in  the  afternoon  we  hovo  to, 
and  waited  her  coming  up.  Tho  outwardmost  inland  off  Cape  Ingraham  boro 
N.  W.,  and  tho  eastwardmost  land  in  sight  boro  e.  by  s. .  .Juno  27th.  At  8 
A.  M.  Capt.  Gray  ordered  me  ahead.  At  noon  luy  latitude,  per  account,  was 
62°  8'  N.,  and  longitude  129°  43'  w.  We  are  now  abreast  of  tlio  south  entranco 
of  Loblip  Soun(Cand  tlic  coast  is  broken  into  low,  craggy  islands,  and  de- 
tacked  sunken  rocks.  I  was  surprised  to  (ind  Capt.  (iray  standing  in  for  the 
land  in  a  place  that  looked  to  me  very  dangerous.  However,  as  ho  had  or- 
dared  mo  to  lead  off,  I  did  not  follow  him.  Ho  had  all  sail  on  liis  sliip,  steer- 
ing sails  below  and  aloft.  I  had  seen  as  I  passed  several  sunken  reefs  of  rocks, 
and  as  the  Columbia  p.issed,  not  looking  out  j)roperly,  she  struck.  I  immedi- 
ately made  sail  to  ■windward,  hoisted  my  boat  out,  and  set  o(F  for  the  ship. 
She  fired  a  gun,  but  soon  swung  clear  of  the  rock,  and,  hoisting  her  colors, 
stood  towards  me.  The  ship  had  been  going  at  tiie  rate  of  5  knots  when  she 
struck.     She  a[)peared  to  have  met  with  no  material  damage,  compofd  with 


732 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1791-2. 


what  might  have  been  expected.  Much  of  her  sheathing  was  bruised  off,  and 
before  this  unfortunate  accident  she  was  a  perfectly  tight  vessel,  but  she  now 
made  400  strokes  of  her  pump  in  an  hour.  I  advised  Capt.  Gray  to  make  the 
best  of  his  way  to  Derby  Sound,  and  there  to  repair  his  ship,  I  keeping  way 
with  him  at  tlie  same  time.  This  he  complied  with,  and  making  sail,  we 
stood  to  the  windward,  and  at  10  we  hove  to  with  her  head  to  the  s.  w.,  to 
wait  for  daylight.  June  28th.  At  3  a.  m.  we  bore  away  for  the  northward. 
June  29tli.  At  2  a.  h.  the  officer  of  the  watch  informed  nie  the  ship  had  sud- 
denly disappeared,  and  he  feared  she  had  foundered.  I  immediately  hove 
about  and  stood  directly  towards  the  place  we  saw  her  last.  It  was  my  in- 
tention to  stand  to  and  fro  nigh  this  place  the  remainder  of  the  day,  and  then 
make  the  best  of  my  way  to  Derby  Sound,  and  then  wait  a  week,  and  if  I 
should  not  see  her  in  the  course  of  that  time,  to  cruise  the  coast  and  meet  at 
the  rendezvous  at  the  time  appointed — St  Tammonie's  Harbor,  Port  Montgom- 
ery, the  last  of  August.  I  tear  in  the  night  the  ship  sprung  a  worse  leak, 
occasioned  by  the  damage  tihe  had  received  on  the  rocks,  and  foundered,  with- 
out having  time  to  make  any  signal  to  us,  who,  when  we  saw  her  lust,  were 
lialf  a  mile  ahca<l;  otherwise,  I  cannot  account  for  so  sudden  a  separation 
in  such  clear,  pleasant  weather,  when  we  had  perfect  daylight  in  less  than  an 
liour  after  she  was  first  missed,  but  I  hope  she  may  still  bo  safe.  June  30th. 
At  noon  Hatche's  Island  bore  s.  by  e.,  distance  3  leagues.  At  5  p.  m.  we  en- 
tered Derby  Sound,  and  at  half-past  6  aucliored  in  Allen's  Cove.  I  had  hoped 
the  ship  might  have  arrived  here  before  me,  but  I  am  disappointed.  We 
moored  head  and  stern. 

July  2d.  We  caught  halibut,  flounders,  whiting,  tomcod,  and  twe  species 
of  6sh  I  am  unacquainted  with . .  .July  Gth.  I  sliaped  our  course  for  Capo  Look- 
out, intending  to  go  to  Hancock's  River.  July  8th.  At  daylight  we  made 
sail  for  Hancock's  River.  Stood  in  and  anchored  at  3  p.  M.  abreast  of  the 
burial-ground,  in  17  fathoms  water.  Several  natives  came  off,  and  I  purchased 
a  few  skins  and  Hsh.  July  9th.  Purchased  huckleberries,  raspberries,  and 
the  fmest-flavorcd  strawberries  I  ever  tasted.  I  find  that  there  has  been  a 
ship  hero,  commanded  by  one  Ugon,  whom  I  suppose  to  be  tho  French  gentle- 
man we  carried  passenger  from  Macao  to  Canton  in  the  Columbia's  last  voy- 
age. His  chief  mate,  it  seems,  is  \  ianna.  Cant.  Douglas'  Portuguese  captain 
in  tho  Ephagene.  Capt.  Magee  has  been  at  ladents  village.  July  11th.  In 
the  morning  a  canoe  arrived  from  Tadents,  with  information  that  Adamson 
was  at  that  place  in  a  ship.  That  Rogers  was  there  in  a  brig,  and  they  also 
speak  of  Bamett  and  Douglas,  speaking  highly  of  their  generosity,  as  is  usual 
among  them.  Thus  I  find  the  northern  coast  is  thronged  with  people  well 
provided  with  cargoes,  there  is  no  doubt.  They  say  Newbury  and  Treet  are 
with  Capt.  Rogers.  At  about  10  a.  m.,  the  tide  ebbing  with  the  wind  to  the 
westward,  we  weighed  and  beat  out,  and  were  followed  bv  several  of  the 
natives,  vociferating  strongly  in  my  praise,  wishing  me  well  (for  I  had  told 
them  I  should  come  there  no  more),  saying:  'Others  come,  kill  us,  and  take 
our  property  by  force.  You  came,  bartered  with  us,  and  hurt  not  a  man. 
You  are  good. '  Meaning  to  visit  Tadents,  I  stretched  off  upon  a  wind.  July 
12th.  Saw  a  sloop  to  the  westward.  At  1 1  a  native  came  off,  who  had  been 
off  to  China  with  Capt.  Crowell.  He  informed  mo  lie  returned  with  Capt. 
Crowell,  and  that  Capt.  Ingraham  and  Capt.  Coolidge  were  both  on  the  coast. 
I  found  this  fellow  a  great  prejudice  to  the  trade,  and  I  purchased  but  few 
s'-'ns.  They  were  very  loath  I  should  speak  the  sloop  which  was  to  windward. 
I  continued  to  ply  to  windward  all  nigiit,  and  in  the  morning  stretched  into 
the  bay  that  forms  the  n.  e.  entrance  to  'ladents. 

July  13th.  At  noon  I  spoke  the  sloop  Florinda  of  Macao,  Thomas  Colo, 
commander.  He  sailed  the  25th  of  March,  and  arrived  the  12th  of  July  in 
latitude  55°.  All  well  on  board.  The  most  miserable  thing  that  ever  was 
formed  in  imitation  of  the  ark.  He  had  on  board  him  no  less  than  40  or  50 
stout  natives,  and  alongside  12  canoes,  all  well  armed.  On  tho  sloop  they  had 
not  a  musket  on  deck,  nor  any  ann  except  a  cutlass,  and  it  was  no  doubt  the 
intention  of  Cuneah  to  make  her  his  prize.     This  he  might  have  done  without 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1791-2. 


•"•lO 


the  loss  of  one  of  tho  natives.  I  c.ive  Capt.  Cole  advice  and  caution  against 
them,  and  lio  seemed  to  take  it  kindly.  In  the  evening  wo  parted,  ami  I 
directed  my  course  for  Norfolk  Sound.  July  15th.  At  '2  v.  m.  Douglas' 
Island  bore  k.  ^  8.,  distance  12  leagues.  July  17th.  I  observed  in  latitudo 
66^6'  N.,  and  longitude  135°  24'  w..  Port  Banks  bearing  n.  4  e.,  distance  8 
leagues.  I  saw  several  spermaceti  whales,  the  first  that  I  have  scon  this  voy- 
age on  the  coast. 

July  10th.  Latitude  50°  12'  n.,  and  longitude  135"  45'  w.  July  21st. 
I^Atitude  50°  SJy  N.  The  anchoring- place  in  Norfolk  Sound  bore  N.  by  w., 
distance  4  miles. .  .July  23d.  At  10  we  bore  away,  and  stood  for  Port  liiinks. 
Reached  the  anchoring-pluco  at  4  r.  M.  I  anchored  iu  tho  mouth  of  Sulniun 
River,  in  9  fathoms  water,  about  100  yards  from  the  shore,  iu  one  of  tlie 
pleasantest  situations  I  ever  saw,  with  plenty  of  good  wood  and  water  witliin 
cable's  length  of  us.  July  24tli.  I  went  up  tho  river  to  the  falls,  where  tho 
salmon  were  incredibly  numerous,  many  of  which  wo  caught.  We  found  a 
great  abundance  of  berries,  and  took  otl'  a  load  of  wood.  I'^xcessively  pleasant 
weather,  but  saw  no  natives.  As  there  were  evident  signs  that  tliu  natives 
aro  here  frequently,  I  determined  to  stop  a  day  or  two. .  .July  28tli.  At  half- 
past  11  we  weighed  ayain  and  beat  out.  At  3  i*.  M.  saw  a  snow  to  tho 
v.  cstward  standing  in.  ,Sho  fired  a  gun,  a  signal  to  speak  us.  I  answered  it, 
and  stood  toward  them,  It  in  Capt.  Mear  from  Bengal.  He  has  spoken  a 
Portuguese  snow,  Capt.  Viana,  in  distress  at  Washington's  Islands.  Tliey 
have  been  far  north,  for  they  Iiave  a  skin  cauoe  lashed  over  their  stern,  and 
I  noticed  Capt.  Mear  had  a  pair  of  Onilascian  boots  on.  He  wished  nits  a 
pleaaant  voyage,  and  went  into  Port  Iktnks.     I  stood  to  the  southward.  . . 

Aug.  3d.  Observed  a  ship  lying  nigli  tho  entrance,  which  wo  soon  dis- 
covered to  bo  French.  1  anchored  nigh  her.  Found  her  to  he  from  Le  Oriant 
Sound  to  Kamschatka,  with  supplies  for  that  settlement.  Tho  supercargo,  a 
Russian  gentleman,  had  made  this  coast  in  his  way,  as  ho  meant  to  touch  at 
Onilasco.  On  their  passage  to  this  coast  they  had  touched  at  Valparaiso, 
where  they  were  very  politely  received.  Tiieir  next  port  was  Nootka  Sound, 
where  ■ ' 
sea-otter i 

ler,  the      ^         „  ,  .       , 

had  passed  tho  bar  of  tlio  Iiarbor,  and  twice  in  attempting  to  return  to  sea  had 
ri'n  their  ship  on  shore.  I  went  on  board  and  piloted  them  into  tiio  liavk)i-. 
Aug.  4th.  In  the  forenoon  I  went  on  iwanl  tho  French  ship,  and  whilu  on 
board  my  cloak,  being  carelessly  left  in  the  boat,  was  stolen  l)y  one  of  tho 
natives,  and  he  lied  with  it  on  shore.  I  hailed  Mr  Waters  and  ordered  iiim 
to  keep  one  of  tho  natives  prisoner.  This  lio  did,  and  one  was  kept  also  by 
Capt.  Magon,  but  the  native  who  was  detained  on  board  the  Adventure  saw 
me  retuniing  on  board,  watched  a  favorable  opportunity  to  make  his  escape, 
which  he  did,  notwithstanding  he  was  fired  at.  However,  tho  cloak  was  soon 
returned.  From  these  French  gentlemen  I  received  a  present  of  several  gal- 
lons of  liquor,  which,  having  been  out  some  time,  was  very  acceptable. 

Aug.  Cth.  A  native  wo  had  wounded  came  alongside,  and  I  gavo  him 
shirts  for  bandages  for  his  wound.  Tlie  commander  of  the  French  siiip  was 
very  anxious  I  should  stay  till  he  could  get  out,  and  oiTered  to  make  me  any 
indemnification  that  I  should  wish  for  the  loss  of  my  time.  However,  this  I  de- 
clined. I  gave  him  proper  directions  for  sailing  out,  and  on  the  morning  of  tlie 
7th  took  my  leave.  He  sent  mo  on  board  a  considerable  quantity  of  new,  soft 
bread.  Aug.  8th.  Early  in  the  morning  spoke  the  brig  Grace  of  New  York, 
R.  D.  Coolidge,  commander,  from  Macao.  We  stood  into  Tadents  and  an- 
chored together,  it  being  my  intention  to  wait  a  weatwardly  wind  to  join  the 
Columbia.  Tho  cove  wo  anchored  in  is  in  the  south  side  of  the  north  island 
which  forms  Tadents  Straits,  and  is  certainly  a  pretty  good  cove.  Aug.  1 2th. 
In  the  morning  a  Portuguese  brig  an-ived,  commanded  by  Joseph  Andrews 
Tobar,  from  Macao.  Unpleasant  weatlier,  with  constant  rains  and  south- 
wardly winds.  ,      1  L  .t 

Aug.  14th.     In  the  morning  Capt.  Coolidge  weighed  and  towed  out,  but 


they  were  very  politely  receivea.  llieir  next  port  was  isooiua  rtounu, 
I  they  sold  a  considerable  quantity  of  spirituous  liquors  and  clothin;.;  for 
ter  skins.  This  ship  was  commanded  by  M.  Magon,  Mr  Peter  Torck- 
le  supercargo,  and  M.  Dupaoey,  second  captain  and  first  pilot.     They 


7M 


HASWELL'S  JOURNALS  1791-2. 


the  weather  was  so  bad  it  forced  him  back  at  2  p.  h.  Aug.  2lBt.  Early  in 
the  morning  we  saw  two  aaila  standing  in.  They  proved  to  be  the  Hope  of 
Boston,  Job  lograham,  and  the  Jackall  of  Loudon,  Stewart,  commander. 
Captain  Ingraham  informed  me  that  Capt.  Gray  was  repairing  at  Nootka 
Sound,  where  had  arrived  several  English  ships.  Aug.  24th.  Hazy.  Weighed 
in  company  with  the  IJope  and  Orace,  and  stood  out  of  tlie  harbor  to  the  east- 
ward. Left  riding  hero  the  sloop  Jackall  and  brig  Phinex.  Aug,  25th. 
Made  sail  for  Hancock's  River,  and  were  followed  by  the  brigs. .  .Aug.  2Cth. 
Stood  up  the  river,  and  anchored  in  G  fathoms  water  above  the  island.  Aug. 
28th.  At  2  were  safelv  out  of  the  harbor.  Aug.  .30th.  Latitude  54"  24'  N. 
At  8  p.  M.  the  west  end  of  the  island  bore  west. 

Sept.  1  St.  Stood  to  the  southward  for  Port  Montgomery.  Sept  3d.  Early 
in  the  morning  we  saw  a  sail  to  the  windward,  which  by  signal  we  found  to 
be  tlie  Columbia.  I  saluted  Capt.  Gray  with  7  guns,  which  lie  returned  with 
an  equal  number.  Capt.  Gray  sent  his  1)oat  and  I  went  on  board  the  Colum- 
bia, and  piloted  her  safely  into  Fort  Montgomery.  The  wind  dying,  tlie 
sloop  was  not  able  to  get  in  to-day.  The  ship  had  been  well  repaired  at 
Nootka,  but  still  continued  to  leak  considerably,  to  remedy  which  it  was 
necessary  to  calk  the  upper  streaks  of  her  sheathing,  and  all  her  upper  works. 
After  parting  with  us  on  the  29th  of  June,  they  doubled  their  leak.  They 
fothered  it,  and  by  that  means  stopped  it  in  a  great  measure.  They  fell  in 
with  Capt.  Magee,  and  with  him  went  to  Naspateo,  where  they  laid  tlie  ship 
on  shore,  and  found  the  damage  she  had  received  could  not  be  repaired  with- 
out putting  in  a  new  stem  and  part  of  a  new  keel.  This  would  take  a  con- 
siderable time.  They  sheathed  over  the  wound,  and  from  thence  proceeded 
to  Clioquot,  but  not  finding  it  convenient  to  repair  there,  they  sailed  to  Nootka 
Sound,  and  were  received  with  every  mark  of  respect  by  the  Spanish  gover- 
nor, who  rendered  them  every  ossistaiice  in  his  power.  As  soon  as  the  repairs 
of  the  ship  were  completed,  she  made  the  best  of  her  way  for  this  port,  where 
we  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  fall  in  with  her. 

Sept.  4th.  In  the  morning  early  I  met  the  sloop  at  the  entrance  of  the 
harbor,  and  we  soon  anchored  alongside  of  the  Columbia.  Sept.  1.3th.  We 
came  to  sail  in  company  with  the  Columbia,  and  were  soon  out  of  the  harbor. 
Sept.  14th.  Latitude  51°  48'  N. .  .Sept.  16th.  At  about  6  P.  M.  we  passed 
Port  Lincoln.  Sept.  20th.  In  the  morning  we  found  ourselves  off  Ahatset. 
Made  all  sail,  and  at  dusk  in  the  evening  North  Point  bore  e.  by  s.  At  8 
p.  M.  I  spoke  the  Columbia,  and  we  hove  to  to  wait  for  dayliglit.  At  daylight 
we  made  sail  for  Nootka  Sound,  with  at  first  a  light,  but  tifterwards  a  lively 
breeze.  We  soon  saw  a  snow  standing  to  the  southwai'd.  She  tacked  and 
stood  to  the  westward  for  us,  and  our  ship  bore  away  for  her.  As  Capt.  Gray 
had  directed  me  to  go  into  the  sound  before  him,  I  continued  my  course,  nnd 
at  half-past  1  p.  m.  anchored  in  Friendly  Cove.  I  hauled  into  a  snug  berth 
and  moored.  The  Columbia  soon  after  anchored.  Cant.  Gray  informed  me 
it  was  Don  Quadra  that  was  in  the  snow,  bound  to  the  Straits  of  Juan  de 
Fuca,  and  from  thence  to  St  Blass.  Tliis  gentleman  told  Capt.  Gray  he  should 
stop  4  days  at  de  Fuca's  Straits  to  purchase  the  sloop  if  we  would  follow  him 
thither.  This  Capt.  Gray  complied  with,  and  as  soon  as  he  anchored  Capt. 
Gray  informed  me  it  was  his  intention  to  sail  for  Juan  de  Fuca's  Straits  in  the 
morning.  Sept.  21st.  We  went  on  shore  and  paid  our  respects  to  the  Spanish 
commandant,  who  politely  offered  everything  that  lay  in  his  power  to  assist 
us.  We  then  went  on  board  Capt.  Vancouver's  ship.  lie  received  us  with 
every  mark  of  respect  and  attention.  We  mutually  informed  each  other  of 
our  discoveries.  Capt.  Vancouver  told  me  it  was  his  intention  to  visit  Colum- 
bia's River.  On  his  arrival  at  Friendly  Cove  he  expected  the  whole  of  it  was 
to  be  delivered  up  to  him,  and  for  it  to  become  a  British  port,  instead  of  which 
the  Spanish  governor  would  only  deliver  the  ground  usually  occupied  by  Mr 
John  Mears.  This  small  spot  was  refused  by  Capt.  Vancouver,  and  the  two 
comnumdera  thought  it  best  to  refer  the  business  to  their  royal  masters,  and 
until  the  business  it  will  remain  a  Spanish  port.     We  found  here,  besides  hia 


HrtSVVELL'S  JOURNALS  1791-2. 


738 


majesty's  ships  Dlneovfry,  Chatham,  and  Dfdnliis,  store-ship,  a  Spanisli  Bhip, 
the  Atargret  of  Boston,  the  Jarkall  of  London,  and  the  Phinex  of  Macao. 

Sept.  'J2d.  At  dayliglit  in  the  morning  I  wcished  and  sailed  out  of  the 
port,  in  company  with  tlie  Calumhin.  We  were  fouowed  with  a  lively  breeze, 
i'asscd  Brcalcers'  Point  at  11  a.  m.,  and  Clioquot  at  5  p.  M.,  and  all  ui^ht 
Btecrcd  s.  E.  8ept.  'J13d.  In  tlie  morning  wu  saw  Cape  Flattery  beanns 
E.  s.  i:.,  8  leagues,  and  wo  saw  2  sail  in  shore.  The  one  was  the  Spanish 
•now  and  the  other  a  small  sloop.  Sept.  'JGth.  At  '2  r.  m.  saw  the  shipping 
at  anclior  in  Ncab.  At  3  the  Colnmb<.a\i  pinnace  came  off  to  assist  in.  At 
11  anchored.  Found  riding  hero  the  .Spanish  shin  Primraia,  and  Spanish 
snow  Acteva,  Don  Quadra,  the  ship  Columbia,  and  brig  llo/te,  Jos  Ingraham. 

.Sept.  27th.  At  sunrise  nn  the  morning  1  saluted  the  .Spanish  snow  with 
0  gim»,  which  she  returned  with  an  equal  number.  I  had  the  honor  of  a  visit 
from  Don  Quadra,  and  saluted  him  with  9  guns  coming  and  going,  lu  the 
afternoon  Capt.  Ingraham  sailed  in  company  with  the  Princesxa,  Lieut 
Fidalgo,  who  was  going  to  supersede  Lieut  Camannio,  the  present  comman- 
der, at  Nootka  Sound.  Sept.  2Sth.  In  the  morning  Capt..  Gray  concluded 
his  bargain  with  Conmiodore  Qua<lra  for  the  sloop,  for  which  ho  received  75 
Bca-otter  skins  of  a  superior  quality,  and  in  the  afternoon,  taking  all  the  pro- 
visions out  of  her,  I  delivered  her  up  to  Don  Arrow,  first  lieutenant  of  the 
Spanish  snow,  and  repaired  on  board  the  Colnmhia  with  all  my  crew.  As  it 
was  necessary  to  cut  a  large  quantity  of  wood,  and  a  number  of  spars  to  lost 
ns  to  Boston,  Capt.  Gray  concluded  to  go  over  to  Port  Poverty,  where  it 
ivould  be  much  more  convenient,  and  much  less  danger  of  the  natives.  Ac- 
cordingly, early  in  the  morning  Capt.  Gray  took  his  leave  of  Don  Quadra,  and 
wo  M-eighed  and  sailoil,  saluting  the  Spanish  fla^  with  13  guns,  which  was 
returned  by  both  ship  and  sloop.  Sept.  29th.  VVe  hod  a  very  favorable  pas- 
sage across  the  straits,  and  anchored  m  Poverty  Cove  at  dusk  in  the  evening, 
a  little  within  the  chops  of  the  harbor.  Sept.  .30th.  Sent  a  strong  party  on 
shore  wooding  and  catting  spars.    Took  off  a  boat-load  of  wood. 

Oct.  3d.  At  6  A.  M.  we  weighed  and  sailed  out  of  Port  Poverty  for  the 
Sandwich  Isbuada. 


